If you own a manufacturing business, then there’s a good chance you’ve heard of aseptic processing. Aseptic processing is a manufacturing technique where commercially thermally sterilized products are packed into sterilized packaging. This takes place under sterile conditions.
Over the last few years, this technique has been used more often in the manufacturing industry. It has almost completely replaced in-container sterilizing of liquid foods, including fruit juices, milk, yogurt, cream, and ice-cream. But why is this technique so popular? Here are some of the main reasons why businesses are choosing to go aseptic:
1. Foods Do Not Need to Be Chilled
Food manufacturing businesses should consider using aseptic techniques because it improves food stability at ambient temperatures. This means these foods do not need to be kept in chilled cabinets to last.
2. Preserves Nutritional and Sensory Quality of Foods
As well as improving the shelf stability of the food, aseptic techniques also help to preserve the nutritional and sensory quality of food. This is important for our health.
3. Improves the Shelf Life of Food
The recent COVID-19 pandemic showed us how vulnerable we are when issues arise. While aseptic techniques cannot cure all of the issues we faced during this time, they can help us overcome some of them.
One issue USbusinesseshad was running out of food and other essential supplies. They faced this issue because warehouseswere not prepared for the pandemic. They only kept a small supply of products in their warehouses at once. This is because they worried that keeping too many products or food items could cost them money as the food would likely go off before it was purchased.
Thankfully, aseptic techniques can help because improves the shelf life of food. Food and beverage products prepared in this way are safe to open up to one year after production while retaining their nutritional value. Retailers could keep their warehouses full without worrying about food going off.
4. Reduce Waste
Food waste is something we hear about a lot in the news. It plagues our society, from improper storage and surplus crops to inefficient manufacturing processes and disposal of extra food. Thankfully, this issue can be overcome using aseptic techniques. For example, instead of refusing surplus crops, manufacturers can buy and pack them using aseptic techniques and then store them for later. The great thing about this is that they can do this without relying on refrigeration.
5. Minimize Your Environmental Impact
Almost all businesses aim to decrease their environmental impact. One way they can do this is by introducing aseptic techniques. By using aseptic machinery and equipment such as aseptic fillers and aseptic diaphragm valves, they can make their products and packaging more sustainable. Aseptic cartons, for example, create a 28-70% lower carbon footprint than other methods.
Aseptic techniques have become popular in recent years, and we can see why. There are many benefits of using this technique in your business. As well as allowing you to create shelf-stable products that do not need refrigeration, processed foods using this technique have better nutritional, vitamin, and natural pigmentation retention.
