Filling solutions for plant-based beverages
GEA is a global specialist in filling technology and offers complete filling lines for milk and milk-based products in PET and HDPE bottles from raw material to packaged products.
From a niche sector, aimed at consumers looking for a valid alternative to milk due to health problems such as lactose intolerances and allergies to milk proteins, in recent years plant-based drinks have experienced a boom in consumption, to be attributed to the spread of new eating habits aimed at pursuing healthier lifestyles and reducing the ecological impact of some foods.
The dairy alternative industry includes 100% plant-based beverages, made from beans, nuts, seeds or grains. Manufacturers cater to increasingly sophisticated consumer tastes by creating unique formulations - which can combine different raw materials or can be enriched with nutrients - and by investing in high levels of innovation, premium and sustainable ingredients and also quality manufacturing processes.
Plant-based beverage production provide some additional challenges compared to conventional milk drinks: the product formulation is one of them, since there is a wide variety of raw materials that can be used in different combinations and each one has completely different physical and organoleptic features. Furthermore, the variations that a single ingredient could present depending on the season, cultivation conditions, local production, can have an impact on the microbial load that comes from the seeds and is carried away after extraction.
Working with raw ingredients which brings an increased risk of residues such as soy, tree nut or gluten proteins thus significantly increases the risk of contamination and biological spoilage if not properly managed.
Targeting sensitive beverages
With the ABF technology, LA and HA aseptic beverages with different shelf lives can be filled on the same system
GEA has developed a wide range of expertise to address such challenges, focusing on aseptic technologies that ensure long-term product shelf life and food safety.
When it comes to product safety assurance, the GEA Aseptic Blow Fill System ABF 2.0 represents the state of the art in the aseptic technology and especially targets the production of such products with enhanced sensitivity. To guarantee a fully reliable and consistent aseptic process it features a fully automated monitoring of the entire running operation. This is exactly the concept behind the GEA ABF 2.0.
Reducing time to market for innovative beverages
In order to support companies in succeeding in the launch of new and innovative plant-based beverages, GEA offers the capability and expertise of the GEA Test Center for Aseptic Processing & Filling which is a key enabler for new product development which can reduce time to market.
The GEA Test Center offers customers the opportunity to replicate a real end-to-end production plant process for sensitive beverages. Merged with a modular approach and real GEA commercial technologies in one connected process, customers, can test and refine the formulation of new products, verify the effectiveness of the treatments and processes and optimize them before full-scale production. Customers are supported at all times by the extensive expertise and insight of the GEA engineering team.
Gentle handling of pieces in aseptic conditions
The Fillstar PX aseptic piston doser is part of the Aseptic Dual Filling System, suitable for sensitive beverages containing large pieces of fruit or cereals
The addition of fruit or seed particles in a large variety of dimensions is a growing trend for this application in the more urbanized societies where energetic people with little time asking for meals on the go.
At the GEA Test Center it is also possible to experience the exclusive Dual Fill technology. The GEA aseptic solution for dosing large, hard or even very fragile particles that minimizes the rate of destruction and maximizes dosing accuracy, facilitating the creation of innovative and premium beverages. Pioneers in implementing dual fill technology as part of an aseptic cold fill process, GEA provides a proven solution that several customers have already successfully utilized to improve the quality of their final product by enabling additional nutritional content and unique organoleptic sensorial experiences.
Sustainability credentials
Final customers expect plant-based drinks to have similar organoleptic and sensory properties such as texture, creaminess and mouthfeel compared to traditional dairy products, and to be prepared with premium ingredients and high quality manufacturing processes. But they also expect them to have minimal environmental impact.
A significant contribution is given by the aseptic technology which reduces the dependance on cold chain logistics and allows a substantial decrease in energy consumption. Aseptic technology makes it possible to extend the shelf life of the product, guaranteeing its safety and quality; the consequent reduction of food spoilage in turn results in waste reduction, an important lever in addressing today's environmental challenges.
Another way to reduce the carbon footprint relies on reducing the plastic content and improving the content of the recyclable portions. But it is essential to maintain the protection performances of the packaging especially when it comes to sensitive beverages. Dairy manufacturers can find improvements in carbon footprint reductions by reconsidering conventional packaging concepts, by reducing packaging materials and including recycled material in regards of plastic primary and secondary packaging.
Unlike other plastics, replacing PET with recycled PET (rPET) does not affect the functional characteristic and recyclability of the container so it is possible to make a substantial improvement in this direction.
GEA is in the front line in delivering such kind of sustainable solutions, making a clear commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions along its entire value chain by 2040. As GEA we are integrating our entire value chain into this effort, including both direct and indirect emissions and by doing so, we are taking clear action in line with GEA’s purpose: ‘engineering for a better world’.
