The company believes that its new RotaTherm (RT) aseptic system gives manufacturers an edge over traditional aseptic systems such as retort and SSHE because there is no product burn-on, and because the system has the ability to handle highly viscous products and aseptically process particulates up to 25mm.
The company also claims that the process delivers improved taste and nutritional value due to the system's HTST (High Temperature, Short time) cooker heating profile, long run non-stop production and more compact footprint.
The process will therefore allow food companies to manufacture food at prime freshness and peak supply, then store or ship the product at ambient temperature for future use. The development of the system comes in response to current trends in food manufacturing, where consumable products being locally manufactured and globally consumed.
As GPI points out, this means that manufacturers are increasingly facing the problem of product spoilage, limited short shelf life, seasonal based supply and lack of refrigeration at destinations both locally and globally.
The GPI aseptic RT is a totally enclosed sterile system. The process commences with steam sterilisation of the entire Aseptic RotaTherm system. The system can run straight to product (not water), so minimising start up waste.
Throughout the process steam barriers ensure there is no ingress of unsterilised air. The GPI system also uses proprietary steam injectors to prevent product suck back. The aseptically processed product is supplied to aseptic packaging in a sealed sterile chamber.
In addition, the aseptic RotaTherm system has diverse application flexibility to produce safe ambient consumable product for manufacturers in various key markets including consumer products, industrial food usage and seasonal food processors such as fruit purees and tomato pastes.
Aseptic processing through heat sterilisation destroys all micro-organisms and spores, giving food products a longer ambient shelf life. According to the Aseptic Packaging Council (APC), the aseptic process combines the best attributes of paper, plastic, and aluminium.
The multi-layer, high-performance aseptic package is designed to lock out light and air, seal in nutrients and flavour and allows its contents to remain un-refrigerated for months.
The APC says that the aseptic process, which goes hand-in-hand with the packaging, is a major advance over traditional canning techniques; so much so that it has been hailed as "the most significant food science innovation of the last 50 years" by the Institute of Food Technologists. It is also environmentally friendly: it requires less material and uses far less energy to manufacture, fill, ship, and store than virtually any other comparable package on the market.