Two great tools for the sterility of food packaging

【Chinese Packaging Network News】Aseptic packaging includes the sterilization and sterilization of packaging materials, the sterilization of packaging contents and the sterilization of packaging environment. At present, the commonly used sterilization methods for packaging materials include drug sterilization and ultraviolet sterilization, which can be said to be two major tools for the sterility of food packaging.

1. The bactericide used in drug sterilization must be a drug with strong sterilizing ability, no corrosion to the equipment, no harmful substances in the sterilizing process, and less residue in the packaging material.

At present, the most commonly used bactericide is hydrogen peroxide, which is generally referred to as hydrogen peroxide. The bactericidal capacity of hydrogen peroxide is related to its concentration and temperature, and the higher the concentration and the higher the temperature, the better its ability to sterilize. Hydrogen peroxide, which is commonly used for sterilization, has a concentration of 25% to 30% and a temperature of 60 to 65 degrees Celsius. Sterilization with hydrogen peroxide should be combined with heat treatment because hydrogen peroxide will have better bactericidal efficacy when it is heated to evaporate from the surface of the material.

To sterilize the packaging containers with hydrogen peroxide, the packaging containers are immersed in hydrogen peroxide or directly sprayed on the packaging containers for sterilization, and then they are heat-radiated so that the hydrogen peroxide remaining on the packaging containers is completely evaporated together with the hot air. Decomposes into harmless water vapor and oxygen.

Secondly, in general, the sterilization effect of ultraviolet light is related to the wavelength, irradiation degree, and irradiation time of ultraviolet light, and the wavelength is most intense at about 250 to 360 nm.

The principle of ultraviolet sterilization is mainly because the nucleic acid in the microbial cells in the ultraviolet radiation produces a chemical reaction, which causes the metabolic disorder of the microorganism and causes it to lose its ability to proliferate. Ultraviolet sterilization is one of the more effective methods for aseptic packaging or clean packaging. It has the advantages of non-residues, high safety, easy use, and low cost. However, compared with hydrogen peroxide, its bactericidal effect is not very good, and it should generally be used in combination with other methods of sterilization.