Summary

Juice packers process concentrate and juice and fill the end product into consumer packages. Cost-efficient operation and gentle product treatment are essential.
During raw material storage and handling, it is important to maintain conditions that prevent microbial growth in products. The quality of water used for concentrate reconstitution must be high. Water treatment methods aim to remove or destroy undesirable substances. Examples of these are organic matter, salts, chlorine and microorganisms.

Process lines

The process line, from raw material reception to product reaching the filler, involves a number of steps. The steps required depend on the type of raw material and product to be produced. Figure 7.2 illustrates the process steps for production

Automation and process control

Operators control individual processing units via panels located near the equipment or from a central control room where the whole process line is supervised.

The automation system may supply online information to management along with regular reports and may be directly linked to the production scheduling department.
Raw materials arrive in several different forms. Concentrate for high-volume production arrives by road tanker. Other raw materials may arrive in frozen drums and aseptic bag-in-box containers. Specialty and add-back products come in various smaller containers, such as drums, boxes and cans. Sugar – used for production of nectars and juice drinks – is delivered in granular form or as a liquid solution.