> food beverage

Food & Beverage

Keeping food fresh and flavoursome for longer is a goal that benefits everyone from producers to consumers

Disinfection in Food & Beverage using UV Technology

UV lamps can be part of disinfection processes that are used to treat food, surfaces, equipment and air in food processing and packaging plants. Disinfecting foodstuffs is a vital part of the overall production process. It helps remove any potentially dangerous microbial contamination which ensures safe human consumption, as well as removing foodborne diseases and other microbes that cause food to spoil rapidly – for example, yeasts and mould spores. UV-based disinfection can also play a key part of the pasteurisation process for dairy products.

WHERE DOES UV MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

Examples of UV lamps used in disinfection treatments in food and beverage production include:

Cultivating fruit, vegetables and salads with water that has been treated with ultraviolet light to avoid spreading disease and food-spoiling microbes across the crop.
Fruit juices and ciders can be chemically altered if pasteurised using traditional heating methods, which can affect the taste of the end product.
Pasteurisation of fruit juice and cider with UV lamps leaves the product tasting exactly as the producer intended.
Pasteurisation of milk and processing of raw milk products that replaces heat treatment and chemical additives.
Sugar syrups used in beverage production can harbour high levels of dormant microbial spores. Treatment of both the water and the sugar syrup with ultraviolet light will help render any microbes harmless.
Food surface disinfection before packing – products are passed through ultraviolet light decontamination tunnels to control microbial load before processing and packing. Visit our Packaging & Processing page for more information.

WHY ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT IS THE RIGHT CHOICE

A ultraviolet light solution has many advantages over other methods:

It uses no added chemicals or preservatives.
It leaves no residue.
It soes not change the taste of the food.
Food will not be damaged or altered by heat-based treatment processes.
UV-C light is proven to reduce or eliminate E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria, and other foodborne pathogens*.
It removes the dangers of chemical usage and handling.

If you have any questions about UV technology or want to understand more about the Alpha-Purify range of UV lamps and accessories.