MXPA06005088A - Hot-fill beverage production with flavor injection - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and system for producing a flavored beverage wherein the flavor is added in a separate step to a combination of the base ingredients after the base liquid has been pasteurized by, for example, thermal heating. The flavor can be added to a continuous stream of the base liquid after a thermally processed hot-fill beverage base liquid is made up. A return loop conduit of the hot-fill beverage base liquid portion of the system is capable of diverting the heated hot-fill beverage base liquid in a stable state, that is, at the desired temperatures ready for continued beverage production, while the flavor may be switched over in a downstream flavor dosing portion of the system. The system may be used to produce a desired batch of flavored beverage by producing a first flavor, cleaning only that portion of the system to remove the first flavor and then changing over the flavor additive component to a desired second flavor.

Description

PRODUCTION OF HOT FILLING BEVERAGES WITH FLAVOR INJECTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to a method and system for the production of hot fill beverages and more specifically to a system and method for producing beverages in which Different flavors and / or other additives are added to a hot beverage beverage base liquid. The invention is more particularly directed to a method for making a beverage wherein a selected flavor is injected into a stream of hot fill beverage base liquid after the liquid has been pasteurized or commercially sterilized by heat treatment. 2. Background Art Many beverages are offered in different flavors, however they have a similar or identical base liquid to which the flavors have been added. In many such cases, a base drink formula is first prepared and a flavor, color or other possible additive is added to the base liquid formula to achieve the flavored beverage desired for hot filling in bottles. With all such hot filled beverages, how and when these flavors and additives are added to the base liquid formula is related to a number of different criteria and conditions, including the sensitivity of flavors and additives at elevated temperatures. With any of the drinks. hot filling of such kind that are proposed for wide commercial distribution, shelf instability and / or microbiological control are important considerations for products after bottling, especially those that need to be stored or displayed under refrigeration. Products of this type can fall into two broad categories. The first category includes beverages that are filled in containers when the beverages are at elevated temperatures, and are referred to as hot fill beverages. The other category includes beverages that are not hot filled but rather include a preservative component or composition. The thermal processing of beverages is considered advantageous since it stabilizes a form microbiologically, while maintaining the majority of the desired sensory qualities. In contrast, conservative formulations often have negative sensory attributes. The present invention is particularly directed to thermally processed beverages, that is, those beverages that are pasteurized by heat treatment and hot filled in storage containers. The hot filling is designed for the packaging of liquids that must be placed in the container while the liquids are hot to provide adequate shelf life in accordance with well-known principles. Usually this involves the use of heat to pasteurize or commercially sterilize the product. Typically, the heat effectively sterilizes or pasteurizes the beverage immediately before it is placed in the container in which it will be transported in the hot beverage. The container is filled with the hot, esterified beverage. This also has the effect of sterilizing the container. After the usual hot filling of the beverage in the container, the container is then capped, before transport. All these methods and systems have one or another disadvantage. In particular, the complete hot fill beverage, including flavoring and taste components, travels through thermal processing and hot filling equipment in many prior art processes. Since the "turbid" flavor and emulsion are sensitive to high temperature and shear force, the action of heat and pumping induced into the product in the thermal process can adversely impact the taste quality and stability of the "cloudy" emulsion. "of the finished drink. Also, this requires that all equipment be stopped and cleaned each time there is a desired taste change in the final hot fill beverage product. only one flavor can be produced at a time. For example, if a lemon-flavored beverage is being made and an orange-flavored beverage is to be made later, the line needs to be stopped to clean all the lemon flavor of the product mixing equipment, the thermal processing equipment and the equipment. of hot filling before the orange-flavored beverage can be produced. Otherwise, the orange-flavored beverage will not have the correct flavor and will not give a consistently flavored product over the run for this beverage. This results in a significant timeout of the production line. For example, a typical line could have 3 or 4 or more flavor changes per day, with each flavor change having a typical 20-30 minute break time. Therefore, somewhere between one and two hours and more than one day of typical production (24 hr) are time wasted while the equipment is being cleaned and taste changes are made. Hot-fill beverages with flavor components therein are thermally processed in the production of typical existing flavored beverages, and some flavor in the beverage is lost, damaged or otherwise modified during heating at elevated pasteurization temperatures. . In addition, most flavors degrade within 10 to 15 minutes at elevated temperatures.

Therefore, the usual good manufacturing practices place a limit of 10 to 15 minutes on the recirculation of beverages that are flavored. This may result in the requirement of a new batch that has been prepared prematurely and due only to a problem for taste degradation / display without refrigeration, leading to waste and the need for the removal of hot fill beverage that is not has covered within the required time limits. The present invention is directed to a method and system for overcoming the disadvantages discussed in the foregoing and includes an arrangement that produces multiple products having different flavors and other possible additive materials. These products exhibit shelf stability that allows them to be stored and displayed at room temperature and / or non-refrigerated conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a method or process and a system for producing a flavored hot filling beverage wherein the flavor is added in a separate step to a combination of the base ingredients of the beverage. In a preferred embodiment, the base ingredients are combined together, processed thermally and the hot fill beverage base liquid is then injected with the flavoring materials and other additives, such as acidulants, either under pressure or when using a Venturi effect. In an alternative embodiment, the base ingredients are combined together and thermally processed. The flavor is injected into the hot fill beverage liquid after a reduction in temperature and then the thermally processed ingredients are hot filled into the container. The filling or filling of the container typically follows these stages. The invention is also directed to the product of this process. In another alternative embodiment, the inventive system and method provides two separate cycles or coils, a coil that is capable of isolating a portion of the system, i.e., the pasteurization stage and the heating arrangement, so that the rest of the system can be maintained or flavor dispensers and materials ingredients can be changed to provide a desired hot fill beverage. Ideally, the system is isolated in a return coil from the pasteurized beverage to a containment tank in which the hot fill base beverage liquid is maintained at a predetermined, constant pasteurization temperature. The method and system of the present invention reduce the stoppage time for a change of flavor in a bottling operation on an industrial scale, since only the flavor dosing apparatus needs to be cleaned and not the complete system. The method and system of the present invention also reduces the taste loss between taste addition, filling and capping. In addition, dosing may occur only before the containers are hot filled on a conveyor line, and immediately prior to capping. As a result, the beverage produced by this method provides better and more consistent flavor of the hot fill beverage. The method and system of the present invention also allows the production of more than one flavor on the same production line. For example, two or more flavor dosing mounts could be used on the same line, each dosage assembly being loaded by a flavor system different from the other doser or dispensers, and the change from one flavor to another that is effected by a simple opening and closing of valves, after cleaning the system downstream of the previous flavor. The method and system of the present invention can also be used to add other ingredients that may be sensitive to heat but do not require thermal processing. The method and system of the present invention prevent taste loss during thermal processing, since the flavor is added after the thermal processing of the base liquid. Consequently flavored beverages produced by this method have better taste, in terms of intensity and stability, and other temperature sensitive additives injected into the beverage system are better able to retain their integrity. With the method and system of the present invention, the limitation of recirculation time of the filling process for the flavored beverage not according to the invention is balanced to the beverage base according to the invention, while there is no more for more time no concern about the degradation of taste. With the method and system of the present invention, the hot fill base beverage liquid can be prepared in much larger batches, and depending on the economies of scale, the flavor materials can be purchased more effectively in cost and used in volume. With the method and system of the present invention, less of the process equipment needs to be flooded with hot water to entrain the residual taste during the flavor change of the product. The significant advantages will result in the sustainability of resources in terms of water and energy savings. This requires less fresh water and energy to flood the process line hot during flavor change procedures.

With the method and system of the present invention, less product will be left in the system during flavor change that needs to be jet wash, so that product waste is minimized. Jet wash is normally necessary to avoid mixing different flavors in the final hot fill beverage products. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITY A first embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the essential components of the system for formulating a flavored hot filling beverage, are illustrated in a schematic block diagram. The components by themselves are generally known in the prior art, and will not be discussed in detail except as far as they pertain to the present invention.

The system 10, according to the first embodiment, comprises a first mixing tank 12, which in the systems of the prior art was limited in size to approximately 37.85 m3 (10, 000 gallons), due to the batch process used in the prior art systems. That is, in prior art systems, a batch is prepared in the tank, including all ingredients, such as color and flavoring, materials that the tank then provides to a tank supply from which a stream of beverage liquid Flavored then extracted for further processing such as heat treatment for pasteurization or commercial sterilization and hot fill bottling. As described above, this processing includes heating for sterilization of the entire flavored beverage recipe, including temperature sensitive ingredients such as color and flavor blended to provide the desired flavored hot fill beverage. The system illustrated in FIG. 1, in distinction by contrast, prevents heating of the temperature sensitive ingredients beyond a predetermined temperature level, as will be discussed below, and because the mixing tank 12 in the system 10 will be used to provide a deposit of the base liquid identical for all the different flavors, the tank 12 can be provided to have much larger volumes than those of the prior art systems, for example, in the order of 189.3 m3 - 227.2 m3 (50,000 - 60,000 gallons), without affecting the taste or sensory characteristics of the hot-fill beverage to the consumer. This feature can reduce production costs due to the economies of scale available for batch mass production. As shown in FIG. 1, the mixing tank 12 provides a location for the initial mixing of the hot fill beverage base liquid by adding a series of ingredient. The added ingredients may include both dry ingredients, which may be in the form of granules, or powder or other package of additives, and wet ingredients, such as, for example, water or syrup. The base drink of hot filling. In order to ensure that these ingredients are effectively combined, the combination or mixing usually occurs, for example, by means of a paddle mixer assembly or other mixing methods, including the spiral flow path or recirculation coil, members that They impart turbulence, such as static or dynamic blades and other surfaces of adequate impact. The base beverage may be removed from tank 12, as necessary, by removing the beverage mixture base by gravity or by the positive pumping action and by directing the fluid to the heater for thermal processing, as described below. Alternatively, if a continuous process is used, the master base liquid mixture can be formed by adding the base ingredients, except the flavor and other temperature sensitive materials, directly to a stream of liquid in a conduit 16, to form this the base liquid 14 by introducing and flowing the ingredients from a plurality of sources to a mixing station (not shown) in line with the conduit 16. To ensure that the proper and desired proportions are present in the base liquid of hot fill beverage, one or more positive displacement pumps can be used in line with the feed passages of the different ingredients, both with respect to the base liquid ingredients, and with respect to the taste materials described below. In either case, whether the base liquid is manufactured in a batch process or in a continuous process, the hot fill beverage base liquid 14 passes through the in-line conduit 16 through an optional cut-off valve 18 and it is directed to a heater 20. The heater 20 utilizes a thermal process, for example, electrical resistance heating or an arrangement of heat exchanger, for heating the base liquid 14 to a predetermined commercial pasteurization / sterilization temperature. Ideally, the heater 20 increases the temperature of the base liquid of. about 32.2 ° C (90 ° F) at a preferred temperature of about 94.5 ° C (202 ° F) sufficient to sterilize the base liquid 14 and to render it inactive to the targeted heat resistant microorganisms. At this point, the base liquid 14 includes only those ingredients, for example, water, sugar, acid, sweeteners, etc., which are not subjected to deterioration in the application of the pasteurization heat. The heater 20 is in fluid communication with a containment tube 22 which maintains the temperature of the fluid at the predetermined pasteurization temperature for a sufficient period of time, so that the base liquid is sterilized from the commonly encountered microorganisms.

Preferably, this temperature is about 94.5 ° C (202 ° F), but that temperature can be modified a bit depending on the characteristics of the base liquid and / or the added ingredients which may be of a temperature sensitive nature. The flavor and / or color component (or minor ingredients that do not need to be heat treated), are added in a mixing station 40 downstream of the base liquid, to form a masterbatch flavor mixture, which can be made either with a suitable container or a predetermined location along a line of continuous beverage formulation, similar to that described above in relation to the formation of the mixing of the base liquid. Ideally, the construction of the containment tube 22 retains the hot fill beverage liquid in flow at the required temperature for a time of between 3 seconds to about 1 minute to produce the desired sterilization or pasteurization by thermal treatment processes. While the base liquid tank 12 is illustrated and described as a batch process, it is evident to those having ordinary skill that the base liquid source can be modified to provide the base liquid in a continuous process, as described in previous. However, the continuous process systems described in the foregoing use high volumes of ingredients in the production of flavored beverages. If the corresponding cost savings with the use of high volumes of ingredients are not sufficient to compensate for the risk of improper mixing of the base liquid, it may be preferable to use a batch process for added certainty to achieve the correct recipe of ingredient proportions to make the flavored drink. It is preferable to use a batch process as shown in FIG. 1 to avoid inconsistencies in the taste of the liquid base of. hot fill drink and maintain the simplicity of the design. The mixing station 40 is shown schematically by dotted lines, and can comprise nothing more than a duct junction of the downstream section of the duct, referred to herein as duct 36, with one or more ducts 42, 48 in communication fluid with a source of flowable ingredients and other temperature sensitive ingredients, contained, for example, in tanks 41, 50, respectively. As discussed above, one more metering devices, such as positive displacement pumps 44, 46, can be included in the line in the conduits 42, 48. Optionally, each of the conduits can also include heating elements (not shown). ) to pasteurize the flavor components before they are injected into the fluid stream of hot filled liquid base in conduit 36, as will be described in more detail below. In the sterilization of the hot fill beverage base liquid by maintaining the predetermined pasteurization temperature for the minimum period of time, the pasteurized base liquid 14 is directed to the flavoring or mixing station, shown by dotted line 40. Optionally, as shown in FIG. 1, a adapted cooler 28 is included in the line in the conduit path, through which the base liquid passes before reaching the mixing station 40. The adapted cooler reduces the temperature of the pasteurized base liquid 14 from the pasteurization temperature, for example 94.4 ° C (2002 ° F) below approximately 83.3 ° C (1821 ° F), which is a more compatible temperature for the addition of flavoring materials, colorants or other additive materials without unduly affecting the sensory characteristics of these additives . After preparation of the base liquid and pasteurization, the liquid in the conduit 36 reaches the flavor mixing station 40, where a flavor component addition unit or unit, such as a dispenser 42 or similar type of equipment, adds a selected flavor component 39 to the thermally processed hot fill beverage base liquid 14 present in the conduit 36. For commercial purposes, a rotary doser of six or seven heads can be used. A multi-head dispenser is advantageous in order that the taste dispenser retains flexibility during operation for changing flavors, as necessary. Furthermore, if it is desired to produce more than one particular flavored beverage at a time, more than one dosing device can be used with each device of dosage that distributes a different flavor. Additionally, other ingredients, for example acidulants or other heat-sensitive ingredients used in the production, for example, of isotonic flavored beverages, can be used when injecting them from supplies by means of additional dispensers, for example, an acidulant 49 contained in the tank. of supply 50, shown in FIG. 1. The preferred injection is made under pressure to ensure the most complete mixing of the flavor of the additives with the hot-fill beverage base liquid. However, other methods for injecting the flavor or additives are also possible, for example, when using a Venturi effect. Preferably, the flavor is pumped through a narrow tube or bob that protrudes into the center of the transfer base beverage liquid in line 36. The preferred arrangement is to have the bob entering at a right angle for easy access and maintenance. If in the proportion of flavor feeding or other additives injected into the non-flavored base beverage liquid is at a fairly high level, enough turbulence or eddy currents can be generated in and after the injection point so that mixing is not required additional, but the preferred method is to use a dispersion mechanism. Alternatively, an in-line mixing device, such as a static mixer, can be added to improve additionally the mixing of the ingredients. The flavor component may include a flavoring composition or composition and may also include a color or other desired additive material, which can not be included in the hot fill beverage base liquid 14, but which still comprises a characteristic of the flavor profile or sensorial of the hot fill drink that is formed. In a further embodiment, other materials such as vitamins or micronutrients, which do not need to be thermally processed, can be added at this stage. Thus, the flavor component may comprise flavors and other ingredients that do not need to be subjected to full thermal processing to which the hot fill beverage liquid mixture is subjected in order to maintain shelf stability. The flavor material and other components added in this step are completely dispersed and stabilized by the heat of the base mixture in the filler supply tank. Preferably, the flavor component is injected into the base mixture of material in the conduit 36. In one aspect of this invention, the flavor components 39, 49 in the tanks 41, 51, etc. they may be susceptible to spoilage if they are heated to pasteurization temperatures, and thus the taste is retained in a sterile container prior to injection into conduit 36. A Alternative configuration may include pasteurization heaters (not shown) in one or more of the conduits 42, 48, etc. These types of configurations may be especially appropriate for those flavor components that are not affected by heat, used to pasteurize the components. Thus, the taste materials injected through the ducts having such heaters, which can provide optional heating of the flavor components, allow the injection of flavors that are completely pasteurized into the stream of the non-flavored base beverage liquid that passes to through conduit 36. Although the invention is described in the preferred form as having liquid flavor or micronutrient additives injected into the base beverage fluid stream, other modifications are possible. For example, injection of the flavor in solid form is contemplated by the invention. This can be done by an air lock mechanism and by using the flavor / icronutrient in tablets, or by injecting a flavoring by dosed doses as a powder directly into the fluid stream of the hot fill base drink liquid as it flows to through the conduit 36. The beverage in the tank is then ready for further processing, such as filling in bottles, by example, in the filling station 60. The filling station for bottles or fillers 60 is typically along the line of continuous beverage formulation or involves transferring the filler. The hot fill filler 60 is a conventional one, such as one of the types mentioned in the above. In another embodiment of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 2, the hot fill beverage base liquid 12 is prepared as described above as in the first embodiment. However, the difference in the embodiment of the flavored beverage production system 110, shown in FIG. 2, is the introduction of a recirculation or return coil 30 which diverts the flow of the pasteurized base liquid 14 from proceeding further downstream to the mixing station 40. The deviation of the base liquid 14 is realized by closing a valve 38 in the line with the conduit 36 between the junction of the conduit 36 with a deflection extension conduit 32 and the mixing station 40, as shown. Simultaneously with closing the valve 38, a valve 34, with the deflection extension conduit 32, opens, and the base liquid proceeds through the conduit 32 to a junction with the first conduit of the base liquid 16 as shown. Preferably, that junction is located between the valve 18 and the heater 20.

This arrangement allows the operation of the optional shut-off valve 18, to thereby stop the introduction of any additional hot-fill beverage base liquid 14 from tank 12. Thus the volume of recirculating liquid in the bypass duct 32 is maintained in a constant permanent state, while pumping the pasteurized base liquid 14 to the mixing station is stopped. Preferably, the deflection extension conduit 32 includes an in-line deflection cooler 37 for cooling the recirculating base liquid from the reduced temperature achieved by the cooler 28, which is 83.3 ° C (182 ° F) at a temperature closer than at room temperature, that is, approximately 35.0 ° C (95 ° F). This cooling by the diverter cooler 37 may be necessary to prevent excess temperature fluctuations in the beverage base liquid entering the heat exchanger would otherwise affect the temperature control stability of the system and possibly affect the taste of the product of final drink. The formation coil formed by the conduit 32 keeps the recirculating liquid in a permanent state for further processing. To divert again to the normal processing of the hot fill beverage, the valve 34 is sawed, while simultaneously valves 18 and 38 are opened. This procedure will again reverse the hot fill base beverage liquid to be directed to the mixing station 40. The period in which the base liquid 14 is recirculating in the diverter coil 32 can be effectively used by the system operator to provide any of the a number of operations necessary to the system 110. For example, maintenance tasks of the current system below the junction of deviation, that is the junction of conduits 16 and 32, can be performed on a short-term basis, while maintaining the system ready for the production of drink almost immediately the completion of maintenance tasks. These tasks would otherwise have to be carried out since they were in the prior art systems, through the complete shutdown of the system, which then required the recalibration of the components of the system to achieve normal operation after the stoppage. Another task that can be easily performed during the recirculation of the hot-fill beverage base liquid 14 in the diverter coil 32 is the change in the flavor components injected into the hot-fill beverage base liquid stream, in the conduit 36, in the mixing station 40. While only two tanks 41, 50 are shown in FIGS. 1-4, the preferred configuration can take any of a number of shapes, for example, like many tanks 41, 50, etc. as there are desired flavors for the desired different flavored drinks that have been produced by the system. Other configurations or alternative modifications to those described will be evident for those who have ordinary skill. For example, one or more of the six- or seven-head rotary feeders described above can be used to provide the desired flavor or other heat sensitive ingredients by arranging the head or the desired heads of the feeders to inject one more of the ingredients into the dispenser. the hot-fill beverage base liquid stream passing through the conduit 36. After the hot-fill beverage base liquid 14 becomes flavored by the injection of the flavoring 39 or other ingredients, for example, acidifier 49, the flavored pasteurized liquid proceeds to a bottle filling station 60, or a liquid storage facility (not shown). For example, instead of bottling the liquid, the flavored pasteurized liquid can be stored in a sterile storage facility, such as a tank, a tank truck, or a tank rail truck, for eventual transport and / or storage. bottled in it and another bottling facility at a later time.

With reference now to FIG. 3, another embodiment of the inventive system 210 is illustrated. Because many of • the elements, for example, tank 12 and ducts 16, 36, are essentially identical in structure and function among the various modalities, the identical identification numbers will designate the identical elements. Different elements between the different modalities will only be discussed separately. With reference to the embodiment of the system 210 shown in FIG. 3, an additional element is illustrated in a balance tank 212, placed in line with the first conduit 16 between the base liquid tank 12 and the heater 20, which is connected by a conduit 216. Similarly, the coil conduit return redirection 32 passing through the deflection cooler 37 is preferably emptied into the balance tank 212 which stops the cooled base liquid 214 as a smaller reservoir than the main base liquid tank 12. The size of the balance tank it can be in the order of 2271-3028 liters (600-800 gallons), but can be modified to a smaller or larger volume, as necessary, depending on the balance needed for a sufficient volume deposit to maintain a permanent supply of hot filling beverage base liquid 214 in the balance tank, with the desire to easily and continuously renew the base liquid beverage filling in fresh hot 214 removed from the tank of the main base liquid 12. A similar tank, referred to as a filler supply tank 250 is placed on the line between the mixing station 40 and the bottle filling station 60, the tank 250 providing a continuous and permanent supply of pasteurized hot filling beverage to the beverage storage or bottle filling facility. The use of a separate filler supply tank 250, as shown in FIG. 3, allows the use of another preferred feature of the present invention. This feature is shown in FIG. 4, and still illustrates another embodiment of the invention. A second return coil arrangement 310 connects the filling station 60 with the filling equalizer tank 314, to return the unused flavored beverage from the filling station back to the filling supply tank 250. This flavored unused beverage can result, for example, of the overflow in the bottling process, which can be carried out in order to ensure the complete filling of the bottles. Also, in the bottle filling process, the beverage must be maintained at a sufficiently high pressure and temperature to fill the bottles efficiently and at a rate that is suitable for mass production.

In order to maintain the pressurization in the return coil duct 312, connecting from outside the filling station 60, an equalizing tank 314 is necessary to receive the overflow and / or unused pasteurized liquid which is injected into the bottles, shown by conduit 61. Equalizer tank 314 does not need to have as much volume as supply tank 250, for example, approximately 0.95 m3 (250 gallons). The return coil includes a conduit 318 that connects from the equalizing tank 314 back to the filling supply tank 250. Preferably, the conduit 318 includes an upper heater 320, in line with the conduit 318, which maintains the appropriate predetermined temperature of the flavored pasteurized drink. For example, the heater 320 may slightly increase the temperature to equalize the temperature of the flavored beverage that is received in the filler supply tank 250 from the mixing station 40. As discussed above, that temperature is ideally 83.3 ° C. (182 ° F), which is enough to retain the flavored sterile beverage, without affecting its ingredients that provide flavor, color and other characteristics. Beverages prepared according to this method and system are typically of the non-carbonated variety. They are formulations that are offered with a variety of taste or sensory characteristics. They often they include coloring components that typically vary with different flavoring regimes. Alternatively, beverages that vary in taste or sensory characteristics may have a consistent color. According to the invention, these types of components that vary from one flavored beverage product to another are included in the dosage component that is not subjected to hot filling. Other typical components and beverage products of these types include juices and teas. The juices and / or teas can be included in a variety of different levels, depending on the beverage product. A clear product would have nothing or very low levels of juices, juice concentrates or teas. These levels can be as low as about 0.1 weight percent for juices and about 0.02 weight percent for tea solids. An upper limit for tea solids is about 0.25 weight percent of the total beverage. While all juices could be at virtually any level, most of the products of this type discussed herein will be of the so-called type of diluted juice, for example, one that has no more than 40% by weight of fruit juice in the total beverage composition. The so-called juice products are characteristics of juice-containing beverages that are formulated with a flavor arrangement. Sweeteners such as sugars, sucrose and High fructose corn syrup can be added at levels as high as 12 percent by weight of the total weight of the beverage. The so-called non-caloric or artificial sweeteners can be included either alone or in combination with sugar. For example, aspartame or sucralose may be present at a level as high as about 350 ppm (0.035 weight percent) of the flavored beverage composition. Other flavored beverages may include up to 200 ppm (0.02 weight percent) of acesulfame-K and / or up to about 200 ppm (0.02 weight percent) of sucralose. These would be added as desired or necessary for sweetening and caloric content. Many flavored beverage products have a relatively low pH and / or may have an added acidulant, the most common acidulant in this regard being citric acid. A typical acidulant may be present between 0.01 and 0.05 weight percent of the beverage weight. Beverages of this type can have a pH in the range of 2.0 and 5.5, depending on the type of product that is produced. A moderate acid beverage product could have a pH in the range of about 2.2 to about 6.4. A more acidic type of beverage would have a pH in the range of between about 2.3 and about 4.2, more preferably between about 2.8 and about 4.2. Included in these drinks are the called isotonic drinks. Beverages of this type include additions of electrolytes and / or mixtures of salts. Such additives will often be present at levels between about 0.05 and 0.2 weight percent, based on the total weight of the beverage. These can provide a source of important minerals such as potassium, magnesium and calcium. All these additives can be added before or after the heat treatment step, depending on their sensitivity to temperatures. Individual vitamins or vitamin packs can be included as desired. Typical vitamins in this regard include L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E), Vitamin A, several so-called B vitamins including riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin B6, Vitamin V12, pantothenic acid and other essential vitamins and non-essentials such as Niacin. Carotenoids may also be included such as beta-carotene or provitamin A. Depending on the particular taste or sensory characteristic of the flavored beverage according to the invention, haze agents and the like may be included to give a different appearance and / or texture to drink. Anti-fungal agents can also be included to the extent necessary for the particular beverage. Certain flavor components can include emulsion factors and texturizers / stabilizers / thickeners. Examples include agar-agar, acacia gum, gum arabic, carrageenan gum, cellulose gum, gum is ester, gellan gum, guar gum, locust bean gum, tragacanth gum, xanthone gum, glycerol gum ester of rosin and pectin and starch. The flavor regimes may be oil-in-water emulsions or contain emulsion systems as components. Many of the beverage products made in accore with the method and system of the present invention contain significant amounts of water. The water contents can be as high as about 95 weight percent. Non-juice beverages or diluted juice beverages will have at least about 60 weight percent water. These percentages are based on the total weight of the flavored beverage product. The invention finds particular adaptability for isotonic type beverages, which typically have a water content of 80% by weight or higher. An example of a product in this regard has between about 90 and 92 weight percent water. The so-called water hardness will often be controlled. The usual hardness levels for these types of products are in the low to moderate range, which do not have more than about 120 ppm of the so-called hardness such as calcium carbonate.

It will be understood that the embodiments and examples of the present invention, which have been described, are illustrative of some applications of the principles of the present invention. Numerous changes, alterations or modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the above description is not to be considered limiting, but is only illustrative of the inventive concepts, the invention which is only limited by the following equivalent claims.

Claims (25)

1. CLAIMS 1. A process for the production of flavored hot fill drinks, characterized in that it comprises: providing a direct current of a pasteurized or commercially sterilized hot filling base beverage flowing through a duct, adding flavoring material directly to the hot-fill base beverage in the duct, and direct the flavored hot-fill beverage to a pasteurized hot-fill beverage storage facility for storing the hot-fill beverage for later use by a consumer. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the hot filling beverage storage facility further comprises a bottle filling station for filling a plurality of bottles with the flavored, pasteurized hot filling beverage and a plurality of bottles. of bottles are filled with flavored hot filling drink in the bottle filling station. 3. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the provision of the direct current of the base hot-fill beverage also comprises heating the base hot-fill beverage to a predetermined pasteurization temperature. The process according to claim 1, characterized in that the addition of the flavoring material directly to the base hot-fill beverage pasteurized in the duct further comprises: transferring the hot-fill base beverage to a mixing station through of the conduit; and mixing the hot fill base beverage with a first flavor obtained from a first flavor supply in fluid communication with the mixing station also under pressure greater than the pressure of the hot fill base beverage. 5. The process of according to claim 4, characterized in that it further comprises: removing the first flavor supply of the fluid communion with the mixing station, cleaning the second transfer duct from any residual mixture including the first flavor .. redirecting the transfer of the beverage hot filling base for flowing through the first transfer conduit including the mixing station, and mixing the hot fill base beverage with a second flavor material obtained from a second flavor supply in fluid communication with the mixed. 6. The process according to claim 4, characterized in that it further comprises injecting a flavor material of the flow stream of the base hot fill beverage under pressure. 7. The process in accordance with the claim 4, characterized in that the mixing further comprises injecting a flavor material into the flow stream of the hot fill base beverage to precisely control the injection rate of the hot fill base beverage by means of flow metering controls . 8. The process according to claim 7, characterized in that the injection of the flavor material into the flow stream of the hot-fill base beverage is adjustable on a real-time basis to control in a precise and continuous manner the proportion of Injection of the base hot fill beverage. The process according to claim 4, characterized in that the mixing further comprises injecting a flavor material into the flow stream of the base hot-fill beverage under pressure when using a positive displacement pump. 10. The process according to claim 4, characterized in that the mixing further comprises injecting an acidulant material into the flow stream of the base hot-fill beverage under pressure. 11. The process according to claim 10, characterized in that the mixing further comprises injecting the acidulant into the flow stream of the base hot-fill beverage under pressure when using a positive displacement pump. 12. The process of compliance with claim 10, characterized in that the mixing further comprises injecting the acidulant into the flow stream of the base hot-fill beverage using a Venturi effect. 13. The process in accordance with the claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises: diverting the transfer of the base hot-fill beverage in a bypass coil, the coil deviation that includes the pasteurization of the base hot-fill beverage but does not include the mixing of the base beverage of hot filling with the flavor obtained in the mixing station. 14. A flavored beverage product, characterized in that it is made by the process of claim 1. 15. In a process for the production of flavored hot-fill drinks, characterized in that it comprises: producing a base liquid, heating the base liquid to a predetermined commercial pasteurization or sterilization temperature in a hot-fill base beverage heating station, transferring the hot-fill base beverage to a mixing station through a first transfer conduit; mixing the hot-fill base beverage with a first flavor material obtained from a first flavor supply in fluid communication with the mixing station, transferring the mixture to a bottling station through a second transfer duct, and filling the mixing in bottles to produce a first batch of bottles containing a first flavored beverage; deflect the base liquid transfer in a coil that includes the heating station of the hot fill base beverage but not the mixing station, remove the first flavor supply from the fluid communication with the mixing station, clean the second conduit of transferring any residual mixture including the first flavor, redirecting the transfer of the hot fill base beverage to flow through the first transfer conduit including the mixing station, mixing the base hot fill beverage with a second flavor material obtained from a second flavor supply in fluid communication with the mixing station, transferring the mixture to a bottling station through a second transfer duct, and filling the mixture in bottles to produce a second batch of bottles containing a second flavored drink. The process according to claim 15, characterized in that the addition of flavoring material directly to the pasteurized hot filling base beverage in the duct further comprises: transferring the hot fill base beverage to a mixing station through the duct under pressure; and mixing the hot-fill base beverage with a first flavor obtained from a first flavor supply in fluid communication with the mixing station also under pressure greater than the pressure of the hot-fill base beverage. 17. A flavored beverage product, characterized in that it is made by the process of claim 15. 18. A system for the production of flavored drinks, characterized in that it comprises: a filling base beverage supply tank hot, a first transfer duct to transfer the hot fill base beverage from the hot fill base beverage tank, a heater in fluid communication with the hot fill base beverage supply tank through the first duct transfer to receive the base hot-fill beverage and to heat the base hot-fill beverage to a predetermined pasteurization temperature, a flavor mixing station, a second transfer conduit to transfer the heated hot-fill base beverage to the flavor mixing station from the heater, a transfer duct coil extension which provides fluid communication from a section of the second transfer duct back to the first transfer duct, a first and a second flavor supply capable of being selectively in fluid communication with the mixing station, a t erce transfer duct 'to transfer fluid from the mixing station, and a hot fill beverage storage facility for storing the filling beverage in hot for use by the consumer. 19. The system for the production of flavored beverages according to claim 18, characterized in that the hot filling beverage storage facility further comprises a bottle filling station capable of receiving the fluid from the flavor mixing station and for filling a desired plurality of bottles with a flavored beverage including a desired flavor injected from one of the flavor supplies, a deflection mechanism for selectively diverting the fluid communication in the second transfer duct from the heater to either the mixed or the first transfer duct. 20. The system for the production of flavored drinks according to claim 18, characterized in that it further comprises: a balance tank arranged in line with the first transfer conduit between the hot fill base beverage supply tank and the heater , and the transfer duct coil extension that provides fluid communication from a section of the second transfer duct to the balance tank. 21. The system for the production of flavored beverages according to claim 18, characterized in that it also comprises a filling station supply tank for supplying heated drink to the bottle filling station. 22. The system for the production of flavored beverages according to claim 21, characterized in that it also comprises a second extension of the feedback coil attached to the filling station to return the unused flavored beverage to the supply tank of the filling station . 23. The system for the production of flavored beverages according to claim 18, characterized in that it further comprises a containment tube in line with the first transfer conduit for retaining the hot-fill base beverage at the predetermined pasteurization temperature by minus a predetermined period of time sufficient to pasteurize the base hot fill beverage. 24. The system for the production of flavored drinks according to claim 23, characterized in that it also comprises a cooler adapted for cooling the flavored beverage to a predetermined filling temperature below the pasteurization temperature, the filling temperature predetermined that is suitable for hot filling the flavored beverage in the bottles. 25. The system for the production of flavored beverages according to claim 18, characterized in that the mixing station further comprises a positive displacement pump for injecting the flavor material into the hot fill beverage stream.