The automated machine is suitable for sauces, dressings, pastes, dips, soups and other prepared food applications and can move from one recipe to another with the push of a button.
Aseptic, in hot fill or a pasteurizer for fresh products
Anders Yngwe Söderstjerna, manager of Tetra Pak’s centre of expertise for prepared food, told FoodProductionDaily, this is the first time it has offered a predefined pasteurizer in the prepared food segment.
“The pasteurizer is designed for a range of production scenarios, from aseptic, in hot fill or as a pasteurizer for fresh products,” he said.
“This flexibility in itself increases the amount of products the unit can be used to produce. It’s also a source of investment protection as the unit can be used with different production methods and different products as consumer tastes change and evolve.
“The flexibility means a customer is not tied into using the unit for just one type of processing, as is often the case with less flexible units.”
Standalone system or integrated with Tetra Pak equipment
Söderstjernaadded the equipment is designed to work with its other machinery used by existing customers.
“For example, a customer may already be using a Tetra Pak processing unit before the pasteurization/sterilization process, for example in ingredient blending, or later on, to provide the packaging,” he said.
“This unit is designed to work well with our other equipment thereby providing a single line.”
Söderstjernarefused to comment on the price of the machine as he said it ‘varies on the level of customer customization’ but the unit is designed to be highly efficient and low maintenance.
“That means we can demonstrate once you factor everything beyond the investment cost involved in running a processing unit (such as product wastage, cleaning, spare parts and servicing etc.) the overall cost of our unit is lower.”
Pasteurizer PF can be operated either as a standalone system or integrated with other Tetra Pak equipment on a processing line. For example, a processing line for tomatoes would include ingredient blending/emulsification/powder dissolving/pre-heating on a Tetra Pak High Shear Mixer; or in the pasteurization/aseptic processing/sterilization; Tetra Pak Pasteurizer PF.
Its modular format allows for more functions to be added in stages, such as deaeration of the product, Tetra Alrox; homogenisation, Tetra Pak Homogenizer and extended holding time, Spiral Holding cell.