PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2019

BOTTLING / FILLING PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 03/19 www.petpla.net 22 Installation of an aseptic bottling line at Food Union’s Dong Ying dairy factory An entire line for dairy processing Serac’s engineering services were contracted to manage the conception and implementation of a full aseptic bottling line for dairy products, which commenced production in June 2018 in Dong Ying, China. Dong Ying is one of two liquid dairy plants that were simultaneously conceived, engineered and constructed for Food Union under the stewardship of SPX Flow. It makes use of advanced technology to set new standards for dairy processing in China, and to meet the Chinese government’s drive to enhance safety, quality and sustainability capabilities in national dairy production. From bottle blow-moulding to shrinkwrapping Serac led the development of the entire line, which is made up of a stretch blow-moulder; an aseptic filler- capper; label and shrink sleeve appli- cators; plus secondary and tertiary packaging units. The objective was to deliver the most advanced and up- to-date solutions in terms of hygiene, efficiency and packaging to support Food Union’s (FUN) vision of innova- tion in China. The project included equipment selection, integration follow-up, fac- tory acceptance tests and site accept- ance tests, for which Serac assumed full responsibility and acted as FUN’s single point of contact. Serac’s assignment is a worldwide leader in low-acid products aseptic bottling solutions. It has 44 years of experience in the field and currently has over 78 lines running. A single line for viscous and liquid products The dairy bottling line in Dong Ying is used for UHT milks and other milk-based drink and, consequently, has to handle a range of viscosity. All the products are bottled on the same line through Serac’s Multiflow nozzles, which automatically adapt to viscosity and to three different bottle formats. Serac says the line benefited from Serac’s expertise in changeover man- agement. It is designed to be highly flexible in order to maximise produc- tion capacity. Highly secure process The line has been validated according to European protocols for aseptic machines. The filling and capping unit uses the most advanced aseptic technology, to ensure no particles enter the sterile zone, which holds only the very minimum neces- sary amount of equipment. Particular attention has been paid to H 2 O 2 vapour bottle decontamina- tion, which is highly secured and fully traceable. The process is defined and validated for each bottle format through challenge tests, and continu- ously monitored during production through Serac’s patented probe. Changing China’s dairy products landscape with premium products and attractive packaging Serac says that aseptic bottling is the final stage of an entire pro- cess dedicated to taste, nutritional value and food safety, which relies on breakthrough technologies to produce premium quality products. Designed to entice Chinese consumers and meet their convenience requirements, FUN products were to be presented in an appealing, reclosable packaging. White PET bottles, which are increas- ingly used on Chinese premium market segments, were chosen for packaging. Serac also provided sup- port at the bottle specification stage. Although Serac has over 50 filling lines operating in China, Dong Ying is only the second fully aseptic solution. PET bottles are gaining market share compared with cartons; this trend, along with Food Union’s quest to play a leading role in the transformation of the Chinese dairy market, means that aseptic filling is also likely to see growth in the country. www.serac-inc.com Serac aseptic filler installed at Food Union Filling Special