JP3957024B2 - Aseptic condition monitoring method in aseptic filling method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention fills the sterilized container body with sterilized contents in a substantially aseptic aseptic filling area, such as practiced in the manufacture of some beverage cans, beverage plastic bottles, and the like. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for monitoring aseptic conditions in an aseptic filling area in such an aseptic filling method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In beverage canned foods that are filled and sealed in cans, it is usually heated under pressure to the canned food after filling and sealing the beverage as a sterilization treatment to prevent the filled beverage from decaying. A retort sterilization method in which high-temperature heating for a long time in the apparatus (for example, at 125 ° C. for 25 minutes) is applied, or for highly acidic fruit juice beverages having a pH of 4.5 or less, A hot filling method (hot pack) is applied in which the inside of the can is filled while being kept at 80 ° C. or higher, and after being sealed, the can is inverted and maintained at that temperature for at least 30 seconds, and then the can is cooled.
[0003]
However, according to such a heat sterilization method, although there is an advantage that the process control before and after filling an empty can with a beverage and sealing it is easy, in any case, It is difficult to rapidly cool the beverage after heat sterilization, and the beverage inside is kept at a high temperature for a relatively long time, so that the beverage itself (for example, freshly squeezed juice, The problem is that the taste and aroma of coffee, tea, green tea, soup, etc. will drop or the color will change.
[0004]
Therefore, in order to produce canned beverages with as little beverage heat history as possible and maintaining the original taste, aroma and color of the beverage as much as possible, a sterilized beverage quickly sterilized at a high temperature and rapidly cooled. Various so-called aseptic filling methods have been studied in the past, in which a sterilized empty can is filled in a substantially aseptic atmosphere and sealed with a sterilized can lid. According to the aseptic filling method, canned beverages can be produced while maintaining the original taste, fragrance and color of the beverage, and the long-time heat sterilization process like the retort sterilization method is eliminated. The manufacturing time can be shortened.
[0005]
For such an aseptic filling method, for example, as an air cleaning system for maintaining an aseptic atmosphere, among the spaces in the clean room, the beverage filling area and the can lid winding area are higher than other spaces. Maintaining the air cleanliness of the above has been conventionally known, for example, from a gazette (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-79956) relating to the applicant's application.
[0006]
In other words, when producing canned beverages by the aseptic filling method, the untreated empty cans supplied by the empty can supply device are sequentially sterilized while being transported and then cooled to the beverage filling machine in a substantially aseptic atmosphere. Beverages that are continuously fed and sterilized in a sterilized empty can in a substantially aseptic atmosphere by continuously supplying a beverage that has been sterilized by a beverage sterilizer in a short period of time to a beverage filling machine. After filling the can, it is sent to the can lid clamping machine in a substantially aseptic atmosphere, while the untreated can lid supplied from the can lid supplying device is sterilized by the can lid sterilizing device, Is supplied to the can lid winding machine, and the can filled with the can is sealed with a sterilized can lid in a substantially aseptic atmosphere.
[0007]
In order to carry out such an aseptic filling method, for example, among canned production lines installed in a clean room with a low level of air cleanliness (class 100,000) provided in a factory building, in particular, sterilized The empty can transportation path, the sterilized can lid supply path, the beverage filling machine, the transportation path from the beverage filling machine to the can lid clamping machine, and the can lid clamping machine are based on beverage filling and can lids. As an aseptic filling area for performing sealing in a substantially aseptic atmosphere, the air cleanliness is maintained at a high level (class 100), and further, the air cleanliness so as to surround such aseptic filling area. A clean room with a medium level (class 1,000) is defined in a clean room with a low air cleanliness level (class 100,000).
[0008]
The class of air cleanliness is according to the NASA standard, and indicates the cleanliness of air by the number of reference particles (particle diameter of 0.5 microns or more) present per predetermined space (ft ³ ). In the class 100, the number of reference particles is 11 to 100 particles / ft ³ , the class 1000 is 101 to 1000 particles / ft ³ , and the class 100,000 is 10,0001 to 100,000 particles / ft ³ . (Class 1 has 0 to 1 reference particles / ft ³ , and class 10 has 2 to 10 particles / ft ^3. )
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the aseptic filling method for canned beverages as described above, the beverage filling area and the can lid winding area of the canned production line are maintained at a high level (class 100) as an aseptic filling area. Although it is almost aseptic with a level of air cleanliness, there are very few (100 / ft ³ or less) particulates floating there, and rarely non-heat-resistant aqueous Since microorganisms such as fungi and sputum may exist, there is a possibility that these microorganisms may mix in the can and cause the contents to rot, and the occurrence of such deterioration cans is completely prevented. I can't.
[0010]
In order to prevent the mixing of microbes such as water-borne bacteria that can cause spoiled cans, the aseptic filling area in which a beverage filling device, can lid winding device, etc. are installed in a clean room (clean rooms containing each device) It is conceivable to maintain the booth and the transport path connected to each clean booth with an extremely high air cleanliness of less than class 10, but this requires enormous equipment costs and management and maintenance costs. Such a thing is practically impossible in view of economy.
[0011]
However, the generation of deterioration cans due to the contamination of microorganisms is inconvenient for a food company that manufactures even if it is a ratio of only a few cans per million cans. In order to prevent products such as After confirming that it does not become, canned goods are shipped.
[0012]
However, just by checking the presence or absence of a deterioration can after storage for a certain period of time, if for some reason microorganisms have entered the sterile filling area, it cannot be detected when microorganisms enter, Since it can only be determined when a broken can occurs in the can after storage, even if it is handled at that time, all the cans that have been accumulated and stored so far will contain microbial contamination. And, in the worst case, problems can arise where all of these cans must be disposed of.
[0013]
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems. Specifically, in the aseptic filling method, in order to be able to quickly cope with the case where microorganisms enter the aseptic filling area, the conventional technique is used. It is an object of the present invention to periodically monitor the presence or absence of microorganisms in an aseptic filling area simply by adding a simple device using the production operation system from No. 1.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention fills a sterilized container body with sterilized contents in a substantially aseptic aseptic filling area and seals it with a sterilized lid. In the aseptic filling method as described above, during the production operation for producing container-packed products , the liquid that is supplied into the aseptic filling area as part of the production operation system and then discharged as waste liquid outside the aseptic filling area is aseptic. Sampling the waste liquid periodically from the filling area to the outside of the aseptic filling area , filtering the sampling liquid with a filter, culturing the microorganisms attached to the filter, and testing for the presence of microorganisms Accordingly, a characterized in that for monitoring the sterility of aseptic filling area, whereby, have been conventionally used in production runs as part of the manufacturing production system Using the liquid, simply by providing simple equipment for sampling, the presence or absence of microorganisms inside the aseptic filling area can be periodically monitored.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the sterilization state monitoring method in the aseptic filling method of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 shows an outline of a canned beverage production line by an aseptic filling method, which is an object of implementation of the aseptic condition monitoring method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 provides an aseptic filling area in the beverage canned production line by the aseptic filling method. FIG. 3 schematically shows the arrangement of each sampling device for carrying out the sterility monitoring method of the present invention in the aseptic filling area of the canned beverage production line. .
[0017]
In the production line for canned beverages by the aseptic filling method as shown in FIG. 1, while transporting unprocessed empty cans continuously supplied by an empty can supply conveyor, first, in the chemical spraying device on the outer surface of the can, After spraying the chemical solution for sterilization treatment (aqueous solution of 5% by weight of hydrogen peroxide) on the outer peripheral surface and the outer surface of the can bottom, the chemical solution for sterilization treatment is applied to the inner surface of the empty can through the chemical spray device on the inner surface of the can. After spraying a 5% by weight aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide, it is fed into a heat sterilization oven.
[0018]
In the heat sterilization treatment oven, while transporting empty cans sprayed with chemicals on the inner and outer surfaces, they are heated with hot air (about 250 ° C) in a heating furnace to decompose and remove hydrogen peroxide from the attached chemicals. This completes the sterilization of the empty can.
[0019]
Next, after transporting the sterilized empty can carried out from the heat sterilization treatment oven, the surrounding air is cleaned with a clean air replacement device in a transport tunnel having a substantially aseptic atmosphere (air cleanliness is class 100). A clean booth with a nearly aseptic atmosphere (air cleanliness class 100) after the heated empty can is cooled to near the filling temperature of the contents by spraying aseptic water with a cooling device for sterilized empty cans Supply to the beverage filling machine installed inside.
[0020]
Then, in a beverage filling machine (filler) installed in a clean booth with a substantially aseptic atmosphere (air cleanliness is class 100), a cooled and sterilized empty can is heated at a high temperature in a short time with a beverage sterilizer. After filling a predetermined amount of sterilized beverage that has been sterilized and then cooled to the filling temperature, the can filled beverage can is passed through the can body transport path in the transport tunnel in a substantially aseptic atmosphere (air cleanliness is class 100). Supply to the lid winder.
[0021]
In a can lid wrapping machine (seamer) installed in a clean booth having a substantially aseptic atmosphere (air cleanliness is class 100), a canister sterilizer is provided with a substantially aseptic atmosphere (air) for each can filled with a beverage. After placing a sterilized can lid supplied through a chute with a cleanness of class 100), it is wrapped and sealed by a can lid wrapping machine, and then a predetermined outside of the clean room as a sterilized product of a beverage canned food Unload to the place by conveyor.
[0022]
Although not shown in the drawing, if necessary, depending on the beverage to be filled, before the can lid is attached to the beverage filled can in the can lid winding machine, the head in the upper portion of the beverage filled can The air in the space is replaced with sterilized nitrogen gas fed from a separate sterilized nitrogen gas supply device. By doing so, deterioration due to oxidation during storage of canned beverages can be prevented. In addition, when using a can with a thin barrel wall, a liquid nitrogen filling device (not shown) is used to add a predetermined amount of sterilized liquid nitrogen into the can before the can lid is attached, It is preferred to seal the can.
[0023]
In the canned beverage production line using the aseptic filling method as described above, the sterilized empty can transport path (transport tunnel covering the transport conveyor), the sterilized can lid supply path (transport tunnel covering the chute), and around the beverage filling machine (Clean booth), the transport path from the beverage filling machine to the can lid clamping machine (conveying tunnel covering the conveyor), and the area around the can lid clamping machine (clean booth) have high air cleanliness as an aseptic filling area The state of (Class 100) is maintained.
[0024]
That is, as shown in FIG. 2, a clean room with a low level of air cleanliness (class 100,000) is provided in the factory building, and the air cleanliness that accommodates most of the beverage canning production line is low level. In the clean room, a clean room with a medium level of air cleanliness (class 1,000) is provided, and further, this clean room with a medium level of air cleanliness has an aseptic filling area with an ULPA clean unit. A clean booth (and a transport tunnel communicating therewith) maintained at a high level (class 100) is provided.
[0025]
And the air pressure in the aseptic filling area with high air cleanliness (each clean booth and the transport tunnel communicating with it) is maintained at a pressure slightly higher than the air pressure in the clean room with medium air cleanliness. The air pressure in the clean room with medium air cleanliness is maintained at a pressure slightly higher than the air pressure in the clean room with low air cleanliness, and the air pressure in the clean room with low air cleanliness is It is slightly higher than or equal to the atmospheric pressure in the factory building.
[0026]
By the way, in the aseptic filling area where the air cleanliness is maintained at a high level (class 100) as described above, a beverage filling machine (filler), a can lid winding machine (seamer), etc. installed therein Each facility is initially sterilized by spraying steam superheated to 350 ° C by the super steam device into the clean booth through the super steam pipe and maintaining the state for about 10 minutes after reaching 150 ° C. After that, the sterilization by super steam is usually carried out in a cycle of several times to once a month.
[0027]
In addition to such sterilization by super steam, cleaning and sterilization of the surface of the can lid winding machine and cleaning and sterilization of the inner wall of the clean booth are performed by using a spray nozzle piped in the clean booth. The chemical booth, hot water, and hot water are sprayed sequentially on the inner wall of the clean booth, so that it is carried out before and after the end of daily production.
[0028]
Specifically, for example, before starting daily production, oxonia (product name: Ecolab Co., Ltd.) 4-5% × 70 ° C. × 5 minutes of chemical sterilization, sterile warm water 70 ° C. × 5 minutes of water washing, Aseptic hot water 90 ° C x 5 minutes hot water washing is performed sequentially, and after daily production, sterile hot water 70 ° C x 2 minutes water washing and TOPAX (product name: Ecolab Co., Ltd.) 2-5% x 70 Washing with a chemical solution at 5 ° C. for 5 minutes and washing with sterile hot water at 70 ° C. for 5 minutes are sequentially performed.
[0029]
In addition to the aseptic filling area in which each of the internal facilities is sterilized and the air cleanliness is maintained at a high level (class 100), it is periodically determined whether or not microorganisms have entered the aseptic filling area. A medium-level clean room surrounding the aseptic filling area is equipped with a sampling device for periodically collecting liquid that has been sprayed in the aseptic filling area during production operations and then discharged outside the aseptic filling area. (Class 1,000).
[0030]
That is, in the present embodiment, the conveyor lubricant (slider liquid) sprayed on the conveyance surface of the can body in the aseptic filling area and the sterile water attached to the can when the heat-sterilized empty can is cooled. For spilled beverages and the like, as shown in FIG. 3, each sampling device 1 installed at three locations in a medium level clean room (class 1,000), from a drain pan placed below the filler inlet conveyor The liquid discharged, the liquid discharged from the filler internal sampling tank on the filler outlet side, and the liquid discharged from the drain pan located below the can feed table near the seamer should be sampled periodically. ing.
[0031]
Conventionally, the conveyor lubricant (slider liquid) itself has been designed to reduce the frictional resistance between the beverage-filled can body and the transport surface (feed table) and prevent the beverage from spilling due to the shaking of the can body. It is generally used and is sprayed from a nozzle on the conveying surface during production operation. In this embodiment, in order to maintain a sterile condition, a conveyor lubricant is supplied. The inside of the pipe is sterilized by a chemical solution (oxonia), and the conveyor lubricant is sprayed after sterilization by a sterilization filter.
[0032]
For conveyor lubricant sanitizing filters, the filter replacement time can be specified by monitoring pressure fluctuations due to clogging of the filter, or the filter can be replaced at regular intervals by setting a period of use. The sterility is maintained by avoiding troubles.
[0033]
4 and 5 show one of sampling devices 1 (others) installed at three locations in a medium level clean room (class 1,000) in order to sample the conveyor lubricant discharged from the aseptic filling area. Is also the same).
[0034]
The sampling device 1 uses a sampling jar 11 having a capacity of about 2.4 liters as a temporary storage tank in the middle of the waste liquid main pipe 10 for flowing the conveyor lubricant discharged from the aseptic filling area to the drain pipe. A liquid collection pipe section 13 is branched from a bypass pipe 12 provided to communicate between the bottom of the sampling jar 11 and the downstream side of the waste liquid main pipe 10. And an automatic drain valve 16 is installed in the bypass pipe 12 downstream of the branch point with the liquid sampling pipe section 13. Is.
[0035]
With respect to the sampling of the liquid mainly composed of the conveyor lubricant by the sampling device 1, the liquid discharged mainly outside the aseptic filling area by closing the aseptic auto valve 15 and the automatic drain valve 16 (mainly the conveyor lubricant). Liquid) is stored in the sampling jar 11, a sterilized and empty sampling bottle 14 is attached to the end of the liquid sampling pipe section 13, and then the cept auto valve 15 is opened to convey the lubricant in the sampling jar 11. The agent is collected in the sampling bin 14 through the liquid sampling tube 13, the cept auto valve 15 is closed, the sampling bin 14 containing the conveyor lubricant is removed and collected, and the automatic drain valve 16 is opened. The liquid remaining in the sampling jar 11 is caused to flow from the bypass pipe 12 to the drain pipe through the waste liquid main pipe 10. And in, one of the sampling is completed.
[0036]
The sampling of the liquid by the sampling apparatus 1 as described above is performed in an execution cycle every 2 to 4 hours during production operation, and the sampled liquid (liquid mainly composed of a conveyor lubricant) is used as a membrane filter. The number of bacteria is measured by culturing the filtered filter.
[0037]
Note that the sterilization inside the sampling device 1 is performed simultaneously with the sterilization in the aseptic filling area (sterilization by oxonia) through the drainage path, and in this case, the aseptic auto valve 15 and the automatic drain valve 16 are provided. By being installed, by automatically controlling opening and closing them, the inside of the sampling device 1 can be surely sterilized to every corner of each pipe without introducing bacteria by human intervention.
[0038]
According to the sterility monitoring method of the present embodiment implemented using the sampling device 1 as described above, liquid that has been discharged outside through the sterilization filling area during production operation (mainly conveyor lubricant) Using a simple liquid sampling device 1, the presence or absence of microorganisms in the aseptic filling area can be compared with the case where the presence or absence of a deterioration can is inspected after storage for a certain period of time. Thus, it can be known within a short period of time (after culturing microorganisms with a filter obtained by filtering the sampling solution). As a result, the production quantity of defective products can be greatly reduced, the inside of the aseptic filling area can be quickly returned to the aseptic state, and the production of canned beverages can be resumed at an early stage.
[0039]
In the present embodiment, each sampling device 1 is installed in a clean room (class 1,000) with a medium level of air cleanliness provided so as to surround the aseptic filling area. Since the sampling liquid (liquid mainly composed of conveyor lubricant, including beverages spilled from cans and cooling water) is collected in a clean room with a medium level of air cleanliness, bacterial measurement data after culture The reliability is high.
[0040]
As mentioned above, although one embodiment of the sterilization state monitoring method in the aseptic filling method of the present invention has been described, the method of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment as described above. For example, a sampling solution is collected. The sampling device used for this purpose is not limited to the specific structure shown in the above embodiment, and in the above embodiment, a liquid mainly composed of a conveyor lubricant (slider liquid) is used as the sampling liquid. Although it is used, it is not limited to liquids mainly composed of such conveyor lubricants. For example , the clean booth after cleaning and sterilizing the surface of the can lid clamping machine and the inner wall of the clean booth before the start of daily manufacturing and after the end of manufacturing. It is also possible to carry out the washing water or hot water discharged outside as a sampling liquid.
[0041]
Furthermore, the contents are not limited to the aseptic filling method for canned beverages as shown in the above embodiment, but other contents (liquid food such as soup, solid food, mixed food of liquid and solid, and medicine) Needless to say, the method can be appropriately changed, such as being applicable to aseptic filling with other containers (glass bottles, plastic containers, paper containers, composite material containers, etc.).
[0042]
In addition, as a container used in the aseptic filling method, when using a lightweight plastic bottle such as a plastic bottle that is transported in a state in which the container is suspended with a thick neck sandwiched by a hanging conveyor, at least In the area where the suspension conveyor is installed, it is preferable to spray sterile water or a sterilizing solution for maintaining the inside of the clean booth in a sterile state at regular intervals, and collect this solution to obtain a sampling solution.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
According to the sterilization state monitoring method in the aseptic filling method of the present invention as described above, the microorganisms in the aseptic filling area can be obtained simply by adding a sampling device having a simple structure using a conventional production operation system. Presence / absence can be monitored on a regular basis, thereby quickly responding to the case where microorganisms enter the aseptic filling area. Therefore, compared to the case where a product manufactured by the aseptic filling method is subjected to quality inspection after storage for a certain period of time, a large amount of product has to be disposed of due to microorganisms entering the aseptic filling area. Profits can be prevented from being generated.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory flowchart showing an outline of a canned beverage production line by an aseptic filling method, which is one of the targets of implementation of the aseptic condition monitoring method of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing a structure for providing an aseptic filling area in a beverage canning production line by an aseptic filling method.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory side view showing an arrangement state of a sampling device for carrying out the aseptic condition monitoring method of the present invention in an aseptic filling area of a beverage can manufacturing line.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a sampling device used for carrying out the aseptic condition monitoring method of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of piping of the sampling device shown in FIG. 4;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sampling apparatus 10 Waste liquid main pipe 11 Sampling jar 12 Bypass pipe 13 Liquid collection pipe part 14 Sampling bin 14
15 Aseptic auto valve 16 Automatic drain valve

Claims (3)

To produce a container-packed product in an aseptic filling method in which a sterilized container body is filled with sterilized contents and sealed with a sterilized lid in a substantially aseptic aseptic filling area. During the production operation of the pipe, the liquid that is supplied into the aseptic filling area as part of the production operation system and then discharged as waste liquid outside the aseptic filling area, and the pipe that discharges the waste liquid from inside the aseptic filling area to the outside of the aseptic filling area The sterilization condition in the aseptic filling area is monitored by sampling periodically in the middle, filtering the sampling solution through a filter, culturing the microorganisms adhering to the filter, and checking for the presence of microorganisms. Aseptic condition monitoring method in the aseptic filling method. The aseptic condition in the aseptic filling method according to claim 1, wherein the container body is a can body, and the liquid to be sampled is a liquid mainly composed of a conveyor lubricant sprayed on the transport surface of the can body. Monitoring method. The aseptic filling according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the place where the liquid is sampled is in a clean room in which clean air having a lower air cleanliness than clean air supplied in the aseptic filling area is supplied. Aseptic condition monitoring method in the method.

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