JPS61164927A - Method and device for filling and sealing food - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for filling and sealing food, and more specifically, for filling and sealing sterilized food into sterilized bags in an aseptic atmosphere. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for so-called acetic packaging.

(Prior art) As a method for manufacturing packaged foods that can be stored for a long time at room temperature and are filled and sealed in bags (so-called pouches), a web made of plastic, laminated film (including cases with metal foil as an inner layer), etc. While running, a bag is formed by sealing in the air, food is filled through the upper opening of the bag, the opening is sealed by heat sealing, and then the bag is cut from the web body. The so-called Form-Fi
A method is known in which a sealed food bag is produced by the ll-8eal method and then subjected to retort heat sterilization treatment.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the case of the above conventional method, food is kept at a relatively high temperature (for example, 125°C) for a long time (for example, 30 minutes) during sterilization.
As a result, food quality such as nutritional components (for example, guitamin C), color tone, flavor, etc. deteriorates.

In the case of a food sealing bag manufactured by applying the acetic packaging method to the Form-Fill-8eal method, there is little deterioration in food quality as described above. However, in this case,
Hydrogen peroxide, which is commonly employed in acetic packaging methods, can be used to sterilize the web, either by spraying hydrogen peroxide on both sides of the web or by immersing the web in a hydrogen peroxide solution followed by high-temperature dry heat treatment. When drying with air is used, exhaust gas containing hydrogen peroxide leaks out of the device during drying, making the environment extremely unhygienic.Drying equipment and energy costs are high; If hydrogen peroxide remains in the product, problems such as violating regulations under the Sanitation Act will occur.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention provides a Form-Fi structure that allows food sealed in a bag to withstand long-term storage at room temperature and to improve the quality of the food.
The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for filling and sealing foods using the ll-8eal method.

The present invention provides a method and device for filling and sealing food using the Form-Fill-8eal method, in which the food sealed in a bag can withstand long-term storage at room temperature, and does not impair the manufacturing environment or the hygiene of the food. for other purposes.

(Structure of the Invention) The present invention eliminates charges on both sides of a running web,
After removing dust, immediately irradiate both surfaces with ultraviolet rays in a sterile atmosphere to completely kill any bacteria remaining on both surfaces,
The present invention provides a method for filling and sealing foods, which is characterized in that the web is then made into bags in a sterile atmosphere, and the formed bags are filled with sterilized foods and sealed.

Furthermore, the present invention includes a device for supplying a web into a sterile chamber, and a device for electrostatically removing dust from both sides of the web, which is provided at an inlet of the web outside the sterile chamber. An ultraviolet sterilization lamp provided opposite to both sides of the web, a device provided downstream of the ultraviolet sterilization lamp for manufacturing bags from the web, a device for filling the bag with sterilized food, and filling. The present invention provides a food filling and sealing device characterized in that a device for sealing a filled bag is provided.

(Example) Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Apparatus) 1 is a first sterile room, 2 is a second sterile room, and sterile air 4 is supplied through a sterile filter 3 provided above them. Immediately below the web entrance portion 5 of the first sterile chamber 1, a device 7 is provided for electrostatically removing dust (fine particles) adhering to the surface of the web 6 from both surfaces thereof.

A plurality of ultraviolet germicidal lamps 8 are provided in the first sterile chamber 1, facing both sides of the upwardly moving web 6. 9 is a pinch roll.

In the second sterile room 2 located downstream of the first sterile room 1, the descending web 6 is folded in two and one side heat-sealed part 12 is provided.
The first heat sealer 10 forms the bottom heat seal part 12b of the bag part 12.
1. A third heat sealer 1 forms and seals a heat seal portion 12c at the opening of the bag portion 12 filled with food 14.
3, and a cutter for cutting the web portion between the opening heat-sealed portion 12c and the bottom heat-sealed portion 12b of adjacent food packaging bags 14 in order to separate the food packaging bags 14 formed continuously from each other. 15, arranged sequentially from top to bottom.

The separated food packaging bag 14 passes through the discharge hole 16 and is discharged to the outside of the second sterile chamber 2 in a free fall manner. A food filling nozzle 17 is opened in the bag 12 at the position of the second heat sealer 11.

The food filling nozzle 17 is supplied with sterilized food 2o from a surge tank 18 provided outside the second sterile chamber 2 through a valve 19. Note that 21 is Web 6
This is a delivery reel on which a coil 22 is wound.

The static electricity removing device 7 is designed to remove electric charges from the web 6.
A pair of lower electrodes 2 provided oppositely on both sides of the web 6
3 and an upper electrode 24, and a dust removal device 25 disposed between the lower electrode 23 and the upper electrode 24. The dust removal device 25 is provided facing each other so as to be in contact with both sides of the web 6, covers a pair of feather rotating brushes 26 that rotate in the opposite direction to the web running direction, and has an opening on the web 6 side. Dust collection chamber 27, duct 2 from dust collection chamber 27
Suction pumps 2 and 9 that suck air containing dust through 8
It is equipped with

(Effect) Usually, bacteria (herein referred to as bacteria including spores)
That is, microorganisms are attached to the web surface together with dust. Therefore, the web cannot be sterilized only by irradiation with an ultraviolet germicidal lamp due to the shadow effect (the effect that bacteria in the shadow of dust are not irradiated with ultraviolet rays). After substantially completely removing dust from the web surface before the entrance to the seedling room, the web surface is irradiated with ultraviolet rays in the first sterile room 1 to eliminate dust remaining on the web surface without any shadow effect. ◇The web 6 made of a plastic laminated sheet is wound around the coil 22. In order to prevent mutual adhesion, an anti-blocking agent containing starch as a main component is usually applied to the entire surface. This professional,
King inhibitors are contaminated with bacteria. In the case of this example,
The portion of the web 6 that has passed between the lower electrodes 23 has its surface static charge removed, and dust containing the antiblocking agent is easily removed from the web surface. While the above part is not recharged, the dust is immediately removed by the feather rotating brush 26.
The dust is mechanically removed from the web surface by the dust collecting chamber 2.
It is removed by suction from 7. The part of the web 6 that has been recharged by contacting the rotating bluff 26 immediately passes between the upper electrodes 24 and is neutralized again, hardly attracting new dust, and passes through the inlet section 5 to the first Enter sterile room I.

Further, dust that cannot be completely removed by the rotating brush 26 is also sucked and removed when passing between the upper electrodes 24.

Generally, the ionized air spraying method is used to remove tK from plastic films, but the static elimination method of this example has a much higher dust removal effect than the above-mentioned spraying method, as shown in Specific Example 1 below. be able to. Further, as shown in Example 1, the feather rotating brush method has a higher dust removal effect than the feather brush sweeping method 9.

The ultraviolet germicidal lamp 8 can be of a low output type, a medium output type, or a high output type, and as shown in Example 2, a medium output type with an ultraviolet output of 15 to 50 rrm/cm2 is preferably used. The low output type does not discolor the web, but
This is because the sterilization effect is insufficient, the sterile environment is easily contaminated, and the high-output blade type causes significant discoloration of the web.

(Method) Using the above-described apparatus, the food packaging bag 14 is manufactured, for example, as follows.

A web 6 made of a plastic laminated film, for example a laminated film of nylon and polyethylene, unwound from the coil 22 is pulled and sent out by a pinch roll 9 at a speed of, for example, 6 m/min. Dust removal device 2
The web 6, which has had its surface charge neutralized in step 5 and has substantially completely removed dust such as anti-blocking agent, enters the first sterile chamber 1 through the entrance portion 5 and ascends. While going up, it is irradiated by an ultraviolet germicidal lamp 8 to completely kill any bacteria remaining on both surfaces. Since the web surface is substantially free of dust, the ultraviolet sterilization described above is carried out effectively without interference from shadow effects. Therefore, there is no risk that the second sterile room 2 will be contaminated by bacteria remaining on the web 6.

In the second sterile room 2, the longitudinally folded web 6 is formed into a side heat-sealed part 12a by a first heat-sealing device, and then a bottom heat-sealed part 12a is formed by a second heat-sealing device 11. After forming the portion 12b and forming the bag portion 12, the sterilized food 20 is filled through the filling nozzle 17 through the upper opening.

Immediately, a heat seal portion 12c is formed in the opening by the third heat seal device 13 and the opening is sealed. The food packaging bag 14 manufactured in this manner is separated from other bags 14 by the cutter 15, and then discharged from the second sterile chamber 2 through the discharge hole 16 and sent to the next process.

(Operations and Effects of the Invention) The method of the present invention removes charges on both sides of a running web and removes dust, and then immediately sterilizes both sides of the web by irradiating ultraviolet rays in a sterile atmosphere. Even if the surface of the supplied web is contaminated with bacteria-bearing dust, UV sterilization can be performed effectively without the negative effects of the shadow effect, and therefore complete sterilization can be achieved if the UV dose is appropriate. There is no risk that the sterile atmosphere will be contaminated by bacteria adhering to the web.

Then, the web is made into bags in a sterile atmosphere, and the bags are filled with sterilized food and sealed, so there is less heating history of the food, which improves the quality of the food, including its nutritional content, two-color tones, and flavor. It is possible to provide a food packaging bag that can withstand long-term storage at room temperature.

Furthermore, the method of the present invention does not use chemicals harmful to hygiene, such as hydrogen peroxide, to sterilize the web, so it has the effect of not impairing the manufacturing environment or the hygiene of the packaged food itself.

Furthermore, the device according to the invention has the advantage that the method according to the invention can be easily implemented.

A specific example will be explained below.

Specific example 1: Residual dust (fine particles) when dust is removed from a glasstic laminated film made of K nylon-polyethylene coated with a starch-based anti-blocking agent using various methods.
Table 1 shows an example of measuring the number of .

Next, the above four types of films with different numbers of residual dust, j17
A piece of film measuring 70 m x 70 m was cut, immersed in bacterial test broth, and stored for 2 days at 37°C.
Aspergillus niger spores were applied to a web of polyethylene laminated film having a width of 30 cIn at an average concentration of 1 spore/fau, and dried. This web was run through a sterile chamber corresponding to the first sterile chamber 1 in the drawings, and irradiated with ultraviolet germicidal lamps having different outputs. The dose required to kill bacteria is 300 mW-sea/cm2, and when the irradiation height is 5 cm from the web surface, the number of lamps required is a high-power lamp, a medium-power lamp, and a low-power lamp. For lamps, the number of lamps per side was D, x, 10, and 30, respectively.

75 sheets of shear containing a standard agar medium were placed in the lower part of the sterile chamber, and after processing 500 m of web, they were cultured, and after being stored in a thermostatic chamber at 25°C for 3 days, the number of bacteria grown on the medium was measured. . The discoloration of the web was determined with the naked eye and with a colorimeter. The results are shown in Table 2.

Notes to Table 2: (1) uV- manufactured by Braungeberg (Switzerland)
C13 type (2n Nippo Co., Ltd.) Tamaki 5GL-1000T4
uH type (3) Toshiba GTW-1512 type (4 ounces are Denki Co., Ltd. SM Color Conbeater 5)
M-4 type; ΔE value specific example 3 Straight tie f (non-concentrated) Mentsuyu (pH 4,82
After completely sterilizing the sugar content (1766% sugar content (in terms of sucrose) using an Alfa Laval (Sweden) natural heat exchanger and an ultra-high-temperature girotto plant Type-D using the indirect heating method, Sarnota/ A predetermined amount was stored.

Using Taigu's bag making, filling and sealing equipment shown in the drawings,
From a web of nylon-polyethylene laminated film (coated with starch-based protsukifugu inhibitor), inner dimension 70
A bag (pouch) of m x 70 M was made, filled with the above-mentioned mentsuyu (80 ml) each, and sealed. The web feed speed was 6 m/min.

The static eliminator uses a feather rotating brush that rotates in the opposite direction to the web running direction, and the distance between the web and the electrode is 5 cr.
The voltage applied to n1 was AC8.5±0.5 kV. The UV germicidal lamp is SGL-1000 manufactured by Nippo Co., Ltd.
T4UH type (output 40 mW/cm') was used, 10 pieces on each side were installed at a distance of 5 cm from the web. Sterile air was supplied from above the sterile room so that the inside of the sterile room had a positive pressure of about 0.6 m water column.

10,000 food packaging bags were manufactured using the above equipment, and 2
Although it was stored for 0 days, no change was observed in all the samples.

Specific Example 4 Meat sauce (solid amount: 10% by weight) was heat sterilized using a SHE type heat exchanger with a scraped surface manufactured by Izumi 7-Domasinari Co., Ltd., and then stored in a surge tank.

As a static eliminator, a feather brush fixed parallel to the electrode was used, the distance between the web and the electrode was 50, and the applied voltage was A.
Use C8,5±0.5kVO as a web?
Liethylene terephthalate - polyethylene - aluminum foil -? From a laminated film with a polyethylene layer structure,
For the outside of the point plate, the one without anti-focking agent was used and the feed speed was 20 m/min, as in Example 3.
Bags with internal dimensions of 30 m and 140 mm were made, and each bag was filled with 25 g of meat sauce and sealed to produce food packaging bags.

7,500 of these packaging bags were stored at 37°C for 20 days.
No change was observed in all cases.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing is an explanatory front view of the inside of the device which is one embodiment of the present invention. 1... First sterile room, 2... Second sterile room, 5...
- Web entrance section, 6... Web, 7... Static removal device, 8... Ultraviolet germicidal lamp, 10... First heat sealing device (device for manufacturing bags), 11... Second heat sealing device (device for manufacturing bags), 13...Third heat sealing device (device for sealing bags), 17...
・Food filling nozzle, 21... delivery reel (web feeding device)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) After removing the charges on both sides of the running web and removing dust, immediately irradiate both sides with ultraviolet rays in a sterile atmosphere to completely kill any bacteria remaining on both sides, 1. A method for filling and sealing foods, which comprises: then forming bags from the web in a sterile atmosphere, filling the formed bags with sterilized foods, and sealing the bags. (2) A device for supplying the web into the sterile chamber, and a device for electrostatically removing dust from both sides of the web, which is provided at the entrance of the web outside the sterile chamber, and the sterile chamber includes:
an ultraviolet sterilization lamp provided opposite to both sides of the web; a device provided downstream of the ultraviolet sterilization lamp for manufacturing bags from the web; a device for filling the bags with sterilized food; A food filling and sealing device comprising a device for sealing the filled bag.