JP2004299723A - Method and apparatus for sterilizing food packing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for sterilization, which enable even equipment, with a complex surface, of a food packing system to be completely sterilized in a short period of time by an automated and simplified method. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus for sterilizing the food packing system sterilizes surfaces to be sterilized, which are composed of an outer surface of the equipment of the food packing system, an inside surface of the room, and inner and outer surfaces of aseptic water line piping existing in a chamber (16) forming the aseptically closed space by forming a sealed space by enclosing a partial space in a workroom provided with an entrance for carrying in a food packaging container and introducing aseptic air of a positive pressure into the sealed space so as to maintain an aseptic state. The apparatus increases a temperature of water, supplied from a hot water supply source (5), up to 60°C or higher by a warming heater (6), and sprays the hot water into the chamber (16) by using a rotary nozzle (2) and a fixed nozzle (3). The inside of the chamber (16) is charged with a water vapor emitted from the sprayed hot water, and the water vapor is brought into contact with all the surfaces to be sterilized, so that the sterilization can be performed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

【００３５】
【発明の効果】
以上述べたように、本発明によれば、無菌閉鎖空間内の殺菌対象表面が該空間内に導入された温水および／または蒸気により湿熱加熱殺菌される。温水のみを導入した場合でも、温水が殺菌対象表面に直接接触して殺菌を行うだけでなく、温水から蒸発する蒸気が無菌閉鎖空間内に充満することにより全殺菌対象表面のすみずみまで蒸気が接触し、殺菌もれ表面を生じることなく完全な殺菌が行われる。
【００３６】
また、殺菌剤を使用しないので、従来のように殺菌剤・洗浄剤の２系統の配管、切替弁装置および制御装置を必要とせず、従来よりも簡便な方法と設備により従来と同等の無菌環境を維持することができ、殺菌剤の費用および設備費を節約することができる。
【図面の簡単な説明】
【図１】本発明の食品充填システム殺菌装置の１実施形態を模式的に示す図である。
【符号の説明】
１ 食品充填システム殺菌装置
２ 回転ノズル（散布手段）
３ 固定ノズル（散布手段）
４ 配管（散布手段）
５ 温水供給源
６ 加温ヒーター（加温手段）
１５ カバー
１６ 枠体[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for sterilizing a surface to be sterilized comprising an outer surface of a device of a food filling system for aseptically filling various foods and beverages into food packaging containers such as PET bottles and plastic cups, an indoor surface, and an inner and outer surface of a sterile water line pipe. And equipment. As used herein, the term “sterile” refers to a level of sterility that maintains the commercial sterility of the contents.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a method of sterilizing the surface to be sterilized in the food filling system, there is a method described in Patent Document 1. According to this method, atomizing hydrogen peroxide is introduced into the frame surrounding the filling machine for sterilization, and then hot air is introduced into the frame to enhance the sterilizing effect. Further, sterilization is performed by introducing mist peracetic acid into the frame, and then sterilization is additionally performed by introducing mist of sterile water into the frame.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-208782
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the above-mentioned conventional sterilization method, a method specifically disclosed as a method for introducing a mist-like sterilant into the frame body is a liquid sterilization method in which a spray nozzle arranged at an upper portion in the frame body is directed toward a surface to be sterilized. Spraying agent. However, each device of the food filling system that is actually used has a complicated surface structure with many irregularities and complicated portions. It is impossible to evenly pour the disinfectant down to the concave portion and the intricate portion, and there is a portion where the disinfectant does not adhere. Therefore, complete sterilization of the food filling system cannot be expected with the above conventional method.
[0005]
Therefore, when sterilizing the outer surface of the device or the inner surface of the frame of this type of food filling system, a worker enters the frame and manually sterilizes the surface to be sterilized such as the outer surface of each device with a chlorinated alkaline foam sterilizer. At present, sterilization is performed by a method that takes time and effort to wash down with water after the agent has come down to every corner.
[0006]
Furthermore, in the sterilization method of the conventional food filling system, since the surface of the device is usually sterilized with a germicide and then washed with wash water, there are two piping systems, a germicide system and a wash water system. In addition, equipment such as a valve device and a control device for switching between these two systems is required, which complicates the equipment and the sterilization / washing process, and increases the equipment cost in addition to the cost of the sterilizing agent. There was a point.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the conventional food filling system sterilization method described above, and it is an automated method that completely sterilizes food filling system equipment having a complicated surface structure in a short time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and an apparatus for sterilizing a food filling system, which can maintain the same sterile environment as before by using a simpler method and equipment than before.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present inventors have conducted research and experiments, and as a result, the space in which devices and the like to be sterilized in the food filling system are arranged was shielded from the atmosphere as a frame surrounding the sterilized object. It is a closed space, and when warm water heated to 60 ° C. or more is introduced into the closed space, the sterilizing agent is sprayed by the sterilizing agent by heating with the hot water and filling the closed space with steam evaporated from the hot water. The present inventors have found that the heated steam comes into contact with a surface to be sterilized, such as a concave portion of a device, which is difficult to adhere to, so that sterilization is easily performed, and arrived at the present invention.
[0009]
That is, the food filling system sterilization method of the present invention that achieves the above object is a sealed space surrounding a partial space in a working room provided with an entrance for carrying in a food packaging container, and a positive pressure aseptic is provided in the sealed space. A method for disinfecting a surface to be sterilized consisting of an outer surface of a device of a food filling system, an inner surface and an inner and outer surface of a sterile water line pipe existing in a frame forming a sterile closed space in which air is introduced to maintain a sterile state. Wherein hot water and / or steam is introduced into the frame, and the surface to be sterilized is sterilized by heating with wet heat.
[0010]
According to the present invention, the surface to be sterilized in the sterile closed space is sterilized by heat and heat with warm water and / or steam introduced into the space. Even when only hot water is introduced, not only does the hot water directly contact the surface to be sterilized to sterilize it, but also the steam that evaporates from the hot water fills the sterile enclosed space, so that steam can reach every corner of the surface to be sterilized. Contact and complete disinfection without producing a disinfection leakage surface. In addition, since no disinfectant is used, there is no need for two lines of disinfectant / cleaning agent, a switching valve device, and a control device as in the conventional case, and a sterile environment equivalent to the conventional method is provided by a simpler method and equipment. Can be maintained, and disinfectant costs and equipment costs can be saved.
[0011]
In one aspect of the present invention, the sterilization of the surface to be sterilized is performed by heat-heat sterilization so that the surface temperature of the sterilization target is 60 ° C. or more and less than 96 ° C.
[0012]
In addition, the food filling system sterilizing apparatus that achieves the above object of the present invention is a sealed space surrounding a part of a working room provided with an entrance for carrying in and out of a food packaging container, and a positive pressure sterile inside the sealed space. Apparatus for sterilizing a surface to be sterilized consisting of an outer surface of an apparatus of a food filling system, an indoor surface, and an inner and outer surface of a sterile water line pipe existing in a frame forming a sterile closed space in which air is introduced to maintain a sterile state. And a spraying means for spraying the hot water and / or steam supply source and the hot water or steam supplied from the supply source into the frame.
[0013]
In one aspect of the present invention, the device is further characterized by further comprising a heating means for heating water to 60 ° C. or higher.
[0014]
In another aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further includes a pre-sterilization chamber disposed in front of the work chamber so as to communicate with the aseptic closed space and for pre-sterilization of at least the outer surface of the food packaging container. The interior surface of the pre-sterilization chamber and the outer surface of the device disposed in the pre-sterilization chamber also form an additional surface to be sterilized.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
In the present specification, the aseptic closed space is a sealed space surrounding a part of the space inside the working room provided with an entrance for carrying in and out the container, and a sterile state is introduced by introducing positive pressure aseptic air into the sealed space. It means a space that is maintained. In addition, the wet heat sterilization means that the surface to be sterilized is sterilized by spraying hot water and / or steam on the surface to be sterilized without drying. As a space in which the food filling system is arranged, a clean room can be considered in addition to the sterile closed space of the present invention. However, if the heat and heat sterilization is performed in the clean room, the entire wall surface of the clean room is not sterilized, and the HEPA filter at the ceiling of the clean room is used. The clean room is unsuitable for performing wet heat sterilization and subsequent filling of the contents into a container by a filler because the water is damaged by water vapor. Further, by using such a sterile closed space, it is not necessary to use a clean room which is expensive to install and difficult to control, so that the cost required for sterilizing containers can be further reduced.
[0016]
The sterilization temperature is 60 ° C. or higher, preferably 65 ° C. or higher, and the temperature of hot water and / or steam is adjusted so that the temperature is lower than 96 ° C. for sterilization under atmospheric pressure. If the surface to be sterilized is less than 60 ° C., the sterilization effect of 3D or more cannot be reliably obtained even if the sterilization time is relatively long, 3 minutes, and if the surface to be sterilized is 65 ° C. or more, the sterilization time is 1 minute or more and 6D or more. A sufficient bactericidal effect.
[0017]
In the food filling system to which the present invention is applied, it is preferable that sterilization of a food filling container such as a bottle is also performed by wet heat sterilization using warm water and / or steam. In order to enhance the sterilizing effect of the container, the food filling system is arranged in front of the working room in communication with the aseptic closed space and has a pre-sterilization for pre-sterilizing both the outer or inner and outer surfaces of the food packaging container. A sterilization chamber may be provided, wherein the interior surface of the pre-sterilization chamber and the external equipment surface located in the pre-sterilization chamber may also be configured to form additional surfaces to be sterilized. Since the pre-sterilization chamber communicates with the sterile closed space, the surface to be sterilized is sterilized by being filled with steam blown into the sterile closed space or steam generated from warm water supplied to the sterile closed space. . In addition, by filling the pre-sterilization chamber with steam, the sterilization effect on the outer surface or the inner and outer surfaces of the container is improved, and the pre-sterilization chamber is air-sealed to the outside atmosphere, so that bacteria in the outside atmosphere are aseptically closed. Into the interior.
[0018]
The method for introducing warm water into the frame is not particularly limited. A simple and efficient way to introduce hot water is to spray hot water inside the frame. Specifically, for example, a spray ball may be rotated to scatter hot water droplets, or a hot / moisture pipe having a large number of outlets may be arranged at the top of the frame, and hot water may be supplied from these numerous outlets. The water may be dropped like a waterfall, or a plurality of spray nozzles may be arranged to spray hot water from these spray nozzles in a mist state. In any case, the hot water may be sprayed in such a manner that the hot water adheres to an area as large as possible in the frame and the hot water can be efficiently evaporated.
[0019]
As a method of introducing warm water other than spraying, for example, a warm bath of warm water may be arranged in the frame, and steam evaporated from this warm bath may be filled in the frame.
[0020]
When hot water is sprayed into the frame, according to the present invention, the sterilization of the surface to be sterilized is sufficiently achieved by the evaporated water vapor even in portions where the hot water droplets do not adhere. There is no need to spray on the surface as a target, so there is no need to specially design and arrange the spraying equipment in consideration of special circumstances such as the shape and arrangement of individual food filling equipment, and different food filling systems This is convenient because a general-purpose sterilizer can be applied to the apparatus.
[0021]
The hot water after spraying may be discarded, but if the device is configured to be collected, circulated and used, energy can be saved.
[0022]
In addition, instead of the introduction of hot water, the same sterilization effect as the introduction of hot water can be obtained by introducing steam having a temperature of 60 ° C. or higher into the frame body by, for example, a pipe or the like.
[0023]
The main microorganisms that can be sterilized by the sterilization method of the present invention described above are as follows.
[0024]
Molds: Genus Aspergillus, Genus Penicillium, Genus Byssochamys, Neosartoria
Yeasts of the genus and Chatomium: Saccharomyces and Candida bacteria: Bacillus genus A: Bacillus subtilis var. niger, Bacillus subtilis
Bacteria: Bacillus genus B group: Bacillus cereus
In the food filling system, after the sterilization of the container is completed, the container is transferred to a filer provided in a sterile closed space under the same conditions as described above, and the container is filled with the sterilized content stored in the content storage unit. . The container filled with the contents is transferred to a sealing device provided in a sterile enclosed space under the same conditions, is completely sealed with a sterilized lid, and is discharged out of the sterile enclosed space as a packaged food or beverage product. You.
[0025]
One specific example of the food filling system and the sterilizing apparatus to which the present invention is applied is shown in the schematic diagram of FIG.
[0026]
In FIG. 1, a food filling system 10 is a filling device for filling a beverage into a PET bottle, and includes a bottle rinser 11, a filler 12, an asep capper 13, and a bottle that sterilize the inner surface of the bottle in the transport direction of the PET bottle. A sorting device 14 for sorting in two rows is arranged. The food filling device 10 is covered with a cover 15 made of a steel plate, and the cover 15 forms a frame 16 that forms a sterile closed space. The inside of the sterile closed space is maintained at a positive pressure by sterile air supplied from a duct 17.
[0027]
The cover 15 is formed with a bottle inlet 15a and a bottle outlet 15b which communicate with the bottle outer surface presterilization chamber 18 and the bottle outer surface presterilizer 19 disposed therein, but the frame 16 is substantially formed. Sealed.
[0028]
The aseptic closed space sterilizer 1 includes a plurality of rotating nozzles 2 and a plurality of fixed nozzles 3 that constitute a means for spraying hot water in the frame 16. The rotary nozzle 2 is formed of a spray ball, and is disposed at an upper portion in the frame 16 with the injection port facing downward. The fixed nozzle 3 is formed of a full cone nozzle, and is disposed near the lower floor in the frame 16 with the injection port directed obliquely upward. The rotary nozzle 2 and the fixed nozzle 3 are connected to a hot water supply source 5 via a pipe 4 via a valve 7 and a heating heater 6, respectively, and can receive hot water from the supply source 5.
[0029]
When sterilization is performed using this device, the pipe 4 is connected to the hot water supply source 5 by operating the valve 7. Water from a hot water supply source 5 is heated by a heating heater 6 and supplied to a rotating nozzle 2 and a fixed nozzle 3 in a frame 16 via a pipe 4, and is sprayed from the nozzles 2 and 3 into the frame. Is done. The sprayed hot water is used to supply hot water to the bottle rinser 11, the filler 12 in the frame 16, the outer surfaces of devices such as the asep capper 13, the sorting device 14, the inner wall surface of the frame 16, and the bottle rinser 11. (Not shown) and so on and wet most of the surface to be sterilized. The sprayed warm water disinfects this part by wetting most of the surface to be sterilized, and the evaporated water vapor fills the frame 16 and contacts the entire surface to be sterilized including the part that is not wet by the hot water. Further sterilization takes place. By continuing the spraying of the warm water for a predetermined time, complete sterilization of all surfaces to be sterilized is achieved. In this case, the entire inner wall surface of the frame 16, which is the outer surface of the sterile closed space, is sufficiently sterilized similarly to the device surface.
[0030]
【Example】
Examples As test bacteria, those obtained by culturing Aspergillus niger ATCC 6275 on a potato dextrose agar medium for 30 days were used.
[0031]
The spore suspension of this test bacterium was adhered to an appropriate place on the surface of the device in the device of FIG. 1 so as to have a density of 10 ⁶ cfu / 100 cm ² , dried, and then sterilized by circulating warm water.
[0032]
The number of surviving bacteria on the device surface after sterilization was cultured on a potato dextrose agar medium at 30 ° C. for 7 days, the number of bacteria was counted, and the bactericidal effect was determined from Log (initial bacterial count / survival bacterial count).
[0033]
Table 1 shows the relationship between the sterilization temperature and time on the device surface and the sterilization effect.
[0034]
[Table 1]

[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the surface to be sterilized in the aseptic closed space is sterilized by heating under wet heat with hot water and / or steam introduced into the space. Even when only hot water is introduced, not only does the hot water directly contact the surface to be sterilized to sterilize it, but also the steam that evaporates from the hot water fills the sterile enclosed space, so that steam can reach every corner of the surface to be sterilized. Contact and complete disinfection without producing a disinfection leakage surface.
[0036]
In addition, since no disinfectant is used, there is no need for two lines of disinfectant / cleaning agent, a switching valve device, and a control device as in the conventional case, and a sterile environment equivalent to the conventional method is provided by a simpler method and equipment. Can be maintained, and disinfectant costs and equipment costs can be saved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing one embodiment of a food filling system sterilizing apparatus of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Food filling system sterilizer 2 Rotary nozzle (spraying means)
3 fixed nozzle (spraying means)
4 Piping (spraying means)
5 Hot water supply source 6 Heating heater (heating means)
15 Cover 16 Frame

Claims (5)

A sterile enclosed space that surrounds a part of the working room provided with an entrance for food packaging containers to form a sealed space and introduces positive pressure aseptic air into this sealed space to maintain a sterile state. A method for disinfecting a surface to be disinfected comprising an outer surface of a device of a food filling system present in a frame to be formed, an inner surface and an inner and outer surface of a sterile water line pipe, and introducing hot water and / or steam into the frame, A sterilization method for a food filling system, wherein the surface to be sterilized is sterilized by heating with heat and moisture. The sterilization method for a food filling system according to claim 1, wherein the sterilization of the surface to be sterilized is performed by wet heat heat sterilization so that the surface temperature of the sterilization target is 60C or more and less than 96C. A sterile enclosed space that surrounds a part of the working room provided with an entrance for food packaging containers to form a sealed space and introduces positive pressure aseptic air into this sealed space to maintain a sterile state. An apparatus for disinfecting a surface to be disinfected comprising an outer surface of a device of a food filling system, an inner surface, and an inner and outer surface of a sterile water line pipe present in a frame to be formed, comprising: a hot water and / or steam supply source; A sterilizing apparatus for a food filling system, comprising: a spraying unit for spraying supplied hot water or steam into the frame. The sterilization apparatus for a food filling system according to claim 3, further comprising a heating means for heating the water to 60C or higher. A pre-sterilization chamber that is disposed in front of the work chamber so as to communicate with the aseptic closed space and that pre-sterilizes at least the outer surface of the food packaging container; and the interior surface of the pre-sterilization chamber and the pre-sterilization chamber The sterilization apparatus for a food filling system according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the outer surface of the device disposed at the above-mentioned surface also forms an additional surface to be sterilized.

Images