Hot-fill, cook-seal pasteurising for shelf stability

The firm recently designed a water-based hot-fill system for an egg product supplier that wanted an optimum process for pasteurising liquid eggs packaged in pouches for foodservice.

The pasteurisation process would require heating and chilling the liquid eggs, and ensuring the mechanical handling of the product maintains the pouch's integrity and protects the eating quality of the eggs when served.

Unitherm developed a system to hot-fill the liquid eggs into a pouch, then to transfer the pouches to a hot water bath where they are pasteurised while cooked, and taken inline to a water chill system.

"The chilling needed a combination of drenching and water bath, because the eggs float in the pouch," explains Unitherm's sales manager of food processing equipment Adam Cowherd. "The end result is a product that is very shelf-stable. The same process will work for other pouched meals."​

Contact: Unitherm Food Systems​