Key points
For food and beverage producers, pasteurisation has been a staple of processing lines for over a hundred years. While innovating such established methods of treating dairy products, and in more recent decades, juices, sodas, beers and whey products, seems daunting, it’s essential to create a more sustainable approach to food and beverage production.
Traditional methods are preventing pasteurisation progress
Sustainable practices have been a challenge across industries as businesses look to reduce their carbon footprint and save on resources. For producers using pasteurisation, this is especially the case.
Traditional pasteurisation methods are popular because they’ve been tried and true for many decades, and are synonymous with food and beverage production the world over.
Additionally, in a challenging economy, now may not feel like the right time to update existing machinery and processes, despite the benefits that they bring.
However, not only are these processes not as sustainable as they could be, but the demand for dairy, juices and other products requiring pasteurisation is increasing rapidly on a global scale.
This increased demand puts a great deal of pressure on resources, including freshwater and soil, as well as energy resources needed for manufacturing raw materials into high quality, great tasting products.
Without innovation, the impact that the food and beverage industry has on the planet is only going to increase and become worse.
UV Lamp
The heating conundrum during pasteurisation
Food and beverage production is crucial for providing people with the sustenance and nutrition they need to thrive, however with this comes a substantial carbon footprint. In the UK, this diverse and ever-changing industry is responsible for 165 million tonnes of carbon emissions and accounts for 21% of the UK’s total carbon footprint.
The pasteurisation of products has a part to play in the overall CO2 per kilogram that is associated with certain foods and drinks. Whether it be juice or milk, whey or soda, traditional pasteurisation processes depend on fossil fuels to power the technology that makes our food and drinks safer and tastier.
A significant amount of energy used in traditional technology is accounted for by the requirement to cool, heat and pump products – all of which are associated with traditional pasteurisation techniques which use heat.
Lots of energy is needed to heat liquids to kill bacteria and then rapidly cool them to preserve the nutritional makeup of the product. This results in massive amounts of wasted energy across factories, farms and beyond.
Despite processes being streamlined over the years with the influx of more efficient technologies, there is still a resistance to adoption, with the more conservative processors not interested in “fixing” something that isn’t broken.
Benedikte and Thomas in lab
Innovative pasteurisation processes on the rise
Despite the reluctance of many processors, updated, sustainable techniques are being developed for food and beverage production and are slowly being accepted. Adopting modern technologies is becoming more of a necessity industry-wide for food and beverage processors looking to survive in an increasingly competitive landscape, while boosting sustainable practices in the industry.
Modern processes offer a level of quality control that their previous generation counterparts simply didn’t have access to in the past. Avoiding heat in favour of UV light has been one way that pasteurisation processes are changing, and this helps to preserve the taste and structure of the product.
Liquid is led past a UV light source, combined with a light filter in a controlled movement, so that all parts of the product are illuminated. This inactivates all unwanted microorganisms while preserving more of the original taste as well as vitamins and proteins.
This means that food and beverage producers are able to create products that have a longer shelf life, which can be essential during times of logistical or supply chain disruption. Consumers benefit from better tasting milk, juice and other food and beverage products, while reducing their household waste as their purchases last longer on the shelf or in the fridge.
Crucially, new processes are saving water and energy that traditional pasteurisation equipment requires – while inactivating bacteria and other microorganisms in liquids such as whey and juice to create a safe product. Some pasteurisation innovations are helping food and beverage producers save as much as 80% of the water and 90% of the energy that traditional pasteurisation equipment requires.
Sirius
The future is bright for producers
Working together to unlock the sustainability potential of the food and beverage industry is crucial, and innovative technology will play a significant role in achieving this.
As technology becomes more accessible across the globe, and the benefits to the producer, the consumer and the planet are better understood, I believe that in the coming years, the carbon footprint of the food and drink industry will be vastly improved.
Demand for products is only going to continue to grow, as is the strain on the environment. So, in order to meet this in a sustainable way, evaluating the current state of processes, production and technology is necessary so we can all move forward together to achieve a greener future.
