Reliable disinfection with pulsed UV light for food and beverage packaging materials

To ensure that food and beverage products remain fresh and edible for as long as possible, strict hygienic conditions must be met, not only in terms of product quality but also during the filling and packaging process. Low-germ packaging materials are essential, especially for microbiologically demanding products such as food.

When designing modern systems, there are additional challenges such as particularly fast cycles, limited space and specifications for germ reduction >Log4.

At the Anuga FoodTec trade fair in Cologne, Excelitas Noblelight will be presenting disinfection solutions with pulsed UV technology and infrared systems for germ reduction in food.

Reliable disinfection with pulsed UV light for food and beverage packaging materials

Kleinostheim, March 14, 2024

"The topic of food safety is currently the subject of much discussion. The influence of production equipment on the quality of food products and beverages is rated very highly by manufacturers. With the new BlueLight Flash system, we meet the hygiene standards currently in force and offer excellent disinfection performance. This provides considerable added value for customers operating filling machines in the food industry," explains Julian Priddle, Product Manager at Excelitas Noblelight.

Packaging surfaces can be treated using various methods. The latest developments, such as pulsed light technology, inactivate germs on surfaces in fractions of a second and enable maximum production speeds: Germ reduction of >log4 at a speed of up to 90,000 bph (bottles per hour) - completely without chemicals.

Retrofittable to existing plants

Excelitas Noblelight has expanded its successful BlueLight disinfection product range to include the new powerful pulsed light solution that is ideal for high-speed food and beverage packaging disinfection of liquid and viscous foods, including beverage bottle caps, pots, tubs, and sealing foils.

The BlueLight Flash Disinfection System is compact, easy to integrate into any orientation, and can be retrofitted to existing plants.

Sustainable, safe, and green

Compared to thermal processes, treatment with intense UV light is a reliable and economical method that eliminates the use of chemicals: high production speeds with the most effective germicide for machines used in beverage and diary processes. The new BlueLight Flash system uses pulsed light technology to provide instant disinfection, with no warm-up time, even at high machine speeds which can be adopted to different process requirements inclusive cap diameters between 26 and 55 millimeters.

The typical BlueLight hygienic and safety requirements, such as glass breakage detector and intelligent feedback are also considered. The integrated HMI interface allows to easily adapt the system to the customers process. Easy and user-friendly handling, low power consumption and the use of unique and sustainable flash lamp technology reduce the CO2 footprint.

Outlook: There are also exciting product developments for the special challenges of UV disinfection for dairy pots and lids. At the trade fair, Excelitas Noblelight will be providing an insight into upcoming additions to the BlueLight Flash product family for the dairy industry.

Find out more at Anuga FoodTec from Excelitas Noblelight (Hall 8.1 Stand C98/ D99) about how specialty light sources with UV- and infrared-technology can optimise your filling and packaging process or improve food germ reduction.