Nitrogen Purging HOT filled PET beverages
Hi everyone! We are looking at purging the headspace of our still beverages with Nitrogen gas (not liquid Nitrogen droplets) in order to displace the O2 in the headspace for quality purposes. We would like to run a few trials in order to see whether the Nitrogen gas is introduced correctly and efficiently, i.e. not escaping too quickly before capping etc. is there a way of dyeing the Nitrogen gas, so that this would be visible in clear bottles? If not, how can I test the Nitrogen in the headspace? We will be using PET bottles with PET screw caps, so I am not sure if an apparatus with a "piercing" mechanism would work, as the caps are quite hard. Would litmus paper be an option, as pure Nitrogen would not change the colour of these? On another note - what effect will heat have on the Nitrogen that is introduced into the headspace? These products will be hot-filled into PET bottles, and purged with Nitrogen before capping, thereafter inverted (headspace sterilisation), followed by products being cooled down to ambient temperature. This is totally new for us, so if someone has any advice on quality control checks I should introduce when purging beverage headspace with Nitrogen, I would appreciate it if you can share this with me! Thank you very much, Regards!
I don't see the value personally. If your hot fill and hold process isn't broken, I don't know that there is anything to be gained
Unless of course your product is similar to this:
https://www.coca-col...m-packaging-gas
I would think the only way to do this is to use a lab where they can effectively capture the gas in the headspace to measure it
is the bottle too rigid to pierce? i have linked what i have used in the past. it would measure o2 not n. it might be worth contacting them they might have a solution for more rigid containers. they are super easy to work with.