Facility for producing an aqueous food product and its use and method for producing aqueous food products

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12527337-B2
Application number	US-202118259248-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2021
Priority date	Dec 23, 2020
Publication date	Jan 20, 2026
Grant date	Jan 20, 2026

Abstract

A facility for producing an aqueous food product and a component of such a facility includes a mixing device with a mixing container and a feed line for fluid media containing at least one ingredient for aqueous food products to the mixing container and a discharge line for a fluid medium, containing the aqueous food product mixed in the mixing device, from the mixing container, and at least one infrared spectrometer, in some cases an FT-NIR spectrometer, arranged and adapted for the inline detection of ingredients of aqueous food products. The present disclosure further relates to a method for producing aqueous food products comprising the inline detection of at least one ingredient in a fluid medium with an infrared spectrometer, in some cases an FT-NIR spectrometer. In addition, the present disclosure relates to the use of an infrared spectrometer, in some cases an FT-NIT spectrometer, for detecting at least one ingredient for aqueous food products or for the inline monitoring of at least one ingredient for aqueous food products in a facility for producing a plurality of containers filled with an aqueous food product.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A facility for producing a plurality of containers filled with an aqueous food product, wherein the facility is a facility for high-speed production of a plurality of containers filled with the aqueous food product, comprising:
at least one mixing device with a mixing container; at least one feed line to the mixing container for liquid media containing at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients for the aqueous food product; a discharge line from the mixing container for the aqueous food product mixed in the at least one mixing device; and a bypass line which runs from the discharge line, wherein the facility further comprises:
(1) at least one FT-NIR spectrometer arranged and adapted for a quantitative inline detection of the at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients for the aqueous food product in the at least one discharge line,
wherein the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer in element (1) comprises at least one light guide and a transmission process probe, arranged and adapted to come into contact with the liquid media containing the at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients, or with the aqueous food product, or
(2) at least one FT-NIR spectrometer arranged and adapted for a quantitative inline detection of the at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients for the aqueous food product in the bypass line,
wherein the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer in element (2) comprises at least one light guide and a transmission process probe, arranged and adapted to come into contact with the liquid media containing the at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients, or with the aqueous food product,
the facility further comprising:
at least one blending device adapted and arranged for blending ingredients and obtaining an aqueous food product concentrate, the at least one blending device containing:
a blending container;
a first feed line to the blending container for an aqueous system;
a second feed line to the blending container for at least one first ingredient or a first ingredient mixture;
at least one transfer line for a liquid medium containing the aqueous food product concentrate blended in the at least one blending device, which runs into the at least one feed line for fluid media to the mixing container or merges into the latter; and
a bypass line which runs from the transfer line and which opens into the blending container; and
(3) at least one FT-NIR spectrometer arranged and adapted for a quantitative inline detection of ingredients for an aqueous food product in the bypass line of the blending device, wherein the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer in element (3) comprises at least one light guide and a transmission process probe, arranged and adapted to come into contact with the aqueous food product concentrate,
wherein the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer in element (1) or element (2) and in element (3) is adapted and arranged to simultaneously determine the content of two or more ingredients, and wherein the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer in element (1) or element (2) and in element (3) is adapted and arranged to detect the two or more ingredients of the aqueous food product at recurring measurement intervals in a range of 5 to 90 seconds.

2 . The facility according to claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one FT-NIR spectrometer, arranged and adapted for an inline detection of the at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients for the aqueous food product in the at least one mixing device, wherein the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer for the mixing device comprises at least one light guide and a transmission process probe, arranged and adapted to come into contact with the aqueous food product in the at least one mixing device.

3 . The facility according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a filling device, which is connected or connectable to the at least one mixing device via the discharge line, arranged and adapted for filling the aqueous food product obtained or obtainable by the at least one mixing device, into a plurality of container base bodies, each container base body containing a container bottom, a container wall, and a filling opening.

4 . The facility according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer in element (1) or element (2) comprises a data processing device arranged and adapted to store and evaluate infrared spectroscopically determined data of a respective ingredient or ingredients of the liquid media or of the aqueous food product.

5 . The facility according to claim 3 , further comprising:
at least one closure device adapted and arranged for closing each container base body filled by the filling device with a container closure.

6 . The facility according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a mass spectrometer containing a sample line, arranged and adapted for detection of the ingredients in the aqueous food product or in preliminary stages thereof.

7 . A method for the production of an aqueous food product, comprising:
providing a facility according to claim 1 , providing container base bodies, each container base body containing a container bottom, a container wall, and a filling opening, providing a container closure, providing an aqueous system, providing at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients, mixing the aqueous system with the at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients in the at least one mixing device, and obtaining the aqueous food product, filling the aqueous food product into the container base bodies, and closing the container base bodies filled with the aqueous food product with the container closure by way of a closure device, the method further comprising:
quantitative inline detection of the at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients in the liquid media transported in the at least one discharge line, by the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer assigned to the at least one discharge line, or
quantitative inline detection of the at least one ingredient or multiple ingredients for the aqueous food product in the bypass line, by the at least one FT-NIR spectrometer assigned to the bypass line,
wherein infrared spectroscopically determined data on respective ingredients of the liquid media or the aqueous food product, are stored on a data processing device, and
wherein the infrared spectroscopically determined data are assigned on the data processing device to a measuring time point.

8 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the aqueous food product in the at least discharge line and/or the bypass line is analyzed by the respective FT-NIR spectrometer assigned to the at least one discharge line or the bypass line, for a content of sugar, citric acid, caffeine, taurine, and/or artificial sweeteners.

9 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the infrared spectroscopically determined data on the respective ingredients assigned to the measuring time point are assigned to a container base body filled by a filling device with the aqueous food product, or a plurality of successive container base bodies filled with the aqueous food product.

10 . The method according to claim 7 , wherein the infrared spectroscopically determined data on the respective ingredients of the liquid media or of the aqueous food product for a measuring time point are compared in the data processing device with stored target value ranges.

11 . The method according to claim 10 , wherein an access of the aqueous food product to the filling device is prevented by a diverter valve in the discharge line as soon as the infrared spectroscopically determined data for at least one ingredient of the aqueous food product is outside its stored tar

Assignees

• Red Bull Gmbh

Inventors

• Nachbagauer Josef
• Rinderer Christian
• Witwer Lukas

Classifications

• G01N33/143

  containing sugar · CPC title

• G01N21/359

  using near infrared light · CPC title

• A23L2/60

  Sweeteners · CPC title

• A23P30/00 Primary

  Shaping or working of foodstuffs characterised by the process or apparatus (A23P10/00, A23P20/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• G01N21/85 Primary

  Investigating moving fluids or granular solids · CPC title