Solutions for Liquid Sugar UV Treatment

Food and Beverage manufacturers are striving to meet more stringent quality standards. By treating liquid sugar (often referred to as sugar syrups) with ultra-violet light, producers can achieve their treatment goals without the risk of discoloring or changing the taste of their products.

If untreated, microorganisms in liquid sugar can cause food discoloration, adverse flavors, undesired odors and reduced product shelf-life. The utility of UV treatment is further increased as manufacturers respond to consumer demand for reduction in additives and preservatives.

How UV Treatment Works:

UV treats microorganisms by penetrating their cell membranes and damaging the DNA, making them unable to reproduce, inactivating them.

• UV is able to treat a wide range of microorganisms, including those that are tolerant to pasteurization.
• UV treatment will typically hit treatment targets in a single pass.
• Trojan Technologies UV systems have been successfully installed on liquid sugar applications by leading brands including AB InBev, Refresco, Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

UV Liquid Sugar Treatment vs Thermal Pasteurization

Thermal treatment is often applied during the production of sugar syrups to eliminate microorganisms. For those products that can tolerate the temperature, heat pasteurization may be an option. However, heat pasteurization also has drawbacks.

• Thermal treatment can lead to caramelization and a Maillard reaction which produces undesirable colors and aromas in liquid sugar syrup
• Thermal treatment is more energy intensive process and can be more expensive to operate than UV
• Heat pasteurization often has a larger footprint than UV Systems

• Thermal treatment of liquid sugars can lead to formation of potential carcinogens such as Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF). UV does not produce 5-HMF.

If you’re looking for more information on liquid sugar UV treatment, reach out to our team today.