2019-10-05
ANTWER, BELGIUM

​​​​​​​​​​​​​Sustainable JNSD line pays off – Tetra Pak wins "IFU 2019 Innovation Award"

"In 2011, we realized that something could be done differently in the Juice-Nectar-Still Drink (JNSD) industry and decided to focus on how to make juice production more sustainable. To achieve that we needed to find innovative solutions which save energy and water", says Maria Norlin, Subcategory Manager JNSD & Other Beverages.

This was the start of a long-term project to develop a low-energy JNSD line. Traditionally, we pasteurize the full volume (juice concentrate + water), where the most energy-intensive process step is heat treatment. In the new line, we pasteurize the smallest possible volume, the concentrate. The rest which is water is treated separately with more cost-effective aseptic technologies such as filtration and UV light.

Download White paper:​​​​​​​​​​Redefining JNSD beverage line architecture with filtration and UV​​​​

On October 1st, this ground-breaking initiative was recognized by International Fruit and Vegetable juice Association, as Tetra Pak was honoured with the "IFU 2019 Innovation Award" at the annual Juice Summit in Antwerp, Belgium. Maria Norlin who represented Tetra Pak along with several colleagues said "The success of the project is a result of team effort, with many dedicated people at Tetra Pak involved in this project for a number of years. From the very beginning we believed it must be possible to develop a more sustainable solution and at the same time guarantee food safety. We have challenged ourselves to set really ambitious goals to rethink and redesign the traditional JNSD line"​

Besides decreasing water consumption by 50%, the new low-energy JNSD line also lowers the energy consumption by 67%. "Today there are no competing alternatives on the market, so it will be exciting to be able to offer this attractive product and line to customers. Right now, we are moving from pilot to industrialization and aim to launch during Q2 next year," concludes Maria.