Title of Invention	AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SHELF STABLE PURE FRUIT JUICE FROM NATURAL FRUITS IN FLEXIBLE PACKS
Abstract	The present invention provides an improved process for producing fruit juice concentrate from natural fruits harvested from the orchards which comprises cleaning and washing the fruits in water by any known method; removing pulp from the fruits by known method; heating the pulp for sterilization at a range 9f 85˚ to 100˚ Celsius; concentrating the pulp by removing water as per desired requirement by known methods and thereafter reducing the temperature of concentrate to 85˚ to 71˚ Celsius; adding sugar/glucose and acid to the above concentrate at the said temperature range of 85˚ to 71˚ Celsius; filling the concentrate in a flexible pack which have been sterilized with h2o2 while draining excess of h2o2 at a temperature of 71˚ to 85˚ Celsius; removing the excess air from the packs and sealing the same; cooling the packs with me help of flow of water and water jets to a room temperature; and drying the packs with air flow.

Title of Invention

AN IMPROVED PROCESS FOR PRODUCING SHELF STABLE PURE FRUIT JUICE FROM NATURAL FRUITS IN FLEXIBLE PACKS

Abstract

The present invention provides an improved process for producing fruit juice concentrate from natural fruits harvested from the orchards which comprises cleaning and washing the fruits in water by any known method; removing pulp from the fruits by known method; heating the pulp for sterilization at a range 9f 85˚ to 100˚ Celsius; concentrating the pulp by removing water as per desired requirement by known methods and thereafter reducing the temperature of concentrate to 85˚ to 71˚ Celsius; adding sugar/glucose and acid to the above concentrate at the said temperature range of 85˚ to 71˚ Celsius; filling the concentrate in a flexible pack which have been sterilized with h2o2 while draining excess of h2o2 at a temperature of 71˚ to 85˚ Celsius; removing the excess air from the packs and sealing the same; cooling the packs with me help of flow of water and water jets to a room temperature; and drying the packs with air flow.

Full Text	1.FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a process for producing shelf stable pure fruit juices in flexible packs from natural fruits harvested from the orchards 2.BACKGR0UND OF INVENTION Farm level India is the second largest producer of fruits with an area of 3.8 million Ha with an annual production of more than 45 million tons. The estimated growth rate of fruit crops in India over the past five years is more than 8 %. The post harvest losses of fruits is estimated to be very high (more than 30%), whereas the volume of fruits being processed is less than 1%. Out of the processed more than 80% of the pulp is exported and the domestic consumption is very low. The perishable nature of fruits and limited marketing window is causing glut in the market and fluctuation in the prices leading to high intermediary costs. The intermediary in the chain of final costs is getting 2.5 times more than the actual price released by small farmer. The trends are indicating that the cost of production at the farm level is growing substantially and the net realization from the farms is going down. In India 541 million population is dependent on agriculture and small and marginal farmers hold more than 78% of operational holdings .The livelihood of large majority of the horticulture farmers depends upon the net realization from the farms. There is great need for the improvement of farm income of these farmers. The best way to achieve the improvement of farm income levels is by extending the marketing window by increasing the processing percentage of the fruits. Consumer Level In spite of producing the highest quantity of fruits, the per capita consumption of fruit juices in India is very low. The estimated annual consumption per head is 200 ml which is marginal when compared with the world averages of 8 litres. The juice consumption in developed countries like USA is 56.8 litres and even in countries like Cyprus it is 49.5 Litres. In developing countries like China the juice consumption is more than 1.5 Litres. Important observations on the changing consumer food habits > Changing from traditional food to convenience food > Increasing health consciousness and more preference for natural food > Low calorie and more fibers in food y Awareness on artificial colors, flavors in food > Preferences for readily and continuously available foods on shelf > Preference for the native fruits and fruit products > Fruit products with high fruit pulp content are more preferred Though there is very high preference for natural and native fruits, fruit products, Indian consumer could not be served with fruit products at affordable prices because of the lack of suitable products and process. The products available in Indian market could be first segmented as real fruit drinks and synthetic drinks, the former is based on the real fruit pulp or juice and the others are synthetic products containing the artificial flavors and colors. Some of the examples that can be mentioned under the synthetic drinks are Pepsi, Coke, Fanta, Sprite etc. For the purpose of further segmentation of real fruit drinks on the basis of fruit pulp content, the market can be segmented as fruit juice with pulp content more than 80%. Fruit nectar with pulp content between 40%-80%. Fruit drinks with pulp content less than 40%. Under consumer market for dilution there are other fruit based products offered in the market like squashes and crushes and fruit syrups, which contains less than 40% pulp. These products are mainly aimed for dilution and the pulp % on dilution is 5 to 10%. All the above products are packed in tetra pack, glass bottles, pet bottles, aluminum tins in ready to serve form and the fruit juices available are mango, apple, pineapple, mixed fruit, guava, citrus etc. The above products could not achieve the consumer reach to full market potential because of the following disadvantages > Multiple investments at different stages i.e. pulping, bottling etc. > High cost of packing material > Transportation, handling and distribution costs are high. > Inconvenient and unattractive packs and sizes > Low percentage of pulp on dilution in squashes category The market is currently looking for new product with an innovative low cost packing and high fiiiit pulp content without any artificial colors, flavours and preservatives. Processing Some of the important processing technologies being used in India 1. Canning 2. Bulk Aseptic packing 3. Tetra pack bricks 4. Squashes in bottles. Canning: Gross majority of the fruits processed is through this technology. Canning is an age old proven process wherein the pulp extracted from the fruits is heated till sterilization point in open pans and filled in tins in hot condition .The process gives a shelf life of more than an year . Some of the disadvantages in the process High cost of packing material i.e. tins. Problems on environmental issues on waste disposal. Low consumer acceptance in retail market. No flexibility of the pack sizes. Low Availability of tins. Aseptic Packing High temperature short time technologies are employed wherein the pulp is heated to a temperature of 110 to 125 degrees centigrade for a short period and the sterilized pulp is packed in pre-sterilized aseptic bags. The shelf life of the product is for a year. The flexible bag is to be placed in a secondary pack like MS Drums. Normally the pulp/concentrate is packed in bulk packs. The disadvantages of the system are The process involves very high investment. High cost of secondary packing material Not suitable for packing for the purpose of retail consumer market. The packing material is to be imported on continuous basis and the cost is high Tetra Brick Packing The same HTST technology is employed with form fill seal methodology such that the retail pack of any size can be developed. Most suitable for the consumer retail business. The disadvantages of the system Very high investment Not suitable for packing the products of high viscosity Not suitable for dispensing markets. Very high cost of packing material No scope for packing the products in larger sizes. Bottle Packing The products like Squashes and crushes are packed in bottles .The product is sterilized by heating in open pans to boiling point and filled in bottles. The disadvantages of the system. Not best suitable for retail market as flexible sizes Risk of bottles being broken. Disadvantages of handling and transportation. Cost of the packing material is high. 2.3. Conclusion Thus majority of the products available in the market are made from the processed fruit pulp (extracted from the fruits at primarily processing unit and packed either in tins or aseptic packs). The fruit pulp from the primary units would be transported to the secondary processing units i.e. bottling plants wherein the pulp is converted into formulations and packed in bottles/tetra packs/aluminum tins etc which involves investments at two levels, packing material. The dilution would multiply the packing, transportation, distribution, storage costs. The above process increases the cost of the product to the consumer. The processes available in the market are either investment intensive, involves high cost of packing or not suitable for creating enough retail markets. There is a need to create substantial amount of new markets and expanded window for marketing of fruit products such that the percentage of fruits under processing increases and farmers get much remunerative prices. So there is a great need for development of a suitable product and process which could serve the fruit needs of the Indian consumers at most affordable prices and development of products suitable for consumer market in flexible packs and low investment process technology could be of great need for the improvement of fruit processing industry to provide the consumer with healthy option of fruit juices and producer with remunerative prices. 3. OBJECT OF INVENTION It is therefore, the main objective of the invention to provide the consumer with year round solution to the seasonal availability of fruits, to ensure the health benefits to the best extent possible and help the frnit growers to realize better prices. Part objective is to develop shelf stable processed pure fruit juice products suitable for consumer market and dispensing machines. Another objective is to develop economic fruit processing technology to pack pure fruit pulps and juices in flexible packs. Yet another objective is to identify suitable packaging material to pack pure processed fruit products at most economic cost. These and other objects are achieved by adopting the teachings of the present invention by which the product obtained is not only pure, cheaper and labour saving but also is shelf stable. 4. SUMMARY OF INVENTION: The objective of providing the consumer with most economic solution for the seasonal availability of fruits without preservatives and any other additives has been achieved by reducing the microbial load through pre-wash, sterilizing the product at specified temperature & time lines and specialized filling to assure — the reduction of microbial load as well as maintain the organoleptic properties like taste and aroma. 5.DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The process of producing shelf stable pure fruit juices from natural fruits in flexible packs involves the following steps. Reducing the initial surface microbial load by washing the fruit with the disinfectant solution and washing the traces of the disinfectant under running water. As the acidity of the individual fruit differs to a minute level, acidity of the product is made up to a standard level which is very close to the natural PH of the juice. This could be achieved by testing the acidity of minimum accumulated standard batch and dousing it with citric acid solution to make up to the set standard. The juice is then heated to sterilization temperature within prescribed time from pulping and maintained at that temperature for prescribed time to achieve maximum elimination of the microbial load. The product is filled into spout pouches by an automatic filling machine, which gives the complete control on the time factor at different stages. Filling syringe gets dipped into the spout while filling. The gap between the spout inner and the nozzle outer is I mm. By adopting closed environment filling at sterilization temperature both packing material and filling environment are also sterilized. As the packing material is easily and does not create any frothing and the filling speed is also very good. Juice is filled til] the spout base thus leaving minimal air space and, very minimized oxidation during the storage period. The processes of hot filling avoids air bubbles during filling, and, cooling the pouch after capping helps in creating vapor pressure at spout, creating the perfect seal at the cap. Sterilization of pack assures further product, of pack joint and surface contamination and thus helping the product to stay shelf stable for one year. The time limit from the point of pulping to cooling the pouches to room temperature, enables the product to retain the taste aroma and the organoleptic properties. An improved process for producing shelf stable pure fruit juices from natural fruits in flexible packs which comprises the steps of (i) Cleaning and washing the fruits with disinfectant solution for reducing the surface microbial load; (ii) Washing the fruit under forced water to clean the disinfectant residues; (iii) Removing pulp from the fruits by pulper; characterized in that (a) the pulp from the fruit is heated for sterilization upto a temperature of 92 degree Celsius within 16 minutes; (b) Standardizing acidity/PH of the pulp obtained in step (iii), by adding citric acid solution to a batch; (c) Sterilizing the pulp obtained in step (a), to 92 to 95 degree Celsius within 20 minutes from extracting the pulp to packing; (d) Maintaining the pulp temperature at 92 to 95 degree Celsius for 4 minutes for reducing the microbial load for shelf stability; (e) Filling the pulp, obtained in step (d), on line at 92 to 95 degree Celsius into flexible pouch with spout, wherein, the nozzle diameter is to be 1 mm less than the spout inner diameter and the nozzle shall be dipped to a minimum of 10 mm into the spout before filling; (f) Filling the pack till the base of the spout allowing minimum air space; (g) Capping the pouches within 1 5 seconds after filling; (h) Sterilizing the packs obtained in step (g), through dipping in boiling water or passing through steam for a minimum of 4 minutes; (i) Cooling the packs obtained m step j, with the help of flow of water and water jets to a room temperature; (j) Drying the packs with airflow. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Sterilization & Filling Processes: The fruits are washed with any approved disinfectant (Virosil agro which is a muhi-component complex formulation containing Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) and Silver (Ag) in cationic form (250 ml in 10 liters of water)), crushed for extracting pulp. The acidity of the juice is stabilized by adding citric acid as per US FDA standards of pure category. The temperature of the pulp is raised to an extent of 92 to 95 degrees Celsius within 10 minutes from pulping and maintained for 4 minutes at the same temperature. The sterilization line would take 14 minutes from the time it takes the pulp till it is filled into the pouch. Whereas within 10 minutes the pulp temperature is reached to 92 deg Celsius and next 4 minutes the pulp is maintained at a temperature range of 92 to 95 degree Celsius. The product is filled on line into the pouches with spout, through an automatic filling equipment at the same temperature range. The differential in the outer diameter of nozzle and inner diameter of the spout is to be 1 mm. (Eg. 10 mm inner diameter of spout and 9 mm outer diameter of the filling nozzle). Product is filled by dipping the nozzle into the spout to an extent of 10 mm. The juice is filled into the pack till the neck base avoiding any air space in the pack. Capping to be done within 15 seconds after filling. Packed pouches are sterilized in boiling water and cooled to the room temperature. The complete processes being on line would enable the time lines to be followed as per the schedule. The time taken for the processing from the pulp extraction to the filling & capping is 20 minutes. The pulp is in heating zone for 10 minutes (reaching to 92 deg Celsius). The pulp is in hot zone for 8 minutes (at range of 92 to 95 deg Celsius pulp + pack sterilization). The total time taken from pulping to the cooling of the pouches to the room temperature is 44 minutes. The same fruit from the time it enters the washing till it is converted to juice pack at the room temperature would take a maximum of 50 minutes. 6.2. The Packing Material: Any flexible packing material that can withstand hot filling temperature, i.e 95 degree centigrade and food grade which can withstand the weight of the product as per the weight. Some of the packing materials are: CPET Crystalline Polyester CPP Cast Polypropylene EPP Expanded polypropylene EVOH Ethylene Vinyl alcohol Copolymer PE Polyethylene PS Polystyrene PP Polypropylene PA Polyamide (Nylon) PVC Polyvinyl chloride AL Aluminum Foil Filling the product in spout pouch in defined processes at 92 to 95 degrees Celsius 1 1 6.5 Details of the Equipment 1) Feeder Hopper for feeding the fruits 2) Roller conveyor with disinfectant nozzles on the top for disinfectant washing 3) Roller conveyors with water nozzles on the top and plastic bristle brushes at the bottom for water washing 4) Flat conveyor for inspection and cutting of fruits 5) Bucket elevator for uniform feeding the cut fruits/fruits to the pulper 6) Pulper for extracting pulp from fruits 7) Collection Tank for collecting the pulp for batch stabilization of PH. 8) sterilization equipment for heating the pulp to the required temperature, with in the time lines with out causing charring. 9) Valves for alternate feeding the pulp to tanks as well as sterilizer from Tanks 10) Automatic filling equipment for sucking the hot pulp on line and filling it in to the spout pouches with the following functionalities a) Picks up the pouches on line which are loaded to the channel through the neck holding of the spout b) Aligns the pouches to the filling head with an option of no pouch no filling. c) The nozzle size is 9 mm and would dip into the 10 mm spout to a depth of 10 mm and fill the exact aligned quantities till the base of the spout. d) Capping the pouches automatically with in 15 seconds after filling. 11 )Pouch sterilization Conveyor (To sterilize the pouches at required temperature and time) 12)Pouch Cooling Conveyor (To cool the pouches to the required temperature with in time) I Claim: 1. An improved process for producing shelf stable pure fruit juices from natural fruits in flexible packs which comprises the steps of: (i) Cleaning and washing the fruits with disinfectant solution for reducing the surface microbial load; (ii) Washing the fruit under forced water to clean the disinfectant residues; (lii) Removing pulp from the fruits by pulper; characterized in that (a) the pulp from the fruit is heated for sterilization upto a temperature of 92 degree Celsius within 16 minutes; (b) Standardizing acidity/PH of the pulp obtained in step (iii), by adding citric acid solution to a batch; (c) Sterilizing the pulp obtained in step (a), to 92 to 95 degree Celsius within 20 minutes from extracting the pulp to packing; (d) Maintaining the pulp temperature at 92 to 95 degree Celsius for 4 minutes for reducing the microbial load for shelf stability; (e) Filling the pulp, obtained in step (d), on line at 92 to 95 degree Celsius into flexible pouch with spout, wherein, the nozzle diameter is to be I mm less than the spout inner diameter and the nozzle shall be dipped to a minimum of 10 mm into the spout before filling; (f) Filling the pack till the base of the spout allowing minimum air space; (g) Capping the pouches within 15 seconds after filling; (h) Sterilizing the packs obtained in step (g), through dipping m boiling water or passing through steam for a minimum of 4 minutes; (i) Cooling the packs obtained in step j, with the help of flow of water and water jets to a room temperature; (j) Drying the packs with airflow. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the obtained product is 100% pure and shelf stable without any additives and preservatives. 3. The process as claimed in claim 1 and 2, wherein the pulp temperature is maintained between 92 degree Celsius and 95 degree Celsius. 4. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein filling the hot pulp in pouches is achieved by dipping the nozzle of the filling equipment into the spout of the pouches to an extent of 10mm and at a temperature ranging between 92 - 95 degree Celsius. 5. The process as claimed in claims 1 & 4, wherein the differential in the outer diameter of nozzle and inner diameter of the spout is 1mm. 6. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the packing material used for making the pouches are: CPET Crystalline Polyester CPP Cast Polypropylene EPP Expanded polypropylene EVOH Ethylene Vinyl alcohol Copolymer PE Polyethylene PS Polystyrene PP Polypropylene PA Polyamide (Nylon) PVC Polyvinyl chloride AE Aluminum Foil

Full Text

1.FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for producing shelf stable pure fruit juices in flexible packs from natural fruits harvested from the orchards
2.BACKGR0UND OF INVENTION
Farm level
India is the second largest producer of fruits with an area of 3.8 million Ha with an annual production of more than 45 million tons. The estimated growth rate of fruit crops in India over the past five years is more than 8 %. The post harvest losses of fruits is estimated to be very high (more than 30%), whereas the volume of fruits being processed is less than 1%. Out of the processed more than 80% of the pulp is exported and the domestic consumption is very low.
The perishable nature of fruits and limited marketing window is causing glut in the market and fluctuation in the prices leading to high intermediary costs. The intermediary in the chain of final costs is getting 2.5 times more than the actual price released by small farmer.
The trends are indicating that the cost of production at the farm level is growing substantially and the net realization from the farms is going down.
In India 541 million population is dependent on agriculture and small and marginal farmers hold more than 78% of operational holdings .The livelihood of large majority of the horticulture farmers depends upon the net realization from the farms. There is great need for the improvement of farm income of these farmers. The best way to achieve the improvement of farm income levels

is by extending the marketing window by increasing the processing percentage of the fruits.
Consumer Level
In spite of producing the highest quantity of fruits, the per capita consumption of fruit juices in India is very low. The estimated annual consumption per head is 200 ml which is marginal when compared with the world averages of 8 litres. The juice consumption in developed countries like USA is 56.8 litres and even in countries like Cyprus it is 49.5 Litres. In developing countries like China the juice consumption is more than 1.5 Litres.
Important observations on the changing consumer food habits
> Changing from traditional food to convenience food
> Increasing health consciousness and more preference for natural food
> Low calorie and more fibers in food
y Awareness on artificial colors, flavors in food
> Preferences for readily and continuously available foods on shelf
> Preference for the native fruits and fruit products
> Fruit products with high fruit pulp content are more preferred
Though there is very high preference for natural and native fruits, fruit products, Indian consumer could not be served with fruit products at affordable prices because of the lack of suitable products and process.
The products available in Indian market could be first segmented as real fruit drinks and synthetic drinks, the former is based on the real fruit pulp or juice and the others are synthetic products containing the artificial flavors and colors. Some of the examples that can be mentioned under the synthetic drinks are Pepsi, Coke, Fanta, Sprite etc.

For the purpose of further segmentation of real fruit drinks on the basis of fruit pulp content, the market can be segmented as fruit juice with pulp content more than 80%. Fruit nectar with pulp content between 40%-80%. Fruit drinks with pulp content less than 40%.
Under consumer market for dilution there are other fruit based products offered in the market like squashes and crushes and fruit syrups, which contains less than 40% pulp. These products are mainly aimed for dilution and the pulp % on dilution is 5 to 10%.
All the above products are packed in tetra pack, glass bottles, pet bottles, aluminum tins in ready to serve form and the fruit juices available are mango, apple, pineapple, mixed fruit, guava, citrus etc.
The above products could not achieve the consumer reach to full market potential because of the following disadvantages
> Multiple investments at different stages i.e. pulping, bottling etc.
> High cost of packing material
> Transportation, handling and distribution costs are high.
> Inconvenient and unattractive packs and sizes
> Low percentage of pulp on dilution in squashes category
The market is currently looking for new product with an innovative low cost packing and high fiiiit pulp content without any artificial colors, flavours and preservatives.
Processing
Some of the important processing technologies being used in India

1. Canning
2. Bulk Aseptic packing
3. Tetra pack bricks
4. Squashes in bottles.
Canning:
Gross majority of the fruits processed is through this technology. Canning is an age old proven process wherein the pulp extracted from the fruits is heated till sterilization point in open pans and filled in tins in hot condition .The process gives a shelf life of more than an year .
Some of the disadvantages in the process
High cost of packing material i.e. tins.
Problems on environmental issues on waste disposal.
Low consumer acceptance in retail market.
No flexibility of the pack sizes.
Low Availability of tins.
Aseptic Packing
High temperature short time technologies are employed wherein the pulp is heated to a temperature of 110 to 125 degrees centigrade for a short period and the sterilized pulp is packed in pre-sterilized aseptic bags. The shelf life of the product is for a year. The flexible bag is to be placed in a secondary pack like MS Drums. Normally the pulp/concentrate is packed in bulk packs.
The disadvantages of the system are
The process involves very high investment.
High cost of secondary packing material
Not suitable for packing for the purpose of retail consumer market.
The packing material is to be imported on continuous basis and the cost is high

Tetra Brick Packing
The same HTST technology is employed with form fill seal methodology such that the retail pack of any size can be developed. Most suitable for the consumer retail business.
The disadvantages of the system
Very high investment
Not suitable for packing the products of high viscosity
Not suitable for dispensing markets.
Very high cost of packing material
No scope for packing the products in larger sizes.
Bottle Packing
The products like Squashes and crushes are packed in bottles .The product is sterilized by heating in open pans to boiling point and filled in bottles.
The disadvantages of the system.
Not best suitable for retail market as flexible sizes
Risk of bottles being broken.
Disadvantages of handling and transportation.
Cost of the packing material is high.
2.3. Conclusion
Thus majority of the products available in the market are made from the processed fruit pulp (extracted from the fruits at primarily processing unit and packed either in tins or aseptic packs). The fruit pulp from the primary units would be transported to the secondary processing units i.e. bottling plants wherein the pulp is converted into formulations and packed in bottles/tetra packs/aluminum tins etc which involves investments at two levels, packing material. The dilution would multiply the packing, transportation, distribution,

storage costs. The above process increases the cost of the product to the consumer.
The processes available in the market are either investment intensive, involves high cost of packing or not suitable for creating enough retail markets.
There is a need to create substantial amount of new markets and expanded window for marketing of fruit products such that the percentage of fruits under processing increases and farmers get much remunerative prices. So there is a great need for development of a suitable product and process which could serve the fruit needs of the Indian consumers at most affordable prices and development of products suitable for consumer market in flexible packs and low investment process technology could be of great need for the improvement of fruit processing industry to provide the consumer with healthy option of fruit juices and producer with remunerative prices.
3. OBJECT OF INVENTION
It is therefore, the main objective of the invention to provide the consumer with year round solution to the seasonal availability of fruits, to ensure the health benefits to the best extent possible and help the frnit growers to realize better prices.
Part objective is to develop shelf stable processed pure fruit juice products suitable for consumer market and dispensing machines.
Another objective is to develop economic fruit processing technology to pack pure fruit pulps and juices in flexible packs.
Yet another objective is to identify suitable packaging material to pack pure processed fruit products at most economic cost.

These and other objects are achieved by adopting the teachings of the present invention by which the product obtained is not only pure, cheaper and labour saving but also is shelf stable.
4. SUMMARY OF INVENTION:
The objective of providing the consumer with most economic solution for the seasonal availability of fruits without preservatives and any other additives has been achieved by reducing the microbial load through pre-wash, sterilizing the product at specified temperature & time lines and specialized filling to assure
— the reduction of microbial load as well as maintain the organoleptic properties like taste and aroma.

5.DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The process of producing shelf stable pure fruit juices from natural fruits in flexible packs involves the following steps. Reducing the initial surface microbial load by washing the fruit with the disinfectant solution and washing the traces of the disinfectant under running water. As the acidity of the individual fruit differs to a minute level, acidity of the product is made up to a standard level which is very close to the natural PH of the juice. This could be achieved by testing the acidity of minimum accumulated standard batch and dousing it with citric acid solution to make up to the set standard. The juice is then heated to sterilization temperature within prescribed time from pulping and maintained at that temperature for prescribed time to achieve maximum elimination of the microbial load. The product is filled into spout pouches by an automatic filling machine, which gives the complete control on the time factor at different stages. Filling syringe gets dipped into the spout while filling. The gap between the spout inner and the nozzle outer is I mm. By adopting closed environment filling at sterilization temperature both packing material and filling environment are also sterilized. As the packing material is

easily and does not create any frothing and the filling speed is also very good. Juice is filled til] the spout base thus leaving minimal air space and, very minimized oxidation during the storage period. The processes of hot filling avoids air bubbles during filling, and, cooling the pouch after capping helps in creating vapor pressure at spout, creating the perfect seal at the cap. Sterilization of pack assures further product, of pack joint and surface contamination and thus helping the product to stay shelf stable for one year. The time limit from the point of pulping to cooling the pouches to room temperature, enables the product to retain the taste aroma and the organoleptic properties.
An improved process for producing shelf stable pure fruit juices from natural fruits in flexible packs which comprises the steps of
(i) Cleaning and washing the fruits with disinfectant solution for reducing the surface microbial load;
(ii) Washing the fruit under forced water to clean the disinfectant residues;
(iii) Removing pulp from the fruits by pulper;
characterized in that
(a) the pulp from the fruit is heated for sterilization upto a temperature of 92 degree Celsius within 16 minutes;
(b) Standardizing acidity/PH of the pulp obtained in step (iii), by adding citric acid solution to a batch;
(c) Sterilizing the pulp obtained in step (a), to 92 to 95 degree Celsius within 20 minutes from extracting the pulp to packing;
(d) Maintaining the pulp temperature at 92 to 95 degree Celsius for 4 minutes for
reducing the microbial load for shelf stability;
(e) Filling the pulp, obtained in step (d), on line at 92 to 95 degree Celsius into flexible pouch with spout, wherein, the nozzle diameter is to be 1 mm less than the spout inner diameter and the nozzle shall be dipped to a minimum of 10 mm into the spout before filling;
(f) Filling the pack till the base of the spout allowing minimum air space;
(g) Capping the pouches within 1 5 seconds after filling;
(h) Sterilizing the packs obtained in step (g), through dipping in boiling water or passing
through steam for a minimum of 4 minutes;
(i) Cooling the packs obtained m step j, with the help of flow of water and water jets to a room
temperature;
(j) Drying the packs with airflow.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Sterilization & Filling Processes:
The fruits are washed with any approved disinfectant (Virosil agro which is a muhi-component complex formulation containing Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) and Silver (Ag) in cationic form (250 ml in 10 liters of water)), crushed for extracting pulp. The acidity of the juice is stabilized by adding citric acid as per US FDA standards of pure category. The temperature of the pulp is raised to an extent of 92 to 95 degrees Celsius within 10 minutes from pulping and maintained for 4 minutes at the same temperature. The sterilization line would take 14 minutes from the time it takes the pulp till it is filled into the pouch. Whereas within 10 minutes the pulp temperature is reached to 92 deg Celsius and next 4 minutes the pulp is maintained at a temperature range of 92 to 95 degree Celsius.
The product is filled on line into the pouches with spout, through an automatic filling equipment at the same temperature range. The differential in the outer diameter of nozzle and inner diameter of the spout is to be 1 mm. (Eg. 10 mm inner diameter of spout and 9 mm outer diameter of the filling nozzle). Product is filled by dipping the nozzle into the spout to an extent of 10 mm. The juice is filled into the pack till the neck base avoiding any air space in the pack. Capping to be done within 15 seconds after filling. Packed pouches are sterilized in boiling water and cooled to the room temperature. The complete processes being on line would enable the time lines to be followed as per the schedule.
The time taken for the processing from the pulp extraction to the filling & capping is 20 minutes. The pulp is in heating zone for 10 minutes (reaching to 92 deg Celsius). The pulp is in hot zone for 8 minutes (at range of 92 to 95 deg Celsius pulp + pack sterilization). The total time taken from pulping to the cooling of the pouches to the room temperature is 44 minutes. The same fruit

from the time it enters the washing till it is converted to juice pack at the room temperature would take a maximum of 50 minutes.
6.2. The Packing Material:
Any flexible packing material that can withstand hot filling temperature, i.e 95 degree centigrade and food grade which can withstand the weight of the product as per the weight. Some of the packing materials are:
CPET Crystalline Polyester
CPP Cast Polypropylene
EPP Expanded polypropylene
EVOH Ethylene Vinyl alcohol Copolymer
PE Polyethylene
PS Polystyrene
PP Polypropylene
PA Polyamide (Nylon)
PVC Polyvinyl chloride
AL Aluminum Foil

Filling the product in spout pouch in defined processes at 92 to 95 degrees
Celsius
1 1

6.5 Details of the Equipment
1) Feeder Hopper for feeding the fruits
2) Roller conveyor with disinfectant nozzles on the top for disinfectant washing
3) Roller conveyors with water nozzles on the top and plastic bristle brushes at the bottom for water washing
4) Flat conveyor for inspection and cutting of fruits
5) Bucket elevator for uniform feeding the cut fruits/fruits to the pulper
6) Pulper for extracting pulp from fruits
7) Collection Tank for collecting the pulp for batch stabilization of PH.
8) sterilization equipment for heating the pulp to the required temperature, with in the time lines with out causing charring.
9) Valves for alternate feeding the pulp to tanks as well as sterilizer from Tanks
10) Automatic filling equipment for sucking the hot pulp on line and filling it in to the spout pouches with the following functionalities

a) Picks up the pouches on line which are loaded to the channel through the neck holding of the spout
b) Aligns the pouches to the filling head with an option of no pouch no filling.
c) The nozzle size is 9 mm and would dip into the 10 mm spout to a depth of 10 mm and fill the exact aligned quantities till the base of the spout.
d) Capping the pouches automatically with in 15 seconds after filling.
11 )Pouch sterilization Conveyor (To sterilize the pouches at required
temperature and time) 12)Pouch Cooling Conveyor (To cool the pouches to the required temperature
with in time)

I Claim:
1. An improved process for producing shelf stable pure fruit juices from
natural fruits in flexible packs which comprises the steps of:
(i) Cleaning and washing the fruits with disinfectant solution for reducing the surface microbial load;
(ii) Washing the fruit under forced water to clean the disinfectant residues;
(lii) Removing pulp from the fruits by pulper;
characterized in that
(a) the pulp from the fruit is heated for sterilization upto a temperature of 92 degree Celsius within 16 minutes;
(b) Standardizing acidity/PH of the pulp obtained in step (iii), by adding citric acid solution to a batch;
(c) Sterilizing the pulp obtained in step (a), to 92 to 95 degree Celsius within 20 minutes from extracting the pulp to packing;
(d) Maintaining the pulp temperature at 92 to 95 degree Celsius for 4 minutes for reducing the microbial load for shelf stability;
(e) Filling the pulp, obtained in step (d), on line at 92 to 95 degree Celsius into flexible pouch with spout, wherein, the nozzle diameter is to be I mm less than the spout inner diameter and the nozzle shall be dipped to a minimum of 10 mm into the spout before filling;
(f) Filling the pack till the base of the spout allowing minimum air space;
(g) Capping the pouches within 15 seconds after filling;
(h) Sterilizing the packs obtained in step (g), through dipping m boiling water
or passing through steam for a minimum of 4 minutes;
(i) Cooling the packs obtained in step j, with the help of flow of water and
water jets to a room temperature;
(j) Drying the packs with airflow.

The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the obtained product is 100% pure and shelf stable without any additives and preservatives.

3. The process as claimed in claim 1 and 2, wherein the pulp temperature is
maintained between 92 degree Celsius and 95 degree Celsius.
4. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein filling the hot pulp in
pouches is achieved by dipping the nozzle of the filling equipment into the
spout of the pouches to an extent of 10mm and at a temperature ranging
between 92 - 95 degree Celsius.
5. The process as claimed in claims 1 & 4, wherein the differential in the outer diameter of nozzle and inner diameter of the spout is 1mm.
6. The process as claimed in claim 1, wherein the packing material used for
making the pouches are:
CPET Crystalline Polyester
CPP Cast Polypropylene
EPP Expanded polypropylene
EVOH Ethylene Vinyl alcohol Copolymer
PE Polyethylene
PS Polystyrene
PP Polypropylene
PA Polyamide (Nylon)
PVC Polyvinyl chloride
AE Aluminum Foil

Documents:

1107-che-2004-abstract.pdf

1107-che-2004-claims.pdf

1107-che-2004-correspondnece-others.pdf

1107-che-2004-correspondnece-po.pdf

1107-che-2004-description(complete).pdf

1107-che-2004-form 1.pdf

1107-che-2004-form 26.pdf

1107-che-2004-form 3.pdf

1107-che-2004-form 9.pdf

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Patent Number

210051

Indian Patent Application Number

1107/CHE/2004

PG Journal Number

50/2007

Publication Date

14-Dec-2007

Grant Date

17-Sep-2007

Date of Filing

21-Oct-2004

Name of Patentee

SHRI. KOTAGIRI VENKATA SATYA NARASIMHA RAO

Applicant Address

NO. 403, SWASTIK TOWERS, MOTINAGAR, HYDERABAD

Inventors:

#	Inventor's Name	Inventor's Address
1	KOTAGIRI VENKATA SATYA NARASIMHA RAO	NO. 403, SWASTIK TOWERS, MOTINAGAR, HYDERABAD,

PCT International Classification Number

A23 L 2/04

PCT International Application Number

N/A

PCT International Filing date

PCT Conventions:

#	PCT Application Number	Date of Convention	Priority Country
1			NA