7. Approaches to aseptic filling without the free-jet constraint

Note 1

The non-contact imperative is one that manufacturers of liquid filling equipment will try to circumvent in order to generalize the aseptic process to all food liquids, even gaseous liquids. In most cases, this is achieved by transferring the sterile enclosure to the filler, with each spigot and container or other filler component forming an enclosure that is sterilized by a flash of steam conveyed through the spigot before each filling operation.

Note 2

With a level filler, it's still possible to fill liquid foods under optimum hygienic conditions. This is known as hyper- or ultra-clean packaging, rather than aseptic.