Aseptic packaging

People who often pay attention to the supermarkets' milk and drink shelves will find that the packaging of products has been varied in recent years, and new types of packaging have emerged one after another. The earliest milk was bottled and later bagged and cuped. Today, Tetra Pak, Fresh House, Penguin Pack, and Tetra Pak, these new types of packaging are becoming mainstream in the market and are being adopted by more and more manufacturers. In fact, these new types of packaging have a unified title, that is, "sterile packaging." At present, aseptic packaging has become one of the most closely related packaging forms in people's lives in many parts of the world. As a rising star in the packaging industry, the widespread application of aseptic packaging in the production of dairy products has become a new bright spot in the development of the dairy industry.
Aseptic packaging of milk uses instant ultra-high temperature sterilization technology to sterilize and package the packaged materials (milk) in a tightly closed production line. In the processing of dairy products, aseptic packaging technology has many advantages. First, the nutrients of milk can be preserved intact; second, the composite packaging material and vacuum state can protect the product from light, gas, odor, and microbes. It is not necessary to add preservatives to milk, transport and warehousing need not be refrigerated; Third, aseptic packaging products are brick (or roof) shape, packaging materials use paper, product space, high utilization, light weight, cost is not Calculated high, according to calculations, taking milk as an example, the cost of using flexible packaging is only one quarter of the metal cans, and 97% of the total weight is full of milk; Fourth, the packaging is in line with the trend of environmental protection packaging. Aseptic packaging has the above advantages, in addition to dairy products, the technology has been widely used in beverages, small foods, edible oil and other industries. Today, the vast majority of milk in developed countries and more than half of the juices are aseptically packaged. This packaging process is being promoted in China and is widely viewed by people in the industry.
Relevant experts believe that the overall level of China's packaging industry is behind many developed countries for many years, but this gap also shows the potential for growth of China's packaging industry. As for aseptic packaging products, in developed countries, such packaging has accounted for more than 65% of the entire beverage, with an average annual growth rate of 5% to 10%, and some countries consume more than 100 packs per person per year. In China, as many as 100 billion packs (cases) of aseptically packaged beverages are available each year, and the per capita annual consumption is only 1 pack, which is far from the average annual rate of 20 packs per person in the world. Therefore, aseptic packaging in China has great potential for development.
With the improvement of the living standards of our people, aseptic packaging has gradually been recognized by our consumers. Aseptic packaging has been introduced into China since the 1970s. After 20 years of reform and opening up, many well-known foreign manufacturers have cooperated with domestic factories or sold products to China. A large number of food factories, beverage factories, and dairy products factories that use foreign technology and equipment were built to rise. This promoted the development of aseptic packaging technology in China, and more and more production units engaged in the development of aseptic packaging. According to preliminary statistics, at present, there are approximately 300 (assorted) aseptic packaging equipment in China with an annual production capacity of 1.5 million tons.
The development of aseptic packaging technology has a close relationship with the development of aseptic packaging packaging materials and the improvement of packaging design. The roof type carton has begun to take shape in the late 20th century in the world. At this time, the wall of the carton is waxed. In the 1960s, this process was replaced by extrusion coating. In the 1970s, standard half pint cartons were born. Shortly afterwards, an "economy package" with an 8-ounce capacity was launched. In 1986, the "thick-walled package" appeared. This package not only resisted the acidity of the juice, but also retained the flavor of the juice and extended the shelf life of the product. In 1990, the cap roof type carton "fresh house" was introduced. In 1995, Evergreen Packaging Machinery Company, a subsidiary of American International Paper Company, developed a complete set of Evergreen Canned Machine and Thick Wallpaper Packing Materials, which extended the shelf life of fresh milk packaged in Fresh House to 28 days. .
There is convergence of milk packaging in the aseptic packaging industry in China's dairy industry. Although the convergence phenomenon also exists in other industrial fields, it is particularly prominent in sterile milk packaging. A certain form of packaging is good, but if everyone followed suit and followed it up, it would inevitably lead to similar products, no features, and an increasingly fierce competitive situation. At present, some small-scale dairy companies, especially liquid milk production companies, have introduced Tetra Pak bricks to improve the grade and shelf life of products. However, the market response has not been very good. Instead, some companies that have taken creative measures in aseptic packaging have obtained For better results, such as Beijing's Sanyuan’s main push of the Leroy Pillow and Miaoshi Yipin’s penguin bag, the sales volume far exceeds the brick-type packaging of similar products. It can be seen that foresighted operators should have a unique eye and choose a novel and unique packaging form for their own products from numerous forms of packaging. This can avoid unnecessary competition and increase the chance of success.
Now, aseptic packaging technology is still evolving. Even in countries with more developed industries, aseptic packaging technology is a high technology, and it needs to strengthen investment in technological innovation. For packaging companies, cooperation with dairy products, beverages and other related companies should be strengthened. On the one hand, the design of packaging boxes for materials used for aseptic packaging should be improved; on the other hand, the scope of use of aseptic packaging should be expanded. The materials used for the packaging of bacteria have been further developed to facilitate the packaging of sparkling beverages, granular beverages and solid foods. Product manufacturers must pay attention to the recycling of discarded packaging boxes to separate and reconstruct high-quality raw materials. In this regard, schools in Germany and Japan have set up milk cartons recycling bins to foster good habits for children. Timely recycling of discarded cartons for separation and use can reduce environmental pollution and benefit people.
With the rapid development of China's economy, aseptic packaging technology for food will be continuously updated. China's dairy companies should lose no time in research and development of new products using aseptic packaging technology, so that aseptic packaging products become market boosters.