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Tetra Packaging- Is it Safe?

21 December 2010- With packaging companies and consumers both opting for convenient, affordable and safe packaging solutions for food items, tetra packaging has become enormously popular in the recent times. For all types of specialty packaging, whether for dairy packaging or for beverage packaging, tetra packs are commonly used by one and all. What is tetra packaging and why it has become so popular? Is tetra packaging safe for food and beverage packaging? Lets try to analyze tetra packaging solution to get answers to these questions.

What is Tetra Packaging

Tetra packaging essentially is aseptic packaging of food and beverages including dairy products, especially milk. Now what is aseptic packaging? It is a packaging solution which adopts aseptic processing. It is a process in which a food product and its packaging material, typically plastic packaging bags inside a carton or box, are sterilized separately, then combined and sealed in a vacuum to remove all oxygen. Thus, the packaging containers become sterile containers to keep the product inside it safe for longer periods without any additional measures like cold chain or preservatives.

When talking about Tetra Pak, it is a multinational food processing and packaging company of Swedish origin having credit for the packaging innovation in the area of aseptic processing liquid food packaging. Tetra Pak combined aseptic processing with ultra-high-temperature processing (UHT), to allow liquid food to be packaged and stored under room temperature conditions for up to a year. This made it possible to keep the perishable goods safe and distributed over greater distances without the need for a cold chain.

How is Tetra Pack Made?

Multiple packaging materials are used for making a Tetra Pack. These include paperboard (73%), plastic (22%) and aluminium foil (5%) for aseptic packages. The paperboard is made from wood - a renewable resource. The plastic (polyethylene) is used in layers on both sides of the paper structure to protect the package from inside and outside moisture. Tetra cartons meant for long life or high acidity content contain aluminium foil, which is about 6-micrometre (0.00024 in) thin. This layer provides additional protection for the content against oxygen, bacteria, undesired flavors and light.

The most popular Tetra Brik Aseptic (TBA) packaging containers of recent times are made of six layers- two layers of polyethylene, a layer of aluminum, then again a layer of polyethylene, a layer of paper and a final layer of polyethylene. These tetra aseptic packages are commonly used for packaging of dairy products, soy milk, fruit juices, liquid whole eggs, gravies, and tomatoes etc.

Why is Tetra Packaging Considered Safe?

There are many benefits of tetra packaging for both- companies and consumers- all because of aseptic technology. Some of the advantages of tetra packs include:

• Aseptic processing and packaging of beverages keep them safe, fresh and flavorful for a year.
• Tetra Packaging process eliminates the usual burning and overcooking in foods and beverages and thus foods in this type of packaging tastes better.
• When using tetra pack, there is no need of food preservatives to keep them safe, especially for beverage packaging. Benzoate in beverages has been seen as a health threat. Beverage packaging in tetra pack do not need benzoate to be used as preservatives

When is Tetra Packaging Really Safe?

Does using tetra pack makes the food or beverage in it safe by itself? Or there is some other things to consider too before it can be said that tetra packaging is safe? Yes there is!

The principle behind Tetra Pack aseptic technology is there to safeguard the food which goes into it. However, the beverage and food packaging system for tetra pack has to be different from other food packaging systems. For proper safety, food or beverage is formulated in a mixing chamber where it is blended to provide uniformity. It then goes through Quality Control (QC) check. It is tasted to make sure that QC is up to standard. After passing the QC test, the food or beverage is flash pasteurized in a sterile chamber and then filled into sterilized packaging and sealed. This ensures that the beverage or food in tetra pack is safe for at least a year without preservation and cold chain.

Once the tetra pack is opened, the food content in it should be treated as if they had been there in average packaging containers and should be consumed immediately or preserved through different methods!