During the last decade or so, the benefits of aseptic filling technology compared to traditional hot filling techniques have become well known in the food and drink sector. The benefits in terms of product quality have been well documented and discussed.1 However, the environmental benefits, both in terms of energy consumption and typical lifecycle analysis of this packaging method are less understood.
A number of lifecycle analysis (LCA) studies have shown that aseptic filling techniques using ultra heat treatment (UHT) systems of pasteurization or sterilization, which are based on heat exchangers, generally have lower environmental impacts.2,3 This is down to two main factors: the packaging used in the two different processes and the energy footprint of the process itself.