Beverage giant seeks natural solution to yeast and mold spoilage in acidic beverages
In a posting on the website NineSights, open innovation expert NineSigma says it is “representing a Fortune 500 Packaged Foods Company” that produces many products that require a hot fill to reduce cross contamination and sterilize the container.
Lower temperature-filling, lighter PET bottles
The client wants to reduce the filling temperature of high acid beverages from 175-185°F to less than 150°F so that cheaper, lighter weight PET bottles can be used, or cost savings can be realized by eliminating the heat set step for PET bottle production, explains NineSigma.
“New, natural additives that can preserve sterility and prevent cross contamination at filling could enable a lower temperature fill process, allowing for lighter weight bottles and/or elimination of heat set for PET bottles.
“Both changes would result in lower cost materials.”
Solutions must be natural, safe, with minimum taste impact
Solutions must be natural and safe; prevent mold/yeast over a 12-month shelf-life, enable filling temperature below 150°F in an open-fill system and have a neutral/minimal taste impact.
Crucially, they must not introduce significant additional capital equipment investment, while the cost savings achieved through using lower temperatures and lighter bottles must be greater than the incremental food additive cost.
“[Our] client is not interested in process alterations that require significant changes in infrastructure … [such as] systems that create a nitrogen headspace”, adds NineSigma, which is asking interested parties to respond by November 30.
What is NineSigma?
Open innovation expert NineSigma set up shop in 2000 as a matchmaking service for Fortune 500 companies, and has helped R&D teams at some of the biggest consumer packaged goods companies in the world find partners and collaborators.
Its clients include Kraft, Philips, L’Oreal and Unilever, which use its services to solve immediate challenges, fill product pipelines, integrate new knowledge into their organizations, close development gaps, and improve financial performance.
Click here for more details about the beverage challenge and how to respond.
