Hanovia UV eliminates bacteria from water in soft drinks manufacturing process

The Hanovia UV system is installed after an activated carbon dechlorination unit and is used to eliminate bacteria from water used in the soft drinks manufacturing process.

Listeria, Legionella and Cryptosporidium

There are no microorganisms known to be resistant to UV – this includes pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria, Legionella and Cryptosporidium (and its spores, which are resistant to chlorination).

Gunvinder Bhogal, global marketing manager, Hanovia UV, told BeverageDaily, UV is an established method of disinfecting drinking water throughout the world, and is used for high purity applications such as pharmaceutical processing and microchip manufacturing.

“The advantage of using UV over other disinfection technologies is it is a non-chemical process with no by-products and less energy used to run​,” he said.

“Compared to Ozone and pasteurisation the UV system takes up far less space and is more energy efficient but effective against bacteria and other microbes​.

“Bacteria needs to be removed from processed water two reasons; to prevent final product contamination and to prolong the life of other treatment products such as RO membrane filters​.

“A beverage manufacturer needs to be absolutely sure no contamination is present in its final product, as chlorine resistant microbes such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia can cause severe stomach aches. The bacteria also effects the final taste of the product, which in the beverage industry is essential to keep consistent​.”

F&N soft drinks manufacturer in Malaysia produces many of the country’s well-known brands, including 100PLUS, F&N Fruit Tea and F&N SEASONS.

Local Quality Assurance/Quality Control requirements

Hanovia was selected as the UV system supplier due to the company’s reputation in the beverage industry and the fact its UV systems are optimised for process water applications found in beverage manufacturing.

UV technology was required to fulfil local QA/QC (quality assurance/quality control) requirements.

The disinfection systems are easy to install, with minimum disruption to the plant but the UV lamps need to be replaced every 9 - 12 months, depending on use.

“Our distributor ‘Repassa’ based in Singapore has been working with Hanovia for a long time to educate the market in using UV in industrial applications such as beverage​,” added Bhogal.

“Due to this we have established good brand awareness in the region and Hanovia was a specified product for F&N​.”

He said the UV disinfectant system belongs to Hanovia’s PureLine D, which is designed for the food & Beverage market. Its PureLine range covers water disinfection to sugar syrup disinfection and third party systems that meet stringent guidelines from local authorities and large beverage manufacturers.

It takes a day for engineers to come in to a pant, setup the system, commission it and start operationsm depending on what pipework and other modifications are required.

US FDA Food Safety Moderization Act

“The beverage industry is becoming more stringent because of pressure from national and international regulatory bodies as the focus is to make sure there is no chance taken for a contamination outbreak​,” said Bhogal.

“With acts like the FDA Food Safety Moderization Act (FSMA) in the US, it is now focusing on regulation to be more stringent and practices to align with set benchmarks for food & beverage manufacturing. This act also takes into consideration the products that are being manufactured outside of the US for the US​.

“Other markets will react to this and this is something that will be constantly measured to make sure no efforts spared to make sure equipment and the procedures being used are clinically suitable for production.​”

Hanovia’s headquarters are in the UK and it has regional offices in Germany, the US and China, supporting EMEA, the Americas and Asia respectively.

It is launching a PureLine range powered by UVEO (Ultraviolet Energy Optimised) technology, in November, which will provide a lower energy use and still allow for effective water treatment.

The UVEO technology is based on one medium pressure lamp system that can provide the same amount of treatment at higher flows, whereas other systems on the market would require multiple lamps.