JPH09165017A - How to sterilize food containers - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To provide a method for sterilizing a food container capable of sterilizing a wide variety of bacterial species in a short time. A method for sterilizing a food container according to the present invention is characterized in that an inner aqueous solution and / or an outer surface of the food container are brought into contact with an aqueous alkaline solution containing active chlorine to sterilize the food container. A technical feature of the present invention is that an alkaline aqueous solution containing active chlorine is used as a bactericide for sterilizing the inner surface and / or the outer surface of a food container, not an alkaline aqueous solution alone. It becomes possible to sterilize in a time, and it becomes possible to sterilize a food container applied to a low acid food.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a method for sterilizing a container (hereinafter, simply referred to as “food container”) filled with various foods and drinks such as drinking water, juice, oolong tea and milk coffee. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for sterilizing a food container capable of reliably sterilizing a wide range of bacterial species in a short time.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When filling food containers with various foods and drinks such as drinking water and juice, the food containers are sterilized prior to filling. As a method for sterilizing a food container, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-156921. The outline is to bring warmed caustic soda into contact with the inner and outer walls of a plastic container for beverage, and further inject hot water to sterilize. It is described that sterilization can be performed. However, the above sterilization does not show a bactericidal action on a wide range of bacterial species, and shows little effect on bacteria that form spores, which are problematic especially when filling low-acid foods.

[0003]

The method of sterilizing food containers is not limited to the above-mentioned method of sterilizing with caustic soda, but it is required to sterilize a wide variety of bacterial species in a short time. Therefore, a sterilization method for food containers applied to low-acid foods such as milk coffee and barley tea is also required.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for sterilizing a food container which can sterilize a wide variety of bacterial species in a short time.

[0005]

The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above object, and is characterized by having the following constitution. That is, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for sterilizing a food container, which comprises sterilizing an inner surface and / or an outer surface of the food container by contacting an alkaline aqueous solution containing active chlorine.

[0006] According to the present invention, the method for sterilizing a food container according to claim 1, wherein the alkaline aqueous solution containing active chlorine is heated to 45 ° C to 95 ° C. A method is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, claim 1 or 2
A method for sterilizing a food container according to the above, wherein the alkalinity of the alkaline aqueous solution is 0.5 to 5.0%.

Further, according to the present invention, claims 1 to 3
The method for sterilizing a food container according to any one of 1, wherein the active chlorine has an active chlorine concentration of 1 in an alkaline aqueous solution.
A method of sterilizing a food container that is from 00 to 3000 ppm is provided.

[0009]

The technical feature of the invention according to claim 1 is that an alkaline aqueous solution containing active chlorine is used as a sterilizing agent for sterilizing at least the inner surface of a food container, instead of an alkaline aqueous solution alone. By using such a bactericide, the bactericidal effect of the alkaline aqueous solution,
It has an excellent feature that a wide range of bacterial species can be sterilized in a short time because the sterilizing effect of active chlorine is synergistically exhibited. In addition, by using an alkaline aqueous solution containing active chlorine as a bactericide (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as a bactericide), a food that exhibits a bactericidal effect even at room temperature without heating the bactericide A method of sterilizing a container is provided. In the sterilizing method according to the present invention, the sterilizing agent can exert the sterilizing effect as described above even at room temperature.
A more effective bactericidal effect is exhibited by heating above ℃.

The method for sterilizing a food container according to the present invention is carried out by bringing the bactericide into contact with the inner surface and / or the outer surface of the food container. Filling, dipping, etc. can be adopted.

As a method of bringing the disinfectant into contact with the inner surface of the food container by spraying, for example, a method of spraying the disinfectant from the mouth of the food container to the inside of the container with a nozzle or the like in an inverted state of the food container is adopted. it can. The injection flow velocity in this case varies depending on the volume of the food container to be sterilized and the like, but 100 ml / sec or more is preferably used, and more preferably 200 ml / sec or more. Moreover, in spraying the bactericidal agent onto the inner surface of the food container with a nozzle or the like, the spraying may be performed in plural times or may be continuously sprayed once. When the injection is divided into a plurality of times, there are advantages that the disinfectant of the disinfectant sprayed after the first injection can be suppressed and the disinfectant can be recovered and reused. Further, when the injection is performed once, there is an advantage that the sterilization time can be shortened.

Further, as a method for bringing the sterilizing agent into contact with the inner surface of the food container by filling the sterilizing agent in the container,
For example, it is possible to adopt a method in which a sterilizing agent is fully injected into a food container in an upright state by a nozzle or the like. Thus, by injecting a full amount, there is an effect that the entire inner surface of the food container can be sterilized. Also, by continuing to supply the bactericide even after the bactericide is full in the food container,
It is also possible to employ a method in which the bactericide is overflowed from the food container to sterilize not only the inner surface of the food container but also the outer surface.

Further, as a method of bringing the disinfectant into contact with the inner surface of the food container by dipping, for example, a method in which the food container is submerged in a tank in which the disinfectant is stored and the disinfectant is flown into the food container can be adopted. According to this method, not only the inner surface of the food container but also the outer surface can be sterilized.

In the present invention, the time for which the disinfectant is brought into contact with the inner surface of the food container varies depending on the alkalinity of the disinfectant, the bacterial species to be sterilized, etc., but is preferably 3 seconds to 3 minutes. If the contact time is shorter than 3 seconds, the sterilization tends to be insufficient, and it is not practical to contact for more than 3 minutes. In the present invention, examples of the alkaline aqueous solution include sodium hydroxide aqueous solution, potassium hydroxide aqueous solution, sodium carbonate aqueous solution, and the like.
It is preferable to use a sodium hydroxide aqueous solution (caustic soda aqueous solution) from the viewpoint of bactericidal power.

After sterilizing at least the inner surface of the food container by the above method for sterilizing the food container, it is preferable to sterilize the inner surface of the food container with warm water in order to wash away the disinfectant. In the present invention, the food container to be sterilized includes polyethylene terephthalate, which is abbreviated as PET bottle, plastic bottle such as polyolefin, and various plastic containers for filling food, or glass containers. Can be mentioned.

The technical feature of the method for sterilizing a food container according to the invention of claim 2 is that the alkaline aqueous solution containing active chlorine is heated to 45 ° C to 95 ° C. A wide range of bacterial species is surely killed in a short time.

In the method for sterilizing a food container according to the third aspect of the invention, the alkalinity of the alkaline aqueous solution is 0.5 to 5.0%, preferably 1.0 to 3.5%. When the alkalinity of the alkaline aqueous solution is less than 0.5%, the bactericidal effect tends to be difficult to be recognized, and when the alkalinity is more than 5.0%, it tends to be difficult to apply such as corrosion of the equipment used. In the present invention, the alkalinity is determined within the above range, but it is preferable to set the alkalinity to an appropriate level depending on the bacterial species to be sterilized, the temperature at which the bactericide is used, and the like.

In the food container sterilizing method according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the concentration of active chlorine in the alkaline aqueous solution is 100 to 3000 ppm, preferably 500 to 1000 ppm. If the active chlorine concentration of the active chlorine in the alkaline aqueous solution is lower than 100 ppm, the bactericidal effect tends to be difficult to be recognized, and if it exceeds 3000 ppm, it tends to be difficult to apply such as corrosion of equipment used.
In the present invention, the active chlorine concentration is determined within the above range, but it is preferable to set the active chlorine concentration to an appropriate concentration depending on the bacterial species to be sterilized, the use temperature of the bactericide, and the like.

[0019]

[Examples] Example 1 A test bacterium (Streptococcus faecalis) having a content of 150
Evenly on the inner surface of a 0 ml PET bottle, 1.2 × 10 ⁶ c
uf / bottle was attached to obtain a test bottle. The test bottle was filled with a sterilizing agent under the sterilization conditions shown in Table 1 in a container and discharged after a predetermined time (sterilization time) shown in Table 1 to remove the remaining chemical liquid. After washing with sterile water, the bactericidal effect was confirmed by the presence or absence of survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle, and the results are shown in Table 1. In addition,
In Table 1, "-" indicates that the sterilization was performed to a sufficient level, and "+" indicates that the sterilization level was insufficient.

Example 2 A test bacterium (Candia albicans) having an inner volume of 1500 ml
1.8 x 10 ⁶ cuf / evenly on the inner surface of PET bottle
The bottle was attached so as to form a bottle and used as a test bottle. The test bottle was sterilized and washed under the same conditions as in Example 1, and the sterilization effect was confirmed by the presence or absence of survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle after washing, and the results are shown in Table 1.

Example 3 The test bacterium (Aspergillus niger) had a content of 1500 m.
1.5 x 10 ⁶ cuf evenly on the inner surface of PET bottle
/ Adhesion was performed so as to form a bottle, which was used as a test bottle.
The test bottle was filled with a sterilizing agent under the sterilization conditions shown in Table 2 in a container, discharged after a predetermined time, and washed on the inner surface of the bottle in the same manner as in Example 1, and then the survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle. The bactericidal effect was confirmed depending on the presence or absence of the above, and is shown in Table 2. In Table 2, "-" indicates that the sterilization was performed to a sufficient level, and "+" indicates that the sterilization level was insufficient.

Example 4 A test bacterium (Bacillus subtilis) having a content of 1500 m
1.0 x 10 ⁶ cuf evenly on the inner surface of the PET bottle
/ Adhesion was performed so as to form a bottle, which was used as a test bottle.
The test bottle was filled with a sterilizing agent under the sterilization conditions shown in Table 3 in a container, discharged after a predetermined time, and washed on the inner surface of the bottle in the same manner as in Example 1, and then the survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle. The bactericidal effect was confirmed depending on the presence or absence of the above, and is shown in Table 3. In Table 3, "-" indicates that sterilization was performed to a sufficient level, and "+" indicates that the sterilization level was insufficient.

Example 5 The same test bacterium as in Example 4 was sterilized under the same conditions as in Example 4 except that the temperature of the bactericide was 70 ° C., and the bactericidal effect is shown in Table 3.

Comparative Example 1 Test bacterium similar to that in Example 1 (Streptococcus faecalis)
Was adhered to the inner surface of the bottle in the same manner as in Example 1, and the inside of the bottle was sterilized under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that the disinfectant did not contain active chlorine. After the sterilized bottle was washed under the same conditions as in Example 1, the survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle was confirmed, and the sterilizing effect was confirmed, and the results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 2 Similar to Example 2 except that the same test bacterium (Candia albicans) as in Example 2 was adhered to the inner surface of the bottle as in Example 2 and the bactericide did not contain active chlorine. Under conditions
The bottle was sterilized. After the sterilized bottle was washed under the same conditions as in Example 2, the sterilizing effect was confirmed by the presence or absence of survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle, and the results are shown in Table 1.

Comparative Example 3 Similar to Example 3, except that the same test bacterium (Aspergillus niger) as in Example 3 was adhered to the inner surface of the bottle in the same manner as in Example 3 and the bactericide did not contain active chlorine. Under the conditions, the sterilization in the bottle was performed. After the sterilized bottle was washed under the same conditions as in Example 3, the sterilizing effect was confirmed by the presence or absence of survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle, and the results are shown in Table 2.

Comparative Example 4 Similar to Example 3, except that the same test bacterium (Aspergillus niger) as in Example 3 was adhered to the inner surface of the bottle as in Example 3, and the bactericide did not contain an alkaline aqueous solution. Under the conditions, the sterilization in the bottle was performed. After the sterilized bottle was washed under the same conditions as in Example 3, the sterilizing effect was confirmed by the presence or absence of survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle, and the results are shown in Table 2.

Comparative Example 5 Similar to Example 4, except that the same test bacterium (Bacillus subtilis) as in Example 4 was adhered to the inner surface of the bottle in the same manner as in Example 4 and the bactericide did not contain active chlorine. Under the conditions, the sterilization in the bottle was performed. After the sterilized bottle was washed under the same conditions as in Example 4, the sterilizing effect was confirmed by the presence or absence of survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle, and the results are shown in Table 3.

Comparative Example 6 Sterilization was performed under the same conditions as in Comparative Example 5 except that the temperature of the bactericide was 70 ° C., and the sterilizing effect is shown in Table 3.

Comparative Example 7 Similar to Example 4 except that the same test bacterium (Bacillus subtilis) as in Example 4 was adhered to the inner surface of the bottle as in Example 4 and the bactericide did not contain an alkaline solution. Under the conditions, the sterilization in the bottle was performed. After the sterilized bottle was washed under the same conditions as in Example 4, the sterilizing effect was confirmed by the presence or absence of survival of bacteria on the inner surface of the bottle, and the results are shown in Table 3.

[0031]

[Table 1] From Table 1 above, in each of Example 1 and Example 2, Streptococcus faecalis and Candia a can be obtained in a short time of 1 minute.
While a sufficient level of sterilization was performed on each of the Lbicans, it was revealed that in Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, insufficient sterilization was possible even after the sterilization time of 3 minutes. .

[0032]

[Table 2] From Table 2 above, in Example 3, in a short time of 2 minutes, As
It was revealed that sufficient level of sterilization was performed against pergillus niger, whereas in Comparative Example 3 and Comparative Example 4, insufficient sterilization was possible even after the sterilization time of 3 minutes.

[0033]

[Table 3] From Table 3 above, in Example 4 and Example 5, sufficient sterilization against Bacillus subtilis was achieved in a short time of 10 seconds or 3 seconds, while Comparative Example 5 and Comparative Example 6 Also, in Comparative Example 7, it was revealed that insufficient sterilization was possible even if the sterilization time of 1 minute was taken.

[0034]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method of sterilizing a food container which can surely sterilize a wide range of bacterial species in a short time.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An inner surface and / or an outer surface of a food container,
A method for sterilizing a food container, which comprises sterilizing by contacting an alkaline aqueous solution containing active chlorine. 2. The method for sterilizing a food container according to claim 1, wherein the alkaline aqueous solution containing active chlorine is heated to 45 ° C. to 95 ° C. 3. The alkalinity of the aqueous alkali solution is
The method for sterilizing a food container according to claim 1 or 2, which is 0.5 to 5.0%. 4. The method for sterilizing a food container according to claim 1, wherein the active chlorine has an active chlorine concentration of 100 to 3000 ppm in an alkaline aqueous solution.