Aseptic packaging is designed to protect liquid foods from production all the way to the consumer, while not affecting taste or texture. This type of packaging can help families keep food and beverages around for a lot longer than the typical shelf-life. Think: dairy products, milk alternatives, juices, soups, pudding and desserts.

According to the report Aseptic Packaging Market – Global Size, Shares, Trends, Segment & Forecast to 2020 by Zion Market Research (zionmarketresearch.com), global demand for aseptic packaging was valued at over U.S. $38.25 billion in 2015 and expected to reach above $67.47 billion in 2021, growing at a CAGR of above 10.1% between 2016 and 2021.

Europe is expected to grow at a faster pace due to new strict packaging regulations led by the government for aseptic packaging. As well, Asia Pacific and Brazil are expected to grow; Latin America’s escalating dairy industry is pushing the demand; and both India and China show an increase in demand for processed and packaged foods, surging the aseptic category.

With aseptic cartons forecasting an increase fueled mostly by dairy beverage applications, consumption trends and ready-to-drink beverages, Tetra Pak (tetrapak.com) is on point with its wide array of carton offerings.

The Tetra Pak Wedge – like it was made for kids with its triangular shape and trendy look – is perfect for a pocket or backpack. The Wedge can be filled with juices, dairy products and alternatives, veggies, tomato-based sauces, water and more. Add a straw and you’re golden.

Tetra Pak also offers Tetra Prisma® Aseptic 500, a great choice for those on the go. The ergonomic prismatic shape is easy to hold with a comfortable grip.  The Prisma comes in 13 packaging combinations, all with its DreamCap™ for optimal beverage flow and a resealable closure. Tetra Prisma is made mainly of paperboard, a renewable resource, and the package is completely recyclable where carton recycling is available.

Next up is Tetra’s Evero® Aseptic, a carton bottle for dairy an dairy alternatives including almond and vitamin milk, and other liquids. Tetra Evero is the first aseptic carton bottle for white milk. The bottle brings new functionality along with environmental, technological and cost benefits, while allowing packagers to deliver shelf-safe milk and other liquids in a disruptive, attention-grabbing new package. All of the carton packages are made of renewable materials and recyclable paperboard, and no refrigeration is needed when distributed and stored.

Canadian food manufacturer Lassonde has opted for a reclosable carton pack from SIG Combibloc (sig.biz) with a combiSwift screw cap with its new Oasis NutriSolution Hydra+ for people with difficulty swallowing (dysphagia). Hydra+ is a range of ready-to-drink thickened beverages based on Oasis fruit juices, water or milk, with formulations that cater to the specific needs of people with dysphagia, making life easier for consumers and for nursing staff.

Stefano Bertolli, vice president of communications at Lassonde says, “Our ‘Oasis NutriSolution’ product range is for people who have special requirements for their food in terms of formulation and handling. Especially for ‘Oasis NutriSolution Hydra+’ – our products that address the needs of people with difficulty swallowing – we were looking for a packaging solution that would safeguard the quality of these special-purpose products, and could fit conveniently into the everyday routine of users and nursing staff. A screw cap was an indispensable requirement. The aseptic filling technology and carton packs with the reclosable screw cap from SIG Combibloc meet all our demands. They guarantee us the added value that we want to pass on to consumers in respect of the packaging as well.”

Bags and pouches will be driven by opportunities for bag-in-box and other large format aseptic bags used in the packaging of products sold to the foodservice and food processing industries, according to The Freedonia Group. Good news for Ecolean (ecolean.com) with two new products in the aseptic pouch game: Ecolean Air Aseptic and Air Aseptic Clear.

The Air Aseptic pouch is Ecolean’s choice of a non-chemical alternative for package sterilization, which ensures that food contact surfaces are never exposed to chemicals. The company also separated sterilization from the filling machines, allowing it to be handled under controlled conditions at its own plants. The Air Aseptic Clear pouch is “clearly different,” using transparency to set it apart on shelves.

Ecolean’s Air Aseptic and Air Aseptic Clear prove less is more with a lightweight pouch. Even though the packages are light and thin, they have a multilayer structure that protects the contents. The eight-layer material is based on the Ecolean Calymer™ technology with extended light and oxygen barriers.

Aseptic packaging is widely used in pharmaceutical and medical applications. In fact, Freedonia Group’s (freedoniagroup.com) “Aseptic Packaging” study reveals that in 2015, pharmaceuticals comprised the largest market for aseptic packaging at 61% of total demand. The pharma market will see growth through 2020, thanks to heat-sensitive, advanced injectable and infusion therapies, and a trend toward self-administration of injectable drugs for chronic conditions.

It begins at the machine

MG America (mgamerica.com) is just out with a new robotic aseptic vial filling and capping line. The filler/capper is by equipment manufacturer STERILINE, with whom MG America has a supplier partnership. Due to increased pharma demand, the Italy-based equipment manufacturer decided to enhance its aseptic applications portfolio, including a new series of integrated production lines employing robotic systems for container transport, handling and filling.

One line consists of an RA-V4 Rotary Vial Washing Machine; a depyrogenation tunnel (model ST2 CCS); the RVFCM50 Robotic Vial Filling and Capping Machine with Isolator; and an EDM-C External Decontaminating Machine. The RVFCM50 fi lling and capping machine has an effective output of up to 3000 vials per hour, and can handle vial sizes from 2ml to 100ml without changing format parts.