JP7106422B2 - Microbial Testing Methods for Bottled Beverages - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a microbiological examination method for bottled beverages.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a technology for automatically sucking a beverage from a bottle container with a nozzle attached to a dispenser, injecting it into a medium, and sequentially supplying each medium (petri dish).

JP 2012-235735 A

However, with the technique of Patent Literature 1, even in an aseptic environment, bacteria adhering to the outer surface of the bottle container may contaminate the culture medium.
In particular, in the microbial inspection method by the membrane filter filtration method (MF method), a microbial inspection method for beverage bottles that can prevent contamination of bacteria from between the mouth of the bottle container and the cap (hereinafter referred to as "cap gap"). was desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a microbial inspection method for a beverage bottle that can prevent bacteria from entering from the outer surface of the bottle container.

The invention according to claim 1 comprises a chemical solution sterilization step of sterilizing the outer surface of a beverage bottle with a chemical solution, a hot air blowing step of blowing sterilized hot air on the outer surface of the bottle, and a pouring method of forming a spout in the bottle. A mouth forming step, a filter paper setting step of setting the filter paper in the funnel, a filtering step of pouring the beverage from the bottle into the funnel and filtering the beverage, a filter paper cutting step of cutting the filter paper after filtering, and the cut filter paper pieces. and affixing the bottled beverage to the medium, wherein the chemical sterilization step includes submerging the bottle in an upright state in a chemical liquid tank filled with the chemical liquid. Microbial inspection method for bottled beverages.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, in the chemical solution sterilization step, the bottle is placed in a basket in an upright state, and the basket is intermittently moved up and down in the chemical solution tank. and

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 2, the chemical solution sterilization step causes the chemical solution in the chemical solution water tank to flow.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hot air blowing step includes blowing hot air onto the bottle with the bottle standing upright and covered with a hood. Characterized by spraying.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that, in the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the pour spout forming step is a piercing step for piercing a bottle cap.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 5, in the perforating step, a heated thermal material is inserted into the bottle cap from above to perforate the bottle cap.

The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the funnel has an insertion groove for a cutting blade formed at the edge of the base on which the filter paper is placed. In the filter paper cutting step, the filter paper placed on the base is cut by a cutting blade through the insertion groove.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, after the robot arm puts the beverage-filled bottles in the basket in an upright state, the robot arm submerges the bottles in a chemical liquid tank filled with the chemical liquid. Then the robot arm picks up the bottle in the basket and places it on the table, blows sterilized hot air on the outer surface of the bottle at that position, and then the robot After the arm inserts a heated thermal material into the bottle cap and perforates the bottle cap, the robot arm grips the beverage bottle and tilts the beverage bottle to pour the beverage into a funnel set with filter paper, After that, the filter paper is cut with a cutting blade held by the robot arm, and the cut filter paper piece is attached to the culture medium.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the outer surface of the beverage bottle is sterilized with a chemical solution, the outer surface is dried and sterilized with aseptically treated hot air, and the beverage in the bottle is taken out from the spout formed in the bottle and filtered. , it is possible to prevent the contamination of bacteria adhering to the outer surface of the bottle in the microbiological examination method by the membrane filter filtration method (MF method).
In particular, since the bottle is submerged in the chemical liquid tank in the chemical liquid treatment, it is possible to easily sterilize the gap between the caps of the bottle and the bottle cap.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the same effect as the first aspect of the invention can be obtained, and by intermittently moving up and down the basket in which the bottle is placed in the chemical water tank, the cap gap can be reached. Penetration of the disinfectant solution can be enhanced.

According to the invention of claim 3, the same effects as those of the invention of claim 2 can be obtained, and the chemical solution in the chemical solution tank can be made to flow to collide with the outer surface of the bottle to make the chemical solution turbulent, Furthermore, the permeability of the sterilizing liquid to the outer surface of the cap and the gap of the cap can be enhanced.

According to the invention of claim 4, the same effects as those of the invention of any one of claims 1 to 3 can be obtained, and by covering the upright bottle with the hood, the outer surface of the bottle can be sprayed. Since the hot air can be guided to the neck of the bottle, the bottle cap, etc., it is possible to strengthen sterilization and remove water droplets from these parts by using the hot air.

According to the invention of claim 5, the same effects as those of the invention of any one of claims 1 to 4 can be obtained, and by perforating the bottle cap, the beverage in the bottle can be discharged from the head of the bottle. Since it can be poured out, it is easy to pour out.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the same effect as the fifth aspect of the invention can be obtained, and the bottle cap can be easily pierced by the heating material and the pierced portion can be sterilized.

According to the invention of claim 7, the same effect as the invention of any one of claims 1 to 6 can be obtained, and the filter paper can be easily cut while it is placed on the base. .

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the same effect as the first aspect of the invention can be obtained, and the robot arm can transfer the bottle and perform each operation on the bottle. Microbial inspection can be automated.

1 is a flow chart showing a microbial inspection method for bottled beverages according to an embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a block diagram which shows the work flow and arrangement|positioning of the microorganisms test method of the bottled beverage concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of a chemical liquid tank in a chemical liquid sterilization process. FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing a hot-air blowing state in a hot-air blowing process; FIG. 10 is a front view schematically showing a state before inserting a heating material into the bottle cap in the perforating step; FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which a beverage is poured into a funnel in a filtering process; It is a figure which shows a filter paper cutting process, (a) is a perspective view of the state which removed the surrounding wall, (b) is a top view of the base shown to (a). It is a perspective view which shows a sticking process. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a robot arm; FIG.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The microbiological inspection method for bottled beverages according to the present embodiment is an inspection method using a membrane filter (MF) method.
As shown in FIG. 2, the microorganism testing facility 1 is separated into a bottle sterilization booth 3, an inspection booth 5, and an antechamber 7. After processing in each of the booths 3, 5 and antechamber 7, the petri dish is taken out T11. And in the culture T12 step, after the beverage in the bottle is cultured in the medium placed in the petri dish, the presence or absence of colonies is inspected. In this embodiment, general bacteria (including aquatic bacteria) and fungi (molds, yeasts) are tested.
As shown in FIG. 3, a beverage bottle (hereinafter simply referred to as “bottle”) 9 to be inspected is a resin bottle containing a beverage sampled from the production line after production. A bottle cap 9a manufactured by Although the type of beverage is not particularly limited, it is, for example, a tea-based beverage.

Here, the robot arm 11 used in this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the robot arm 11 has many joints, and the support 11a, the arm 11b, and the head 11c are configured to freely rotate in the X direction, rotate in the Y direction, swing in the Z direction, and the like. Further, the head 11c is provided with jigs such as a locking member 35 so as to be able to be pulled in and out, and is configured such that an article such as a bottle 9 can be gripped by the gripping portion 12. As shown in FIG.
The posture and movement of the robot arm 11, and the drive and control of the grasping part 12, locking tool 35, etc. are controlled by a pre-programmed microcomputer.

Each inspection process will be sequentially described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the preparation stage, a petri dish 8 (see FIG. 8) containing a medium 6 is prepared in an antechamber 7, and T1, sterile water preparation T2, filter paper preparation T3, and funnel (filter) preparation T4 are performed. back. These preparations T1 to T4 are performed manually.

(1) Chemical sterilization step S1
In the chemical solution sterilization step S1, the outer surface of the bottle 9 is sterilized with a chemical solution. The bottles 9 to be inspected are arranged side by side in advance, and the robot arm 11 (see FIG. 9) grips a predetermined bottle 9, moves the bottle 9, and stands in a basket 15 (see FIG. 3). , and the basket 15 is immersed in the chemical water tank 13 as shown in FIG. The chemical water tank 13 is a water tank filled with a sterilizing chemical. In the chemical solution water tank 13, the bottle 9 is entirely submerged in the sterilization water tank.
In the chemical liquid tank 13, the chemical liquid is made to flow as indicated by an arrow E by stirring the inside of the tank 13 or by a water flow. Further, the cage 15 is intermittently moved up and down within the chemical water tank 13 as indicated by an arrow F. The basket 15 is moved up and down while the robot arm 11 grips the basket 15 .
After chemical sterilization in the chemical sterilization step S1, the robot arm 11 lifts the basket 15 out of the chemical water tank 13, grabs the bottles 9 in the basket 15, and sets the bottles upright on the table in the hot air blowing step S2.

(2) Hot air blowing step S2
As shown in FIG. 4, in the hot air blowing step S2, sterile air heated by a heater 17 is blown from a blower 19 from the side of a bottle 9 set upright on a table. Also, the bottle 9 is covered with a hood 21 so that the blown hot air can easily stay in the vicinity of the bottle cap 9a and the neck of the bottle.

(3) Bottle punching step (spout forming step) S3
In the bottle punching process, a hole is made in the bottle 9 for pouring out the beverage in the bottle 9 .
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the top surface of the bottle cap 9a is perforated by inserting a heated heating material 23 from above. The heat material 23 is a bar material in this embodiment. The hot material 23 is punched by a permanent punching device 41 . The drilling device 41 moves the heating rod 23 up and down by a driving mechanism of a cylinder and a piston, and the heating material 23 is heated by a built-in electric heating wire.
The bottle cap 9a is melted by the heat material 23 and pierced. The robot arm 11 may hold the body of the bottle 9 when the bottle cap 9a is pierced.

(4) Filter paper installation step S4
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the robot arm 11 installs the funnel 27 (see FIG. 6) on the manifold 25 (see FIG. 6), performs S4-1, and then takes out the prepared filter paper 29 (see FIG. 7) in S4. -2, Place the filter paper (see FIG. 7) in the funnel 27 S4-3.
Aseptic water is injected from a tube (not shown) into the installed filter paper 29 (S4-4).

(5) Filtration step S5
As shown in FIG. 6, the robot arm 11 grips the bottle 9 and inclines it so that the bottle cap 9a faces downward, pours the beverage in the bottle 9 into the funnel 27, and filters it.

(6) Filter paper cutting step S6
As shown in FIG. 7, after filtration, another robot arm removes the peripheral wall 27a of the funnel 27 from the base 27b, and the cutting blade 31 held by the robot arm 11 separates the filter paper 29 into two crescent-shaped filter paper pieces 29a. , 29b.
As shown in FIG. 7, the base 27b of the funnel 27 is formed with an insertion groove 33 for the cutting blade 31 at its edge 27c. In this embodiment, two insertion grooves 33 are formed at opposite positions on the edge 27c. The insertion groove 33 allows the cutting blade 31 to be pulled beyond the edge 27c without interfering with the edge 27c when the filter paper 29 is pulled out.

(7) Attaching step S7 to medium
As shown in FIG. 8, the robot arm 11 grips one piece of filter paper 29a placed on the base 27b of the funnel 27 with the locking tool 35 to collect the filter paper (S6-2 in FIG. 2). , is attached to the culture medium 6 of the petri dish 8 . The locking tool 35 is, for example, tweezers. Before attaching the filter paper to the culture medium 6 of the petri dish 8, the lid of the petri dish 8 is opened (S7-1 in FIG. 2).
Thereafter, the petri dish 8 is covered with a lid (S7-2 in FIG. 2). The opening and closing of the lid of the petri dish 8 is performed by an automatic mechanism provided on the table, but the robot arm 11 may perform the opening and closing of the lid.
Similarly, the other piece of filter paper 29b is also gripped by the locking tool 35, attached to the petri dish 8 containing another type of culture medium, and then the petri dish 8 is covered with a lid (S7-2 in FIG. 2).

(8) Culture step S8
Each petri dish 8 covered with a lid is taken out as it is and cultured in an incubator. After culturing, the presence or absence of colonies is observed.

Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described.
According to the present embodiment, the outer surface of the bottle 9 is sterilized with a chemical solution in the chemical solution sterilization step S1, and the outer surface is dried and sterilized with aseptically treated hot air in the hot air blowing step S2, and the bottle perforating step (spout forming step). The beverage in the bottle is taken out from the hole drilled in S3, and the beverage in the bottle is taken out from the hole drilled and filtered by the filter paper 29. It is possible to prevent the contamination of bacteria.

In the chemical solution sterilization step S1, as shown in FIG. 3, the bottle 9 is submerged in the chemical solution water tank 13, so the gap between the caps of the bottle 9 and the bottle cap 9a can be easily sterilized.
Further, since the robot arm 11 can transfer the bottle 9 and perform the operations S1 to S7 for the bottle 9, automation can be performed in a closed clean room.

In the chemical solution sterilization step S1, the cage 15 containing the bottles 9 is intermittently moved up and down in the chemical solution water tank 13, so that the penetration of the sterilant solution into the cap clearance can be enhanced.
Since the liquid medicine is made to flow in the liquid water tank 13, the liquid medicine collides with the outer surface of the bottle to make the liquid flow turbulent, and furthermore, the permeability of the sterilizing liquid to the outer surface of the bottle cap 9a and the gap between the caps can be enhanced.

In the hot air blowing step S2, as shown in FIG. 4, the hood 21 is placed on the upright bottle 9, so that the hot air blown on the outer surface of the bottle 9 can be guided to the bottle neck 9b and the bottle cap 9a. It is possible to strengthen sterilization and remove water droplets by hot air.

In the bottle perforating step (spout forming step) S3, since the bottle cap 9a is perforated, the beverage in the bottle can be poured out from the bottle head, which facilitates pouring out.
Further, the bottle cap 9a can be easily pierced by simply inserting the heating material 23 into the bottle cap 9a, and the pierced portion can be sterilized.

In the filter paper cutting step S6, as shown in FIG. 7, the edge 27c of the base 27b of the funnel 27 is formed with an insertion groove 33 for the cutting blade 31. Therefore, the funnel 27 remains placed on the base 27b. , the filter paper 29 can be easily cut, and the cutting work by the robot arm 11 can also be facilitated. Further, by forming the insertion groove 33 for the cutting blade 31, it is possible to improve the cutting accuracy.
By cutting the filter paper 29 directly on the funnel 27 and with the cutting blade (female) 31, compared to cutting the filter paper 29 with a cutting machine such as scissors, the portion where the equipment contacts the filter paper 29 can be minimized. It is possible to suppress the remaining bacteria and maintain a sterile state. Further, by using a scalpel as the cutting blade 31, it is small in size and disposable, so it is convenient to use.
The cutting blade 31 is preferably heat sterilized each time a cutting operation is performed. In this case, the heat sterilization of the cutting blade 31 may be performed by a heat sterilization device built in the robot arm 11 or by a heat sterilization device provided separately from the robot arm.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the invention.
For example, the chemical sterilization step S1 is not limited to vertically moving the basket 15 by the robot arm 11 , and a mechanism for vertically moving the basket 15 may be provided separately from the robot arm 11 .
At least one insertion groove 33 is formed in the base 27b of the funnel 27 in the filter paper cutting step S6. Moreover, the cutting of the filter paper is not limited to cutting into two filter paper pieces, but may be cut into three or four filter paper pieces, and the number of pieces to be cut is not limited. In this case, the edge portion 27c of the base 27b is formed with insertion grooves 33 corresponding in number to the number of sheets to be cut.
In the spout forming step described in the claims, the bottle 9 may be opened by removing the bottle cap 9a with a permanently installed bottle capper. In this case, in the filtering process, the beverage in the bottle 9 is poured into the funnel 27 from the mouth portion 9c of the bottle 9 and filtered.
The heat material 23 used in the bottle punching step S3 is not limited to a rod-like shape, and may be plate-like, and the shape is not limited.
The type of beverage in the bottle 9 is not limited, and is not limited to tea.

9 bottles (bottles containing beverages)
9a bottle cap 11 robot arm 13 chemical water tank 15 basket 21 hood 23 heat material 27 funnel 29 filter paper 31 cutting blade 33 insertion groove 35 locking tool

Claims (8)

A chemical sterilization step of sterilizing the outer surface of the beverage bottle with a chemical solution;
a hot air blowing step of blowing sterilized hot air onto the outer surface of the bottle;
a spout forming step of forming a spout on the bottle;
A filter paper installation step of installing the filter paper in the funnel;
a filtration step of pouring the beverage from the bottle into a funnel and filtering the beverage;
A filter paper cutting step of cutting the filter paper after filtration;
A microbial inspection method for a bottled beverage, comprising:
The microbial inspection method for bottled beverages, wherein the chemical sterilization step includes submerging the bottle in an upright position in a chemical liquid tank filled with the chemical liquid. 2. The microbial inspection method for bottled beverages according to claim 1, wherein said chemical sterilization step includes placing said bottles in a standing state in a basket and intermittently moving the basket up and down in a chemical water tank. 3. The microbial inspection method for bottled beverages according to claim 2, wherein the chemical liquid sterilization step causes the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid water tank to flow. Microbial inspection of the bottled beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hot air blowing step blows hot air onto the bottle while the bottle is standing and covered with a hood. Method. The microbiological inspection method for bottled beverages according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the spout forming step is a piercing step for piercing a bottle cap. 6. The microbiological inspection method for bottled beverages according to claim 5, wherein in said perforating step, a heated thermal material is inserted into said bottle cap from above to perforate said bottle cap. In the funnel, an insertion groove for a cutting blade is formed at the edge of the base on which the filter paper is placed. The microbiological inspection method for bottled beverages according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the bottled beverage is cut. After placing the beverage bottle held by the robot arm in the basket in an upright position,
The robot arm intermittently moves up and down while submerging the bottle in a chemical solution tank filled with the chemical solution,
Next, after the robot arm takes out the bottle in the basket, it is placed on the table,
Blowing aseptically treated hot air onto the outer surface of the bottle at that position,
Next, after the robot arm inserts a heated material into the bottle cap to perforate the bottle cap,
The robot arm grips the bottle containing the beverage and tilts the bottle containing the beverage to pour the beverage into the funnel in which the filter paper is set;
After that, the filter paper is cut with a cutting blade held by the robot arm, and the cut filter paper piece is attached to a culture medium.

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