German show will see latest options for PET bottle sterilisation, barrier, blow moulding and filling

Food safety, quality and shelf-life will be key concerns for KHS when it shows its newest PET blowing and filling systems, including the latest InnoPET aseptic and Plasmax barrier technologies, at the Anuga FoodTec show in March. 

The company says its InnoPET BloFill ACF-R rotary aseptic block has a filling capacity of up to 36,000 litre bottles an hour. In the future, it says it will offer output of 48,000 half-litre bottles an hour. Machine design achieves sterility levels inside the bottle of log 6, KHS adds. 

Chief sales officer Tobias Wetzel points out that the company’s blocks incorporating linear aseptic fillers have long proven themselves in the filling of sensitive beverages into PET. “The newly developed rotary aseptic filler in the higher capacity range is thus the next logical step,” he says. 

In terms of hygiene, KHS says it focuses on bottle rather than preform sterilisation. This can be combined with the company’s FreshSafe PET coating system, with its additional barrier protection. Any microbial contamination is removed from the container directly before the filling stage. This approach is said to give fillers greater flexibility to perform format changeovers, where switching the moulds can otherwise compromise the sterile state of the equipment. 

For another approach to barrier protection, KHS will also demonstrate the latest generation of Plasmax coating. This process deposits a wafer-thin layer of chemically pure glass on the inside of the PET bottle, while not affecting the recyclability of the container. It has been successfully applied to bottles for fruit juice, wine, beer and soft drinks, among other products, protecting them from oxidation and loss of CO2. The latest version of Plasmax is said to achieve improved levels of quality and efficiency. 

Anuga will run from 19 to 22 March in Cologne, Germany. 

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