JP2016208967A - Bottled beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bottled beverage which has freshness maintained effectively, and from which it can be easily recognized that sterilization or bacteriostasis by a high pressure treatment is performed effectively.SOLUTION: Concerning a bottled beverage subjected to filling/sealing and a high pressure treatment under a low temperature condition, visible display is applied to the bottle, for showing that a non-carbonic acid type beverage is filled/sealed, and subjected to the high pressure treatment.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a container-packed beverage, and more specifically, a non-carbonated system that is easily recognized that filling and sealing under low temperature conditions and sterilization by high-pressure treatment or bacteriostasis were effectively performed. The present invention relates to a container-packed beverage comprising a beverage.

  Containers such as bottles and cups made of flexible resin are not only easily molded and mass-produced, but are also widely used as beverage stuffing containers filled with various beverages because they are lightweight. Yes.

By the way, non-carbonated beverages such as various fruit juices and vegetable juices represented by tomatoes are mostly sold as container-packed beverages filled and sealed in the above-described containers.
In such a container-packed beverage, it is necessary for the beverage and the container (including the lid) to be sterilized from the viewpoint of hygiene. For example, the beverage is heat sterilized and filled and sealed in the container at a high temperature. Alternatively, a filling and sterilization method is generally employed in which a beverage is filled and sealed in a container and sterilized by retort. In addition, an aseptic filling method is widely adopted in which a beverage is sterilized by heating and cooled, a container and a cap are sterilized with a sterilizing agent or hot water, and all steps of filling and sealing the beverage are performed in an aseptic environment.

However, non-carbonated beverages such as fruit juice and vegetable juice are required to maintain freshness at the time of harvest at the time of sale. However, the above-described conventionally known filling / sterilizing methods and aseptic filling methods are required. Then, it is difficult to maintain the freshness. That is, in these methods, since the beverage is heated for sterilization, not only nutritional components such as vitamin C contained in such beverages but also various components such as color, taste and aroma are deteriorated more or less. Or it will be altered.
On the other hand, for example, fruit juice and vegetable juice are squeezed with a cold press at a low temperature so as not to increase the temperature, and after squeezing, they are stored frozen at a temperature of about -20 ° C. Then, when the container is packed, the frozen beverage is crushed and thawed, and the beverage that has been thawed into a liquid state is supplied to a predetermined surge tank while maintaining cooling, and from this tank, Means for supplying beverages to the sealing process are also employed. However, even if such a means is adopted, the temperature rises between each step and between steps, and it is difficult to maintain the freshness effectively.

On the other hand, a method using high-pressure treatment is also known as a sterilization method without heating (for example, Patent Document 1).
In this method, a flexible container filled and sealed with food and medicine is pressurized isotropically through water (pressure medium) in a pressure chamber. The leaching of intracellular components at the time of pressure causes destruction of cell membranes of microorganisms such as bacteria, and thereby sterilization or bacteriostasis (inactivation of bacteria) is performed. In this method, since heating of the food is not required, deterioration of various components in the food is prevented, and no off-flavor is generated. Therefore, it is expected that the freshness of fruit juices, vegetable juices, and the like can be maintained by thawing frozen preserved beverages in the above-described method, sealingly filling the beverages in containers, and performing such high-pressure treatment.

  Further, in the high-pressure treatment as described above, the liquid level of the food in the flexible container does not change before and after the treatment, and the color does not change, so it is possible to determine whether or not the high-pressure treatment has been completed by appearance. Can not. For this reason, there is a possibility that unprocessed products may be distributed by mistake.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1993-23118

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a packaged beverage comprising a non-carbonated beverage whose freshness is effectively maintained and which is easily recognized that sterilization by high-pressure treatment or bacteriostasis is effectively performed. There is to do.

According to the present invention, in a container-packed beverage filled and sealed under a low temperature condition and subjected to high pressure treatment,
The container is filled with a non-carbonated beverage and sealed, and is provided with a visual indication indicating that it has been subjected to a high pressure treatment.

In the present invention,
(1) The visual indication is a pressure sensitive indication,
(2) The container is further provided with a visual indication indicating that low temperature conditions have been maintained,
(3) The low temperature condition is a temperature of 10 ° C. or lower,
(4) The non-carbonated beverage is fruit juice or vegetable juice,
Is preferred.

Since the container-packed beverage of the present invention is filled and sealed in a container under low temperature conditions, a decrease in freshness due to a temperature increase of a non-carbonated beverage is effectively suppressed, and an active ingredient such as vitamin C Deterioration and color change are prevented, and there is no heating odor, and the flavor of natural fruit juice or natural vegetable juice is effectively exhibited.
Moreover, since a visual indication indicating that the high-pressure treatment has been performed is made, it is possible to reliably prevent the inconvenience that untreated products that have not been sterilized or bacteriostatically treated by the high-pressure treatment are circulated by mistake. Can do.

  Further, in the present invention, it is easy to recognize that such low temperature maintenance is necessary even in the distribution process by giving a visual indication that the beverage packed in the container has been kept under low temperature conditions. It is possible to effectively prevent the inconvenience of maintaining the beverage in a temperature condition that may cause the freshness to be lost. In particular, when such a visual indication is performed with a heat-sensitive label or the like, such a beverage is accidentally maintained at a temperature higher than a predetermined low temperature condition (for example, 10 ° C. or lower) during distribution. Can be excluded from distribution.

The flowchart which shows the process for manufacturing the container stuffing drink of this invention. It is the schematic which shows an example of the high pressure processing apparatus used for manufacture of the container stuffing drink of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the other example of the high-pressure processing apparatus used for manufacture of the container stuffing drink of this invention. The side front view of the container in the container stuffed drink of this invention. The top view of the container of FIG. The back side view of the container of FIG. The sectional side view of the cap with which the container of FIG. 4 is mounted | worn.

<Manufacture of container-packed beverages>
Referring to the flowchart of FIG. 1, the container-packed beverage of the present invention is roughly manufactured through the steps of preparing a non-carbonated beverage, filling and sealing the beverage in a container, high-pressure treatment, and inspection, Furthermore, after collective packaging and storage, it is used as a packaged beverage for distribution to general stores.
Such a container-packed beverage of the present invention is maintained in a predetermined low temperature region (10 ° C. or lower, preferably 5 ° C. or lower, most preferably 3.3 ° C. or lower) throughout the above-described steps.

Preparation of non-carbonated beverages;
Beverages to which the present invention is applied are non-carbonated beverages that exclude carbonated beverages. Beverages containing carbonic acid itself do not need to be sterilized because the carbonic acid itself has a bacteriostatic action, and therefore there is no need to perform a high-pressure treatment described below. In addition, beverages obtained by adding carbonic acid to fruit juice are also known, but such beverages are also sufficient for sterilization by low temperature shower, and similarly, it is not necessary to perform high-pressure treatment described later, and thus is outside the scope of the present invention. is there.
In principle, the present invention can be applied to all non-carbonated beverages that can be processed at high pressure, but in order to maximize the advantages of the present invention of maintaining freshness, natural fruit juices and natural vegetable juices, Applies to For example, fruit juices such as orange juice, lemon juice, apple juice, grapefruit juice, fruit juice drinks with fruit pulp added to fruit juice, vegetable juices such as tomato juice and carrot juice, sweeteners for these fruit juices and vegetable juices Typical examples are those that have been added, and mixed juices made by mixing various fruit and vegetable juices. Moreover, although the concentrated fruit juice (for example, lemon juice) etc. used for the purpose of cooking etc. is not a drink strictly speaking, this invention is applicable also to such a fruit juice.

The non-carbonated beverage to be packed in the container is prepared by squeezing various fruits and vegetables. Such preparation is performed at 10 ° C. or lower, preferably 5 ° C. or lower, more preferably 3.3 ° C. or lower. Performed in a low temperature environment. If this temperature is high, the freshness of the liquid squeezed during the preparation may be impaired.
Therefore, it is desirable to maintain fruits and vegetables to be squeezed in the low-temperature environment as described above from the time they are collected. Further, prior to squeezing, operations such as fruit peeling are performed. In some cases, this operation is also performed in the low temperature environment described above.
Moreover, squeezing is performed while suppressing a temperature rise by a cold press at a low pressure.

In addition, the liquid obtained by squeezing at a low temperature as described above is supplied to a surge tank and the like while being maintained at a low temperature as it is, and from this surge tank, it is introduced into the next filling and sealing step, It can also be kept frozen once. For example, at about −20 ° C., it can be stored for up to about two months.
The cryopreserved frozen liquid is appropriately crushed and thawed, and then supplied to a surge tank or the like and introduced from the surge tank to the filling / sealing process in the same manner as described above.

Naturally, thawing after cryopreservation, supply to a surge tank, etc., environmental conditions in the surge tank, supply line to the filling / sealing process, etc., naturally, the low temperature conditions (10 ° C. or less, preferably 5 ° C., as described above). The environment is set by a cooling device so that the temperature of the squeezed liquid (beverage) is maintained at a temperature of 3.3 ° C. or less, more preferably below, thereby effectively preventing a decrease in freshness in this step. can do.
In addition, the environmental temperature is set so that the squeezed liquid (beverage) is maintained in the above-described low-temperature conditions throughout the following steps.

container;
In the present invention, a container in which the beverage is filled and sealed is one in which sterilization or bacteriostasis by high-pressure treatment described later is effectively performed. Specifically, it is shrunk by the pressure in the high-pressure treatment described later, but when the pressure is returned to normal pressure, the shape has flexibility so that the shape returns to normal and the sealing performance is maintained. used. As long as it has such flexibility, the material, form, and size of the container are not limited, but those that require heating to mount the lid are excluded. This is because it is necessary to maintain the temperature of the beverage to be filled in the low temperature region described above.
Therefore, in the present invention, for example, a bottle made of a flexible polyester resin, olefin resin, or the like, which is sealed with a resin cap or a metal cap is preferably used.

Information member mounting;
Containers and caps such as those described above are introduced into the filling and sealing process after being molded, washed with water, drained, and prior to filling and sealing The information member shown is attached to the container or cap.

That is, a high-pressure processing information member that visually indicates that such high-pressure processing has been performed when the high-pressure processing is performed is mounted on the container or cap as described above.
This high-pressure processing information member is a pressure-sensitive label, which is printed or blended with pressure-sensitive ink or paint on paper, film, etc., and the color changes when high-pressure processing described later is performed. . In particular, the display by color change may be readable by a predetermined reading device such as a barcode, but preferably, “high pressure processed” or the like so that it can be visually confirmed that high pressure processing has been performed. It is suitable that it is the character of and is mounted | worn in the place where a container or a cap is easy to visually recognize.

In the information member mounting step, a heat history information member capable of displaying heat history information can be mounted on the container or the cap together with the high pressure processing information member.
This heat history information member is a heat-sensitive label, which is printed or blended with heat-sensitive ink or paint on paper, film, etc., and the beverage filled in the container is maintained in the low-temperature environment described above. It shows that. That is, when the temperature is maintained higher than a predetermined low temperature environment, a color change occurs, indicating that the low temperature environment is inhibited. This display is also preferably a character display indicating that the low-temperature environment has been damaged, and is attached to a place where the container or the cap is easily visible.

Furthermore, an information member for product management can be attached. This information member can input and store various information such as product type, date of manufacture, manufacturer, thermal history, presence / absence of high-pressure processing, etc., and at the same time read the stored information. For example, an IC tag is suitably used as this type of information member.
This IC tag is also referred to as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), and is an ultra-high frequency tag formed by embedding an IC chip storing predetermined information in a dielectric material such as resin or glass together with a wireless antenna. It is a small communication terminal, and its upper surface is usually covered with a resin film or the like. Such an IC tag can input and store product information in the IC chip by wireless communication, and can read the stored product information. For example, hundreds of bytes of data can be recorded in the memory of the IC chip, and a lot of product information can be recorded. In addition, IC tags can read information recorded in a non-contact manner, have no problems such as wear due to contact, and can be processed into a shape that matches the form of the product, or can be reduced in size and thickness. Is possible.
The IC tag as described above is adhered and fixed to a place where information input or information output using a reader or the like is easily performed, for example, the top surface of the top plate of the cap.

The information member described above can be mounted even after the filling / sealing process, depending on its function.
For example, the high-pressure processing information member can be mounted even after filling and sealing if it is a stage before the high-pressure processing step, but in this case, pressure-sensitive bonding that can be bonded at a lower pressure than high-pressure processing. It is mounted using the agent. This is because the mounting means using heat such as hot melt cannot satisfy the low temperature condition described above.
In addition, the heat history information member is attached to the container and the cap using a pressure-sensitive adhesive before or after the high-pressure treatment described later, for example, when the label is wound after the high-pressure treatment and packed. It can be used as heat history information in which a container-packed beverage is produced under low temperature conditions.
Furthermore, if the container is an empty container before filling, the container immediately after sealing, while if it is a cap, the cap before sealing, or the cap immediately after sealing, that is, the heat history before the filling process or immediately after the sealing process. By attaching the information member, it can be shown that the non-carbonated beverage was maintained at a low temperature throughout the entire process from the filling / sealing process to the storage process.
On the other hand, information members for product management such as IC tags can be attached by means of heating such as hot melt in the stage before filling / sealing, but after filling / sealing, a predetermined low temperature condition is maintained. To be satisfied, it is mounted with a pressure sensitive adhesive.

Filling and sealing;
In the present invention, the squeezed liquid (non-carbon dioxide-based beverage) described above maintained at a low temperature (10 ° C. or lower, preferably 5 ° C. or lower, most preferably 3.3 ° C. or lower) is filled in the container. And sealed with a cap.
The squeezed liquid stored in the aforementioned surge tank or the like and maintained at a low temperature is introduced into the filling / sealing process preferably through a cooled pipe so that the low temperature state is maintained.
The above-described filling into the container and sealing with the cap is carried out using a known filling device or capper, except that the squeezed liquid to be filled is performed in a low-temperature environment in which the squeezed liquid to be filled is maintained in the low-temperature state described above. Done.

High pressure treatment;
In the present invention, as described above, a container filled with a non-carbonated beverage in a low-temperature environment is subjected to high-pressure treatment using water as a pressure medium while maintaining the low-temperature environment, and the filled beverage is stored in the container. And sterilize or bacterioculate the cap. That is, when such high-pressure treatment is performed, cell membrane destruction such as bacteria occurs due to rapid water absorption at the time of pressurization and leaching of intracellular components at the time of depressurization, and sterilization or bacteriostasis is performed.

In such a high-pressure treatment, the container filled and sealed with the non-carbonated beverage is maintained in a low temperature condition, and water (treated water) is used as a pressurizing medium at a pressure of 200 to 700 MPa. Usually, it is performed by pressurizing for about 1 to 60 minutes.
Usually, the pressure and processing time vary depending on the pH of the non-carbonated beverage filled in the container.For example, the lower the pH in the above range, the lower the processing pressure and the shorter the processing time, and the higher the pH. , The processing pressure is set high and the processing time becomes long.

  A processing apparatus that performs such high-pressure processing typically has a structure shown in FIG. 2 or FIG.

The high-pressure processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 has a horizontal structure, and includes a horizontal cylindrical pressure cooker 1 that is open at both left and right ends. Pressure lids 3 and 5 are detachably attached to the left and right openings. It is attached to.
As can be understood from FIG. 2, one pressure lid 3 is provided with a piston 7 and further with a water introduction pipe 9. The other pressure lid 5 is provided with a drain pipe 10.
A large number of containers to be pressurized are stored in a storage container 15 having a hole through which water passes, and placed in the pressure cooker 1. In this state, the pressure lids 3 and 5 are closed, water as a pressure medium is introduced from the water introduction pipe 9, and then the piston 7 is operated to push in the pressure lid 3, whereby the storage in the storage container 15 is performed. The high-pressure process will be performed for the containers that are present.
After a predetermined time has elapsed, pressurization is stopped, water is discharged from the drain pipe 10, the pressure lids 3 and 5 are opened, and the storage container 15 is taken out, whereby a high-pressure-processed container-packed beverage can be obtained. .

3 has a vertical structure, and includes a bottomed cylindrical vertical pressure cooker 20 having an open top, and a pressure lid 21 is provided in the upper opening. Installed. A piston 23 is attached to the pressure lid 21, and the pressure lid 20 is pressurized by the operation of the piston 23.
Although omitted in FIG. 3, a drain pipe is connected to the lower portion of the pressure cooker 20.
In such an apparatus, a plurality of containers to be pressurized are stored in a storage container 25 having a hole through which water passes, the storage container 25 storing the container is placed in the pressure cooker 20, and a pressure medium Is filled in the pressure vessel 20, the pressure lid 21 is closed, and the piston 23 is operated to perform high-pressure processing.
After the pressurization process, the pressure lid 21 is opened, water is appropriately discharged, and then the storage container 25 is pulled up and taken out, whereby a high-pressure-processed container-packed beverage is obtained.

In the above-described high-pressure treatment, treated water used as a pressure medium is, for example, aseptic treated water in which sterility is maintained, or treated water in which the number of bacteria is maintained at a low level. 10 ° C. or less, preferably 5 ° C. or less, and most preferably 3.3 ° C. or less). Usually, about 15% of water is exchanged for each treatment. It is managed to ensure sterility or to maintain a low bacterial count.
Specifically, the high-pressure treatment apparatus before operation is preferably subjected to steam sterilization at 120 ° C. for 30 minutes, or sterilization treatment by circulating chlorine water having a free residual chlorine concentration of 10 ppm for 30 minutes, The treated water used for the high-pressure treatment is replaced with 10% or more for each treatment. In addition, as the treated water, filtered water treated by a filter having a pore size of 0.45 μm or less, and the illuminance at the farthest part from the lamp is 12 W / m ² by a UV lamp having a wavelength of 253.7 nm. UV irradiation treated water irradiated for 5 seconds under various conditions, or chlorinated water having a free residual chlorine concentration of 0.5 to 5.0 ppm, preferably 0.5 to 1.5 ppm. Used after cooling.

Inspection;
The container-packed beverage obtained as described above is introduced into the inspection process, whether or not a predetermined high-pressure treatment has been performed using the information display member described above, and the low-temperature set by the beverage packed in the container It is confirmed whether the temperature is higher than the condition.
Such inspection is performed visually or using an inspection machine such as a camera.
At this stage, predetermined product information and information such as inspected information are also input to the information member (for example, IC tag) for product management described above.
In the present invention, such an inspection is naturally performed in the low-temperature environment described above.

Collective packaging and storage;
The container-packed beverage of the present invention produced as described above is collected and packaged in the low-temperature environment as described above, and further stored in a warehouse or the like before being distributed. For example, it is transported to a predetermined distribution center and the like, and then transported to each store and sold.

  In addition, collective packaging contains a large number of container-packed beverages in paper cardboard boxes or plastic pallets, and such cardboard boxes and pallets also have heat sensitivity indicating the above-described thermal history information. A label or the like is attached, and further, a barcode or the like indicating product information is printed. The products (packed beverages) assembled in this way are stored in a warehouse or the like in a state maintained in a predetermined low temperature environment, but a display showing thermal history information is attached to the cardboard box or pallet. Thus, from the subsequent distribution process, for example, from the transportation to the distribution center to the sales at each store, it is reliably maintained at a low temperature condition that does not decrease the freshness. In other words, it is possible to reliably recognize that the product needs to maintain a low-temperature environment even in a distribution center or a store based on the heat history information. Further, it is possible to prevent a product that has not been subjected to high-pressure processing from being accidentally supplied.

<Contained beverages>
A typical form of the container-packed beverage of the present invention manufactured and distributed as described above is shown in FIG.
That is, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the container 30 has a bottle shape, and a support ring 31 used for transportation or the like is provided at the neck, and the upper mouth is provided with a support ring 31. The cap 33 is attached, and the sealing performance is secured by the cap 33.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the cap 33 is formed of a top plate portion 35 and a skirt portion 37 descending from the periphery of the top plate 35. The IC tag 39 is bonded and fixed. Further, an engagement screw 41 for engagement with the container 30 is formed on the inner surface of the skirt portion 37, and a tamper evidence band (TE band) 43 is provided at the lower end thereof. The TE band 43 is provided with an engagement piece 45 with the outer surface of the container neck on the inner surface thereof, so that when the cap 33 is rotated and the cap 33 is removed from the mouth of the container 30, the TE band 43 is It remains on the neck of the container 30 and is separated from the cap 33. That is, by separating the TE band 47 from the cap 33, a general consumer can confirm the fact that the cap 33 has been once removed.

In such a container 30 and cap 33, in the present invention, the fact that the information processing member described above is being subjected to high-pressure processing and the fact that it is not exposed to a higher temperature than a predetermined low-temperature environment condition are easily confirmed. Can do.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a pressure-sensitive label 50 for visually indicating that this product has been subjected to high-pressure processing is affixed to the lower front portion of the container 30, as shown in FIG. As shown, a thermal label 51 is visually attached to the back surface of the container 30 to visually indicate that the product is maintained at a low temperature condition. Further, various product information is input to the IC tag 39 shown in FIG.
Of course, the pressure-sensitive label 50 and the heat-sensitive label 51 as described above are only required to be provided at sites that are easily visible, and for example, both may be provided on the top plate portion of the cap 33.

  Thus, in the present invention, non-carbonated beverages such as fruit juice and vegetable juice can be distributed without maintaining the freshness, causing deterioration of active ingredients, and without causing deterioration of aroma and color. Can be sold to consumers.

1: Horizontal pressure cooker 3, 5: Pressure lid 7: Piston 9: Water introduction pipe 10: Drain pipe 15: Storage container 20: Vertical pressure cooker 21: Pressure lid 23: Piston 25: Storage container 30: Container 31: Support Ring 33: Cap 39: IC tag 50: Pressure sensitive label 51: Thermal label

Claims (5)

In container-packed beverages that are filled, sealed, and pressure-treated under low temperature conditions,
The container-packed beverage is characterized in that the container is filled and sealed with a non-carbonated beverage and is visually marked to indicate that it has been subjected to high-pressure processing.   The container-packed drink according to claim 1, wherein the visual indication is a pressure-sensitive indication.   The container-packed drink according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a visual indication indicating that the low-temperature condition has been maintained is further provided on the container.   The container-packed beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the low-temperature condition is a temperature of 10 ° C or lower.   The container-packed beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the non-carbonated beverage is fruit juice or vegetable juice.