Tetra Laval Holdings & Finance S.a.

Charles S Sizer

Ronald W Swank

Sevugan Palaniappan

Victor P Holbert

A method and apparatus for producing a heterogeneous food in a continuous aseptic thermal process is disclosed herein. The invention involves the combining of two streams of aseptically processed components of a final heterogeneous food product such as potato soup, yogurt or the like. One of the streams is a homogeneous component of the final product and the other stream is a heterogeneous component. The invention involves asceptically processing both streams, then using the homogeneous component or carrier fluid, to partially cool the heterogeneous food product. The invention allows for the holding of the heterogeneous component for a predetermined residence time at a predetermined temperature as set by FDA regulations. The final product may be packaged on an aseptic packaging machine.

Method for producing an aseptic heterogeneous food

A method and apparatus for sterilizing packaging through irradiation with an excimer ultraviolet lamp which may be integrated on a packaging machine. The excimer ultraviolet lamp emits radiation at a substantially monochromatic wavelength within the ultraviolet band of the electromagnetic spectrum. The excimer ultraviolet lamp is composed of a quartz shell containing one of the following gaseous compounds: Ar.sub.2, Kr.sub.2, Xe.sub.2, ArCl, KrCl, KrF or XeCl. The KrCl gas excimer ultraviolet lamp which generates a wavelength of 222 nanometers is of particular interest for the present invention. In one embodiment, the lamp has a central aperture for flowing through a cooling fluid to remove heat from the lamp. If the excimer ultraviolet lamp is integrated on a form, fill and seal machine, the cooling fluid may be the desired contents filled into a container fabricated on the form, fill and seal machine. The materials sterilized by the present invention are fabricated into many different containers such as flexible pouches, stand-up pouches, parallelpiped containers and gable top cartons. The material may be subjected to a sterilant prior to irradiation by the excimer ultraviolet lamp. The sterilant may be hydrogen peroxide, peracid, ozone or the like. The concentration of the sterilant may have a range of between 1% to 55%.

Method and apparatus for sterilizing packaging

Method and apparatus for producing an aseptic heterogeneous food

A method of disinfecting the food contact surfaces of a food packaging machine comprises introducing to the machine an aqueous solution comprising from about 0.1% to about 1% by weight of hydrogen peroxide and from about 0.01% to about 0.1% by weight of sodium acid pyrophosphate. The food contact surfaces are contacted with the solution at a temperature of at least about 70.degree. C. for a time period of at least about 15 minutes.

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Hawthorne Woods, IL, United States of America

Charles S Sizer