WO2010116849A1 - Method and device for producing liquid food packed in container - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and device for producing a liquid food packed in a container are provided in which gas replacement for filling the head space of the container with an inert gas is efficient and the gas replacement is excellent with respect to profitability, safety, and simplicity. A liquid food packed in a container is produced through a step in which immediately before the opening (16a) of a container bottle filled with a liquid food is capped with a capping machine (14), nitrogen gas is blown by means of a nitrogen gas replacement device (100) toward the opening (16a) from two or three directions making an angle of -5 to 90º with the horizontal plane including the opening (16a) and the gas present in the head space of the container is thereby replaced with the nitrogen gas.

Description

Method for manufacturing container filled liquid food and apparatus for manufacturing the same

The present invention relates to a method for producing a container-filled liquid food and a device for producing the same, and more particularly to a method for producing a container-filled liquid food in which the headspace of the container is replaced with an inert gas and a device for producing the same.

It is known that the storability of edible oil is improved by filling the edible oil in a container such as a bottle container and then substituting the air present in the head space of the container with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas.

The step of replacing the air present in the head space of the container with an inert gas is optimally performed in an inert gas atmosphere in order to increase the replacement rate, but the amount of inert gas used is increased. Therefore, the cost is high, and work in an inert gas atmosphere puts the life of the worker in danger.

Therefore, in view of economy and safety, a method of efficiently replacing with a small amount of inert gas is preferable, and development of the replacement method is desired.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for gas replacement in such a head space, which is not a bottle container but a canned product.

In Patent Document 1, for the purpose of reliably and easily performing efficient gas replacement without loss, the upper direction of the can where the inert gas crosses the direction of oscillation of the liquid level of the fluid content (from 20 to the horizontal plane). It is disclosed to provide a gas replacement sealing method in which a can lid is immediately mounted and tightened after spraying from a blowing port having an inclination angle of 60 °.

Japanese Patent Publication No.57-29331

However, according to the gas replacement sealing method described in Patent Document 1, the gas injection timing is difficult even if improvement in gas replacement efficiency can be expected under predetermined conditions when a can container having an open top surface is used. There is a problem. Patent Document 1 does not disclose anything about the case of a bottle container.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a container-filled liquid food that is efficient in replacing the headspace of the container with an inert gas, and that is excellent in economics, safety, and convenience of gas replacement, and It is to provide the manufacturing apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention blows an inert gas from two or three directions at an angle of −5 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening toward the opening of the container filled with liquid food. There is provided a method for producing a container-filled liquid food, comprising the step of replacing a gas present in the head space of the container with the inert gas.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an inert gas from two or three directions at an angle of −5 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening toward the opening of the container filled with liquid food. There is provided an apparatus for producing a container-filled liquid food product, comprising an inert gas replacement device that sprays and replaces a gas present in the head space of the container with an inert gas.

According to the present invention, a method and apparatus for producing a container-filled liquid food that is efficient in replacing the headspace of the container with an inert gas, and that is excellent in economics, safety, and simplicity of gas replacement. Can be provided.

It is the schematic which shows the whole manufacturing process of the container filling liquid food including the filling process of the liquid food to a bottle container, and the capping process of this container. It is the schematic which expands and shows the capping process in FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a nitrogen gas replacement device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the nitrogen gas replacement apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an upper surface perspective view of the nitrogen gas substitution apparatus concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the blowing angle of nitrogen gas, and is a front view of the opening of a container. It is explanatory drawing of the blowing angle of nitrogen gas, and is a top view of opening of a container. It is the elements on larger scale which show the positional relationship of a nitrogen gas replacement apparatus and a stopper. It is the schematic which shows the operation | movement in a capping process. It is a front view of the nitrogen gas replacement apparatus used for the comparative example. It is a front view of the nitrogen gas replacement apparatus used for the comparative example. It is a front view of the nitrogen gas replacement apparatus used for the comparative example. It is a perspective view of the nitrogen gas replacement apparatus which concerns on other one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top surface perspective view of the nitrogen gas substitution apparatus concerning other embodiments of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
[Container filling liquid food manufacturing equipment]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the entire manufacturing process of a container-filled liquid food including a filling process of a liquid food into a bottle container and a capping process of the container. Moreover, FIG. 2 is the schematic which expands and shows the capping process in FIG.
The manufacturing process of the container-filled liquid food is performed in the filling booth 10.

The container filled liquid food manufacturing apparatus includes a first transporter 11, a filling machine 12, a second transporter 13, a plugging machine 14, a third transporter 15, and a nitrogen gas replacement device 100. Is done.

The first transport device 11 is a disc-shaped transport means having recesses at regular intervals on the circumference, and catches an empty bottle container 16 transported from the outside of the filling booth 10 while rotating. Then, it is conveyed to the next filling machine 12.

The filling machine 12 has a disk-shaped transport means having dents at regular intervals on the circumference and a liquid food filling means, and is an empty bottle container 16 transported from the first transport machine 11 while rotating. Is filled with the liquid food by the liquid food filling means while the bottle container 16 is rotated once, and then conveyed to the next second conveyor 13. The liquid food is filled in a predetermined amount so as to have a predetermined capacity of head space above the bottle container 16.

The second transport machine 13 is a disk-shaped transport means having dents at regular intervals on the circumference like the first transport machine 11, and is filled with the liquid food transported from the filling machine 12 while rotating. The bottle container 16 is caught by the concave portion and conveyed to the next stopper 14.

The capping machine 14 has a disk-shaped conveying means having dents at regular intervals on the circumference, and a capping means (cap conveying machine 14a shown in FIG. 8), and from the second conveying machine 13 while rotating. The bottle container 16 filled with the liquid food to be conveyed is caught by the concave portion, and the nitrogen gas is replaced with the bottle container 16 by the nitrogen gas replacement device 100 installed at the communication portion from the second conveyance device 13 to the closing device 14. Immediately after being sprayed on the opening 16a, the bottle container 16 is closed and sealed by the cap carrier 14a, and then conveyed to the next third carrier 15.

The third transporter 15 is a disk-shaped transporting means having dents at regular intervals on the circumference, like the first transporter 11, and is a bottle container with a stopper that is transported from the stopper 14 while rotating. 16 (container-filled liquid food) is caught by the concave portion and conveyed toward the outside of the filling booth 10.

(Nitrogen gas replacement device)
3 is a perspective view of a nitrogen gas replacement device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a top view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a top perspective view thereof.
The nitrogen gas replacement device 100 includes a main body portion 1 and a fixing portion 2 for fixing the main body portion 1 at a predetermined position, and a horizontal plane of the opening toward the opening 16a of the bottle container filled with liquid food. Nitrogen gas is blown from two or three directions at an angle of −5 to 90 ° to replace the gas present in the head space of the container with nitrogen gas.

The main body 1 is used for blowing nitrogen gas from the rear at an angle of −5 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal surface of the bottle container opening 16a and the hose connection portions 3A and 3B for connecting a nitrogen gas supply hose. A rear nozzle 4 and a horizontal hole forming part 5 formed with circular horizontal holes 5A and 5B for blowing nitrogen gas from the horizontal direction at an angle of −5 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal surface of the opening 16a of the bottle container; Is provided.

The hose connection part 3A and the rear nozzle 4 are connected by a nitrogen gas passage 6A formed inside the main body part 1, and the hose connection part 3B and the lateral holes 5A and 5B are formed inside the main body part 1. They are connected by a nitrogen gas passage 6B.

The rear nozzle 4 is preferably provided with a throttle mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of the nitrogen gas to be blown. Further, different nitrogen gas supply sources are connected to the hose connection portions 3A and 3B so that the flow rate of the nitrogen gas from the rear nozzle 4 and the flow rate of the nitrogen gas from the lateral holes 5A and 5B can be independently adjusted. It is desirable to do.

6A and 6B are explanatory views of the nitrogen gas blowing angle, FIG. 6A is a front view of the opening of the container, and FIG. 6B is a top view of the opening of the container.
Nitrogen gas is blown in two directions at an angle of −5 to 90 ° C. with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening 16a of the bottle container, for example, the rear direction by the rear nozzle 4 and the lateral direction by the horizontal hole (5A and / or 5B). Perform from two directions. Moreover, it can also carry out from a total of 3 directions, adding from the front direction by a horizontal hole or a front nozzle to this. Or it can also carry out from two directions, the back direction by the back nozzle 4, and the front direction by a horizontal hole or a front nozzle.

By changing the formation position of the rear nozzle 4 and the horizontal holes 5A and 5B, the direction of the nitrogen gas passage 6B, the installation position of the nitrogen gas replacement device 100, and the like, the nitrogen gas blowing angle can be changed.

Here, the blowing angle of nitrogen gas with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening 16a of the bottle container may be an angle of −5 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane (0 °) of the opening 16a, and an angle of 0 to 90 ° is preferable. An angle of 5 to 70 ° is more preferable, an angle of 5 to 60 ° is still more preferable, and an angle of 5 to 40 ° is most preferable (see FIG. 6A).
In particular, the spray angle from the rear direction is preferably larger than 0 ° with respect to the horizontal plane (0 °) of the opening 16a. Further, one or more of the two directions and the three directions are preferably larger than 0 °, and more preferably all of the two directions and the three directions are larger than 0 °.

In addition, on the horizontal plane of the opening of the container, as shown in FIG. 6B, assuming that the opening center of the bottle container is the center point and the traveling direction of the bottle container (y in the figure) is a reference (0 °), “in the traveling direction” “Backward direction” (a in the figure) refers to the direction of 135 to 225 °, and “transverse direction with respect to the traveling direction” (b in the figure) refers to 45 to 135 ° and 225 ° to 315. The direction “°” means “forward direction with respect to the traveling direction” (c in the figure) means directions of 0 to 45 ° and 315 to 360 °. However, of the angles serving as the boundaries, 135 ° and 225 ° are included in the definition of the backward direction, and 45 ° and 315 ° are included in the definition of the horizontal direction. The spraying from the rear direction is preferably 150 to 210 °, more preferably 160 to 200 °. In the case of spraying from the lateral direction, 60 to 130 ° and / or 230 to 300 are preferable, and 75 to 125 ° and / or 235 to 285 ° are more preferable. When spraying from the front, it is preferably 10 to 44 ° and / or 316 to 350 °.

Further, the angle between the two directions or the angle between the three directions, that is, a line connecting the point where the outlet center point in one direction is projected on the opening horizontal plane of the container and the opening center point of the bottle container, and the opening of the container The angle (greater than 0 ° and 180 ° or less) formed by a point connecting the projection center point of the remaining one direction on the horizontal plane (in the case of the remaining two directions respectively) and the opening center point of the bottle container is 40 to 180 °, preferably 45 to 150 °, more preferably 45 to 135 °, and most preferably 50 to 120 °. For example, when the rear direction is 180 ° and the lateral direction is 90 °, the angle formed by these is 90 °, and when the rear direction is 210 ° and the front direction is 10 °, the angle formed by these is 160 °. In the case of three directions or when there are a plurality of outlets in one specific direction, it is preferable that one or more of the formed angles is within the above range, and two or more are within the above range. More preferably, all are within the above range.

[Method for producing container-filled liquid food]
Next, the manufacturing method of a container filling liquid food is demonstrated.
The production of the container-filled liquid food is performed according to the operation of each device / means constituting the above-described container-filled liquid food production apparatus. That is, the method for producing a container-filled liquid food mainly includes a step of transporting an empty bottle container 16 to the filling machine 12 by the first transporter 11, and a liquid so that the bottle container 16 has a head space by the filling machine 12. A step of filling food, a step of transporting the liquid food-filled container 16 to the stopper 14 by the second transporter 13, and nitrogen gas is blown to the opening 16 a of the bottle container 16 by the nitrogen gas replacement device 100. The step of replacing the gas present in the head space with nitrogen gas, the step of closing and sealing the bottle container 16 with the stopper 14, and filling the bottle container 16 (container-filled liquid food) with the third transporter 15 It has the process of conveying toward the exterior of the booth 10.

In particular, the process of replacing the gas present in the head space of the container with nitrogen gas in the operation of the nitrogen gas replacement device 100 and the stopper 14 is characteristic in the present invention, and will be described in detail below.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view showing the positional relationship between the nitrogen gas replacement device and the stopper. FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the operation in the closing process.
The step of replacing with nitrogen gas is performed by blowing nitrogen gas from two or three directions at an angle of −5 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening toward the opening of the container filled with liquid food. The gas present in the head space is replaced with nitrogen gas.

One of the two directions is preferably from the rear side of the container as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7 (using the rear nozzle 4). The remaining one of the two directions is preferably from the lateral direction or the front direction of the container, and more preferably from the lateral direction of the container (using the lateral holes 5A and 5B).
The three directions are the rear direction, the lateral direction, and the front direction of the container.

Here, the definitions and preferred ranges of “an angle of −5 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening”, “backward direction”, “lateral direction”, and “frontward direction” are as described above.

The nitrogen gas outlet from one of the two or three directions is 1 or 2 or more. For example, in the nitrogen gas replacement device 100 of FIGS. 3 to 5, there are one rear outlet (rear nozzle 4) and two lateral outlets (lateral holes 5A and 5B).

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the bottle container 16 is closed by the cap transporter 14a that moves down while holding the cap 16b while the bottle container 16 moves from the right side to the left side of the figure. Nitrogen gas is blown in the process of movement from FIG. 8 (center view) to FIG. 8 (left view), and it is preferable in terms of economy and safety to close the container immediately after blowing. It is more preferable to close the container while spraying. The term “immediately after spraying” means that there is almost no time from nitrogen gas spraying to closing the container, and the time from nitrogen gas spraying to closing the cap is preferably within 1 second, 0.5 seconds Is more preferable, and within 0.3 seconds is more preferable.

The bottle container 16 is preferably transported at a speed of 50 to 250 / min, more preferably at a speed of 100 to 200 / min, at a position where nitrogen gas is blown.

The opening 16a of the bottle container indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 7 is a position where nitrogen gas can be blown, and the distance X between the center of the opening 16a and the tip (outlet) of the rear nozzle 4 is preferably 1 to 10 cm. 3 to 8 cm is more preferable.

The amount of nitrogen gas sprayed from the rear direction is preferably 5 to 80 liters / minute, more preferably 15 to 60 liters / minute, further preferably 30 to 60 liters / minute, and most preferably 45 to 60 liters / minute. The area of outlet of the rear nozzle at this time is preferably 45 ~ 1000 mm ^2, more preferably 45 ~ 400 mm ^2, more preferably 50 ~ 200 mm ^2, and most preferably 50 ~ 100 mm ^2. By spraying in this range, it can replace more efficiently and can prevent the liquid food of a liquid food in a container from being produced.

Further, the total amount of nitrogen gas sprayed from the lateral direction and / or the forward direction is preferably 30 to 450 liters / minute, more preferably 30 to 350 liters / minute, still more preferably 30 to 250 liters / minute, Most preferred is ˜250 l / min. Further, outlet area is preferably 45 ~ 1000 mm ² of each nozzle at this time, more preferably 50 ~ 400 mm ^2, more preferably 50 ~ 200 mm ^2, and most preferably 50 ~ 100 mm ^2.

The nitrogen gas is preferably sprayed so that the oxygen concentration in the head space of the bottle container 16 is 9% by volume or less from the viewpoint of suppressing the amount of oxygen absorbed in the stored liquid food, and more preferably 7% by volume or less. 5% by volume or less is more preferable, and 4% by volume or less is more preferable.

(Inert gas)
In the said embodiment, although nitrogen gas was demonstrated to the example, 1 or more types of inert gas chosen from nitrogen gas, argon gas, helium gas, and a carbon dioxide gas can be used. From the viewpoint of versatility and cost, nitrogen gas is preferable.

(container)
Although various containers can be used as the container, for example, the bottle container 16 is preferably used. The bottle container 16 is provided with a cap, and after the liquid food is filled, the bottle container 16 is sealed with a head space replaced with an inert gas. At this time, before filling the container with the liquid food, it is preferable to blow in an inert gas and replace the air and the inert gas.

The bottle container 16 is a so-called bottle-shaped container, and it is preferable in terms of function and design that the container cross-sectional diameter of the head space is smaller than the container cross-sectional diameter of the portion filled with the liquid food.

As the bottle container 16, for example, a liquid container containing 100 to 1800 g of liquid food can be used. The head space should have a certain capacity or more so that liquid splash at the time of opening can be prevented. For example, the ratio of the capacity (ml) of the head space to the amount (g) of liquid food to be accommodated is set to 0.02 to 0.1 (ml / g).

The material of the container is, for example, a resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polylactic acid, glass, metal, or the like. A plastic container or a glass container using a resin is preferable, and a plastic container is particularly preferable. Moreover, it is good also as a thing of the multilayered structure which combined the film with this.

The plastic container is preferably a blow molded plastic container in order to maintain the shape of the container. Moreover, it is more preferable that it can be deformed by pressing or the like so as to reduce the capacity at the time of disposal.

(Liquid food)
The type of liquid food that can be used in the present embodiment is not particularly limited. There is no particular limitation as long as it is a liquid food that is fluid at 10 to 25 ° C. Examples include edible oils, dressings, and beverages, with edible oils being preferred.

The type of cooking oil is not particularly limited. For example, soybean oil, rapeseed oil, high oleic rapeseed oil, corn oil, sesame oil, sesame salad oil, perilla oil, linseed oil, peanut oil, safflower oil, high oleic safflower oil, sunflower oil, high oleic sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, grape Seed oil, macadamia nut oil, hazelnut oil, pumpkin seed oil, walnut oil, coconut oil, tea seed oil, sesame oil, borage oil, olive oil, rice oil, rice bran oil, wheat germ oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, Examples include cocoa butter, beef tallow, lard, chicken fat, milk fat, fish oil, seal oil, algae oil, these oils and fats that have been low-saturated by breed improvement, mixed fats and oils, transesterified fats and oils, hydrogenated fats and oils, fractionated fats, etc. It is done.

Edible oils include L-ascorbic acid and L-ascorbic acid derivatives, vitamin E, tocopherols, ascorbic acid fatty acid esters, lignans, coenzyme Q, phospholipids, oryzanols, plant sterols, diacylglycerols, catechins, and polyphenols. And other additives such as antioxidants and emulsifiers such as tea extracts.

As the emulsifier, for example, polyglycerin fatty acid ester, sucrose fatty acid ester, sorbitan fatty acid ester, polysorbate, condensed ricinolein fatty acid ester, monoglycerin fatty acid ester, soy lecithin, egg yolk lecithin, soybean lysolecithin, egg yolk lysolecithin, enzyme-treated egg yolk, Examples include emulsifiers such as saponins, plant sterols, and milk fat globule membranes.

It is preferably an oil and fat to which one or more selected from antioxidants and emulsifiers are added.

[Manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of container filled liquid food according to other embodiment]
An apparatus and a method for producing a container-filled liquid food according to another embodiment other than the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the present embodiment, since the nitrogen gas replacement device is different from the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of the nitrogen gas replacement device will be mainly described.

This embodiment can be used particularly suitably when the bottle container is large and the capacity of the head space is large. For example, even in the case of a bottle container having a capacity of 1000 g (head space capacity: 70 to 85 ml), nitrogen replacement can be performed efficiently.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a nitrogen gas replacement device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 11 is a top perspective view thereof.

The nitrogen gas replacement device 200 includes a main body portion 201 and a fixing portion 202 for fixing the main body portion 201 at a predetermined location, and basically has the same configuration as the above-described nitrogen gas replacement device 100. Furthermore, it is different in that the vertical nozzle 7 is provided in the main body 201.

The main body 201 includes a hose connection 3C for connecting a nitrogen gas supply hose, and a vertical nozzle 7 for blowing nitrogen gas from above at an angle of 80 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening 16a of the bottle container. And further comprising. The angle is preferably 85 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening 16a.

The hose connection part 3C and the vertical nozzle 7 are connected by a nitrogen gas passage 6C formed inside the main body part 201.

It is desirable that the vertical nozzle 7 is provided with a throttle mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of the nitrogen gas to be blown. Further, different nitrogen gas supply sources are connected to the hose connection portions 3A, 3B, and 3C, the flow rate of nitrogen gas from the rear nozzle 4, the flow rate of nitrogen gas from the horizontal holes 5A and 5B, and the vertical nozzle 7 It is desirable that the flow rate of nitrogen gas can be adjusted independently.

The blowing of nitrogen gas by the vertical nozzle 7 is performed before the nitrogen gas blowing process from two or three directions by the rear nozzle 4 or the like. Specifically, it is preferably within 10 seconds before spraying from two or three directions by the rear nozzle 4 or the like, more preferably within 5 seconds, and even more preferably within 3 seconds. Most preferably, it is within 1 second. In terms of position, it is preferably 0.5 to 15 cm, more preferably 0.5 to 10 cm, and even more preferably 0.5 to 7 cm before the position where the rear nozzle 4 or the like sprays from two or three directions. In FIG. 11, the opening 16a of the bottle container indicated by a one-dot chain line is a position where nitrogen gas is blown.

The distance (greater than 0 cm) between the nozzle tip of the vertical nozzle 7 and the opening 16a of the bottle container is preferably within 5 cm, more preferably within 1 cm, and even more preferably within 0.5 cm.

The bottle container 16 is preferably transported at a speed of 50 to 250 lines / minute, more preferably at a speed of 100 to 200 lines / minute, at a position where nitrogen gas is blown by the vertical nozzle 7.

The amount of nitrogen gas blown upward by the vertical nozzle 7 is preferably 5 to 400 liters / minute, more preferably 30 to 300 liters / minute, still more preferably 50 to 200 liters / minute, and 100 to 150 liters / minute. Is most preferred. The area of outlet of the vertical nozzle 7 at this time is preferably 45 ~ 1000 mm ^2, more preferably 45 ~ 400 mm ^2, more preferably 50 ~ 200 mm ^2, and most preferably 50 ~ 100 mm ^2. By spraying in this range, it can replace more efficiently and can prevent the liquid food of a liquid food in a container from being produced.

[Effect of the embodiment of the present invention]
According to the embodiment of the present invention, the efficiency of gas replacement for replacing the head space of the container with an inert gas is good (in the preferred embodiment, the oxygen concentration in the head space is 9% by volume or less), and an inert gas atmosphere Since the amount of gas used can be reduced as compared with the case of the above, it is possible to provide a method for manufacturing a container-filled liquid food and an apparatus for manufacturing the same, which are excellent in economics and safety of gas replacement. Moreover, the manufacturing method of the container filling liquid food excellent in the simplicity of the process substituted to an inert gas, and its manufacturing apparatus can be provided.

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to these examples.

In the filling booth 10 shown in FIG. 1, a rapeseed oil made by Nisshin Oilio Group Co., Ltd. is filled into a bottle container 16 (capacity 400 g) made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with a filling machine 12, and then a nitrogen gas replacement device ( 3 and 9A-C), nitrogen is used to replace the air in the head space (30.6 ml) of the bottle container 16 (plastic) with nitrogen gas according to the conditions described in Tables 1 to 4 below. Gas was blown onto the opening 16a of the bottle container 16, and the cap carrier 14a was immediately plugged (within 0.3 seconds) to seal it.

For Examples 1 to 11 and Comparative Examples 1 to 8, the oxygen concentration (%) of the head space immediately after sealing (within 10 minutes after sealing) was measured by the following method, and the measurement results are shown in Tables 1 to 4 . The number of measurements is 20 for each of Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 to 3, and 10 for each of Examples 2 to 11 and Comparative Examples 4 to 8.

<Method for measuring oxygen concentration in headspace>
With respect to the above-mentioned container immediately after sealing, which is a measurement target, a suction needle connected to the measurement target gas suction tube was inserted from above the lid, and the headspace gas collected from this was sent to the sensor unit and measured.
The instrument used for the measurement was OXYGEN METER RO-102 manufactured by Iijima Electronics Co., Ltd. The amount of gas sucked at a time was 3 ml, and this was repeated three times, and the gas sucked at the third time was used for the measurement.

In Examples 1 to 11 and Comparative Examples 1 to 8, the nitrogen gas spray angle was adjusted as follows.
The rear nozzle 4 in FIG. 3 has an angle of about 167 ° with respect to the traveling direction when projected onto the open horizontal plane of the container, an angle of about 34 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, and the area of the outlet is about 79 mm ^2. Is an angle of about 122 ° with respect to the traveling direction when projected on the horizontal plane of the container, an angle of about 30 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, the area of the outlet is about 79 mm ² , and the circular lateral hole 5B is the horizontal plane of the container. The angle with respect to the traveling direction when projected above was about 90 °, the angle with respect to the horizontal plane was about 30 °, and the area of the outlet was about 79 mm ² .
9A, the circular horizontal holes 201A to 201D have angles of about 98 °, about 92 °, about 88 °, and about 82 ° in order of projection with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening of the container. Each was about 30 °, and the area of each outlet was about 79 mm ² .
The horizontally elongated horizontal hole 301 in FIG. 9B had an angle of about 90 ° with respect to the traveling direction when projected onto the horizontal plane of the container, an angle of about 50 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, and the area of the outlet was about 679 mm ² .
The circular horizontal hole 401A in FIG. 9C is an oblong shape having an angle of about 98 ° with respect to the traveling direction when projected on the horizontal plane of the container, an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, and an area of the outlet of about 79 mm ^2. The horizontal hole 401B has an angle of about 90 ° with respect to the traveling direction when projected onto the horizontal plane of the container, an angle of about 45 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, and the area of the outlet is about 279 mm ^2. The angle with respect to the traveling direction when projected onto the horizontal plane of the container was about 82 °, the angle with respect to the horizontal plane was about 45 °, and the area of the outlet was about 79 mm ² .

From Table 1, it can be seen that in Example 1 in which nitrogen gas was blown from the two directions of the rear nozzle and the horizontal hole, the head space was efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas.
On the other hand, even if the total amount of nitrogen gas sprayed is the same as in Example 1, in Comparative Examples 1 to 6 sprayed from only one direction of the horizontal holes, the number of holes serving as gas outlets and the shape of the holes were devised. However, it can be seen that the nitrogen gas could not be efficiently replaced.
Further, in Example 1, the oil in the container was not splashed by blowing nitrogen gas.

From Table 2, it can be seen that in Examples 2 to 9 in which nitrogen gas was blown from the two directions of the rear nozzle and the lateral hole, the head space was efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas.
Further, in Examples 2 to 9, the oil in the container was not splashed by the nitrogen gas spray.
In addition, when the nitrogen gas flow rate from the rear nozzle is fixed at 55 liters / minute, the head space is more efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas as the nitrogen gas flow rate from the horizontal hole is increased. It can be seen that at 245 liters / min or more, the nitrogen gas replacement rate hardly changes even when the flow rate is increased.

On the other hand, from Table 3, it can be seen that in Comparative Examples 7 to 8 in which nitrogen gas was blown from only one direction of the horizontal hole, even if the nitrogen gas flow rate was increased, the improvement of the nitrogen gas replacement rate could not be expected much.

From Table 4, it can be seen that in Examples 10 to 11 in which nitrogen gas was blown from the two directions of the rear nozzle and the horizontal hole, the head space was efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas.
Further, in Examples 10 to 11, the oil in the container was not splashed by the nitrogen gas spray.
It can also be seen that the slower the nitrogen gas replacement speed, the more efficiently the head space is replaced with nitrogen gas.

In the filling booth 10 shown in FIG. 1, rapeseed oil made by Nisshin Oilio Group Co., Ltd. is filled into a bottle container 16 (capacity 400 g) made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with a filling machine 12, and then a nitrogen gas replacement device ( Using three nozzles A to C having a blowing area of about 79 mm ² ), the air in the head space (30.6 ml) of the bottle container 16 (plastic) is turned into nitrogen gas according to the conditions described in Table 5. Replaced. The oxygen concentration in the head space was measured in the same manner as in Example 1 and the like. The number of measurements is 10 for each.

From Table 5, it can be seen that in Examples 12 to 14 in which nitrogen gas was blown from the rear, lateral, and forward directions, the head space was efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas.
In Examples 12 to 14, the oil in the container was not splashed by the nitrogen gas spray.

Next, in the filling booth 10 shown in FIG. 1, rapeseed oil made by Nisshin Oillio Group Co., Ltd. is filled into a plastic bottle container 16 (capacity 1000 g) in which Evar resin and polyolefin resin are laminated by a filling machine 12. After filling, the air in the head space (77.1 ml) of the bottle container 16 is replaced with nitrogen gas according to the conditions described in Table 6 below using a nitrogen gas replacement device (FIG. 3 or FIG. 10). Then, nitrogen gas was blown onto the opening 16a of the bottle container 16, and the cap carrier 14a was immediately plugged and sealed (within 0.3 seconds after blowing by the rear nozzle 4 and the lateral holes 5A and 5B).

For Examples 15 to 18, the oxygen concentration (%) of the head space immediately after sealing (within 10 minutes after sealing) was measured by the method described above, and the measurement results are shown in Table 6. The number of measurements is 10 for each.

In Examples 15 to 18, the nitrogen gas spray angle was adjusted as follows.
3 and 10, the rear nozzle 4 has an angle of about 167 ° with respect to the traveling direction when projected onto the horizontal plane of the container, an angle of about 34 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, and the area of the outlet is about 79 mm ² . The horizontal hole 5A has an angle of about 122 ° with respect to the traveling direction when projected onto the horizontal plane of the container, an angle of about 30 ° with respect to the horizontal plane, and the area of the outlet is about 79 mm ^2. When projected onto the horizontal plane, the angle with respect to the traveling direction was about 90 °, the angle with respect to the horizontal plane was about 30 °, and the area of the outlet was about 79 mm ² .

The vertical nozzle 7 in FIG. 10 was at an angle of about 90 ° with respect to the open horizontal surface of the container, and the area of the outlet was about 79 mm ² .

The nitrogen gas was blown by the vertical nozzle 7 within 0.5 seconds before being blown by the rear nozzle 4 and the horizontal holes 5A and 5B, and 6.5 cm before the position of blowing by the rear nozzle 4 and the horizontal holes 5A and 5B.

When blowing nitrogen gas, the distance between the nozzle tip of the vertical nozzle 7 and the opening 16a of the bottle container was 0.2 cm.

From Table 6, it can be seen that in Example 15 in which nitrogen gas was sprayed from the rear side and the lateral direction on a container having a capacity of 1000 g, the head space was efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas. Further, in Examples 16 to 18 in which nitrogen gas was blown from the upper side to the container having a capacity of 1000 g and then nitrogen gas was blown from the rear side and the horizontal direction, the head space was efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas. I understand.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10: Filling booth 11: 1st conveying machine, 12: Filling machine, 13: 2nd conveying machine 14: Closing machine, 14a: Cap conveying machine, 15: 3rd conveying machine 16: Bottle container, 16a: Opening of bottle container 100, 200: Nitrogen gas replacement device 1, 201: body part, 2, 202: fixing part 3A, 3B, 3C: hose connection part, 4: rear nozzle 5: lateral hole forming part, 5A, 5B: lateral hole 6A, 6B, 6C: Nitrogen gas passage, 7: Vertical nozzle

Claims (18)

An inert gas is blown from two or three directions at an angle of −5 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening toward the opening of the container filled with liquid food so that the gas present in the head space of the container is A method for producing a container-filled liquid food comprising a step of substituting with an inert gas. 2. The two directions or the three directions are characterized in that one or more of an angle formed between the two directions or an angle formed between the three directions is 40 to 180 °. The manufacturing method of the container filling liquid food as described. 3. The method for producing a liquid food filled with a container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein one of the two directions is a backward direction with respect to a traveling direction of the container. 4. The method for producing a container-filled liquid food according to claim 3, wherein the remaining one of the two directions is a lateral direction or a forward direction with respect to the traveling direction of the container. 3. The method for producing a container-filled liquid food according to claim 1, wherein the three directions are a backward direction, a lateral direction, and a forward direction with respect to the traveling direction of the container. The production of container-filled liquid food according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the inert gas outlet for spraying the two- or three-way inert gas is one or more. Method. 7. The container-filled liquid food according to claim 1, wherein the container is closed immediately after spraying the inert gas, or the container is closed while spraying the inert gas. Production method. The container-filled liquid food production according to any one of claims 3 to 7, wherein the container is transported at a speed of 50 to 250 bottles / minute through which the inert gas is sprayed. Method. The method for producing a liquid food filled in a container according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the amount of the inert gas sprayed from the rear direction is 5 to 80 liters / minute. 10. Production of container-filled liquid food according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the amount of the inert gas sprayed from the lateral direction and / or forward direction with respect to the traveling direction is 30 to 450 liters / minute. Method. The container-filled liquid food production according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the inert gas is sprayed so that an oxygen concentration in a head space of the container is 9% by volume or less. Method. The method for producing a container-filled liquid food according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the inert gas is at least one selected from argon gas, helium gas, nitrogen gas, and carbon dioxide gas. . 13. The container according to claim 1, wherein the container is a blow-molded bottle container, and a container cross-sectional diameter of the head space is smaller than a container cross-sectional diameter of a portion filled with the liquid food. 2. A method for producing a container-filled liquid food according to item 1. The method for producing a container-filled liquid food according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the liquid food is an edible fat. Before the step of blowing the inert gas from the two or three directions, the step of blowing the inert gas from one direction at an angle of 80 to 90 ° with respect to the horizontal plane of the opening toward the opening of the container The method for producing a container-filled liquid food according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized by comprising: First and second spraying means or first to second spraying means for spraying an inert gas from two or three directions at an angle of −5 to 90 ° C. with respect to the horizontal surface of the container filled with the liquid food An apparatus for producing a container-filled liquid food, comprising an inert gas replacement device having three spraying means. The container-filled liquid food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising a filling machine for filling the liquid food and a plugging machine for closing the opening of the container. The inert gas replacement device has fourth spraying means for spraying the inert gas from one direction toward the opening of the container at an angle of 80 to 90 ° with respect to a horizontal plane of the opening. The apparatus for producing a container-filled liquid food according to claim 16 or claim 17.

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