JPH01240177A - Method for packaging - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable distribution at ordinary temperature and remarkably shorten steps of sterilization after packaging, etc., by thermally processing a high- viscosity food or pet food and packaging the resultant processed food still kept in a germ-free state with a germ-free packaging material. CONSTITUTION:A food, such as rice cake, cattle meat product, fish meat product or diary product, or pet food is thermally kneaded at >=125 deg.C temperature in a twin-screw extruder and sterilized while being accompanied with a change, such as deaeration, dehydration or expansion. The resultant sterilized food or pet food is then filled in a pouch, molded product, etc., consisting of a sterilized packaging material in a germ-free chamber and then hermetically sealed mainly by heat-sealing, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method for packaging food or pet food, and more particularly to a method for processing food or pet food, simultaneously sterilizing it, and sealingly packaging it in an aseptic state.

[Conventional technology]

Traditionally, canned food, which is sterilized at high heat after packaging, is a method for distributing food that rots or molds at room temperature in an aseptic state.
There are retort foods available. On the other hand, freezing without sterilization,
Another way to preserve food is by refrigeration.

However, the former method requires two steps of sterilization after packaging, which is complicated and costly, while the latter method requires high energy costs for storage.

In contrast, aseptic packaging, in which sterilized foods are packaged in sterilized packaging materials, has recently become popular. For example, in the case of potion milk, the milk is sterilized using high heat, then filled in a packaging material sterilized with hydrogen peroxide in a sterile chamber and sealed. The products that are packaged aseptically in this way include milk;
Juice, alcohol, jelly, pudding, etc., which were prepared in advance as food, were sterilized and were limited to foods with good fluidity.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention heat-processes high viscosity food or pet food,
It solves the problem of making it possible to package the product in sterile packaging material while maintaining its sterile state and allow it to be distributed at room temperature.It also makes it possible to significantly shorten the process of boiling, retort sterilization, etc. after packaging the contents. It is something to be solved.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention, which solves the above problems, uses a twin-screw extruder to
This packaging method is characterized by filling and sealing sterilized packaging material with food or pet food heated and kneaded at a temperature of 5° C. or higher in a sterile chamber.

Hereinafter, the method of the present invention will be specifically explained according to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the packaging method of the present invention, and the second
The figure is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a packaged product of an example to be described later.

In FIG. 1, raw materials are introduced into the raw material input port 2 of the twin-screw extruder Ja1, and the temperature of the extruder 1 is set to 125° C. or higher, so that the material temperature within the extruder 1 is 125° C. or higher.

Auxiliary raw materials such as solid, liquid, or gaseous seasonings, fats and oils, and gas for foaming are inputted through the auxiliary raw material input port 3.

Inside the extruder 1, two screws 4 perform operations such as mixing, kneading, pulverizing, shearing, and compressing. It is also possible to carry out operations such as deaeration and dehydration before the tip of the extruder Ja,1. Further, the portions after the tip of the extruder 1 may be heated or cooled.

The food or pet food heated and kneaded at a temperature of 125° C. or higher by the extruder 1 as described above is introduced into the sterile chamber 5 and filled into sterilized packaging material (not shown) through the filling nozzle 6. .

Since the extruder 1 is continuous and the filling nozzle 6 operates intermittently, an accumulator 7 is installed in the sterile chamber 5.
It is preferable to provide The accumulator 7 is pressurized at a pressure lower than the pressure of the cooked food entering it, so that filling from the filling nozzle 6 is smooth.

The twin screw extruder 1 in the present invention may rotate in the same direction or in different directions. Furthermore, the two screws 4 may be of an interlocking type, a partially interlocking type, or a non-interlocking type.

In the present invention, the twin-screw extruder 1 is used because extrusion is easy regardless of the viscosity and properties of the packaged material, and the reason is that
This is because processing operations such as crushing and shear compression can be selected from a wide range. In addition, heat kneading is performed in the twin-screw extruder 1.
The reason why the kneading is carried out at a temperature of 25°C is because the heating conditions are necessary to kill bacteria and mold spores, and it is usually preferable to heat and knead at a temperature of 125 to 250°C.

The inside of the sterile chamber 5 is maintained in a sterile state by keeping the air pressure higher than the outside pressure by passing air through a sterilizable filter such as a HEPA filter. Furthermore, before starting the operation, the inside of the chamber 5 is sterilized using chemicals, high-temperature steam, or the like.

Examples of packaging materials include pouches made of film, bag-in-boxes, stand-up pouches, shallowly drawn products, molded containers made of sheets, injection molded containers, and the like. Of course, a laminate made of film, metal foil, etc. is used as a lid material for the molded container.

Sterilization of the packaging material may be carried out in the sterile chamber 5 or in advance by means of hydrogen peroxide, chlorides, organic acids, ultraviolet light, ethylene oxide, gamma rays, electron beams, high temperature steam, etc.

It is also possible to sterilize the packaging material in the sterile chamber 5 and then form a film into a bag or a sheet.

Food or pet food heated and kneaded in a twin-screw extruder 1 is filled into pouches, molded products, etc. made of sterilized packaging materials as described above through a filling nozzle 6 in a sterile chamber 5, and is mainly heat-sealed. to obtain a packaged product.

In the present invention, the contents to be filled in the packaging material include foods such as mochi, meat products, fish products, dairy products, etc.
Or pet food, etc.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, cooked food or pet food is sterilized by heating and kneading at a temperature of 125° C. or higher in a twin-screw extruder while undergoing changes such as deaeration, dehydration, foaming, etc., and the food is then placed in a sterile chamber. By packaging aseptically with sterile packaging materials, it is possible to package the product in sterile packaging material and distribute it at room temperature while maintaining the sterile state, and to significantly shorten the process of boiling, retort sterilization, etc. after packaging the contents. becomes possible.

[Example] Steamed sticky rice was fed into the hopper of a twin-screw extruder.
The mixture is kneaded in the same extruder set at ℃ to form a rice cake. On the other hand, a coextruded film consisting of 100 μm of polypropylene/30 μm of modified polypropylene/20 μm of nylon was fed into a sterile chamber, immersed in hydrogen peroxide solution, dried, and then vacuum formed into a size of 50 mm x 80 mm with a depth of 10 mm. The mochi extruded from the twin-screw extruder is filled through a filling nozzle.

In addition, a laminated film of 30μ consisting of 12μ of biaxially oriented polyester/15μ of biaxially oriented nylon/1:1 mixture of high-density polyethylene and polypropylene obtained by dry lamination was supplied to the above-mentioned sterile chamber, and immersed in hydrogen peroxide solution. After drying, the molded product filled with rice cake was heat-sealed and sealed as a lid material to obtain a packaged product shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, 8 is a molded container, 9 is a lid material, and IO is a rice cake. This product was stored at 37°C for 3 months, but no changes were observed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the packaging method of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the packaged product of the example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Twin-screw extruder, 2... Raw material input port, 3... Sub-raw material input port, 4... Screw, 5... Aseptic chamber, 6... Filling nozzle, 7... Accumulator, 8... Molded container, 9... Lid material, 10... Mochi.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A packaging method characterized by filling and sealing sterilized packaging material in a sterile chamber with food or pet food heated and kneaded at a temperature of 125° C. or higher using a twin-screw extruder. (2) The packaging method according to claim 1, wherein the packaging material is sterilized in a sterile chamber. (3) The packaging method according to claim 1, wherein the food is any one of mochi, livestock meat products, fish products, and dairy products.