Using A Laboratory Glassware Washer To Perform Pasteurization

Pasteurization is a thermal treatment applied to foods to destroy pathogens. In the food and beverage industry, tunnel washers are often used to pasteurize bottles of beverages in a production line. Within R & D flavors laboratories, new flavors and additives are tested for heat stability prior to being used in new formulations and production. Typically, pasteurization here is performed with a bench top pasteurization system, in a stove-top immersion bath.

Specifically a PG 8536 can be used instead of a typical immersion system or tunnel washer to pastuerize. A lab glassware washer simulates tunnel washer conditions – i.e. the bottles are sprayed with water at a certain temperature.

With the PG 8536 temperatures can be raised step-by-step then held for a specific time interval and lowered. This temperature ramping can be customized for a particular liquid and flavor. For example, the program can be written with a number of steps, with each step raising the temperature by 10 degrees (variable) then holding a temp designated by the researcher. At first, the temperature/hold can be estimated for each step until the pasteurization temp is reached – then it needs to be determined exactly.