The carton bottle ‚Low Acid‘: from SIG Combibloc is now also on the market for pH-neutral products such as milk or plant-based milk alternatives. The first food manufacturer to present low-acid products in SIG's packaging innovation is the US company Steuben Foods.
Steuben is now offering high-quality drinks made from nuts in the flavours almond, cashew, hazelnut and walnut in combidome. The drinks marketed under the „Elmhurst“ The drinks marketed by the company are characterised by a particularly high nut content. The products were presented to the public for the first time at the Natural Products Expo West, which took place in California in March, and are now available in stores. With this market launch, the combidome packs now also available in America for the first time to have.
Jeff Sokal, Senior Vice-President Business Development at Steuben Foods explains: “With our new nut drinks, we offer unique products in this segment. The creaminess of the drinks comes exclusively from a proprietary cold grinding process that preserves all the valuable nutrients and the full flavour of the nuts. Compared to other nut drinks, our products are like homemade - completely without emulsifiers and without thickenerl. The aseptic filling process ensures that all harmful germs are eliminated and also allows us to preserve the freshness and quality of the nut drinks longer than anyone else. When you drink a glass of it, you can be sure that the nutrients from the valuable ingredients really do reach you: just as if you were eating a handful of nuts.“
There was no question for Steuben Foods that revolutionary products deserve innovative packaging. The choice fell on combidome, the carton bottle from SIG Combibloc. The pack is reminiscent of a bottle in terms of both appearance and handling, but also has all the advantages of a carton pack, including Environment or Logistics advantages as well. With the market launch of the nut drinks in combidome, Steuben Foods has made a spectacular appearance in two respects. Sokal: „Our products are a statement - and so is combidome. We are confident that this will ensure clear differentiation in the milk alternatives segment.“
Low acid - higher demands
Christian Szameit, Key Account Manager at SIG Combibloc: „Steuben Foods is one of our most ambitious customers in terms of business plans and innovation projects. We are firmly convinced that combidome is an excellent fit with the company's ideas. With the market launch of the Elmhurst nut drinks, the packaging will be used for the first time for Low acid products applied. Packaging for such products must fulfil different requirements than packaging for fruit juices, for example. Unlike juices, the flavour of dairy products or milk alternatives can be affected by light. For this reason, we have designed the closures for combidome low acid packs, for example, in such a way that they Hardly any relevant light let through. This keeps the products optimally protected.“
The combidome Low Acid filling process has also been specifically tailored to the needs of low-acid products.
Hanno Geissler, Head of Aseptic Technology at SIG Combibloc: „For the UHT filling of low-acid products, the packs must fulfil the highest sterile requirements, because germs can multiply much better in a low-acid environment such as milk than in juice, for example. Added to this is the light sensitivity of milk and milk alternatives. The filling machine for combidome Low Acid and the corresponding packs take this into account, allowing manufacturers to flexibly fill all types of beverages.“
Like many other types of SIG Combibloc filling machines, the combidome Low Acid machine is equipped with a FDA Master File. This is the best prerequisite for rapid acceptance by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Hanno Geissler, who, in his role, is also responsible for FDA Masterfiles at SIG Combibloc: „In FDA Masterfiles, we can provide our customers with all the necessary data, information and evidence required by the FDA in connection with our filling machines. As a result, food manufacturers can be assured of a safe and rapid start of production on SIG filling machines. FDA Masterfiles save our customers time and money.“
