Built for variety, designed for safety

Whether it’s small batch sizes or rapid product changeovers: Ready-to-Drink (RTD) production lines require technology that can adapt to market demands without compromising on safety.

The Ready-to-Drink (RTD) market is growing rapidly and the range is becoming increasingly diverse. That brings new challenges for producers: how do you combine this variety with consistent food safety, especially when products are sterilized using retort processes?

The variety wave: Why flexibility in shape and format is essential

The wide range of packaging in the Ready-To-Drink market places high demands on the product handling process. Think:

• Volumes from 150 ml to 1 liter
• Materials such as glass, PET, or aluminum
• Different shapes and closures

For manufacturers, this means more frequent switches between products and formats. It requires flexible machinery and a well-designed can handling system.

Food safety: The invisible risk you can’t afford to miss

While packaging diversity brings operational challenges, food safety remains the most critical factor in Ready-To-Drink production. Incidents are rare, but when they occur, the impact is significant, often leading to product recalls to prevent negative health effects.

Retort automation plays a key role in food safety:

• Integration with (visual) inspection and detection equipment
• Automated sampling after sterilization for ongoing quality checks
• Real-time batch tracking, logging and HMI alarms for operators
• Precise control of sterilization parameters (temperature, pressure, time)
• Automatic data recording for full traceability and compliance

Handling Xtreme isn’t a product demo; it’s proof of what’s possible, built around the real challenges producers face every day. Watch episode 1 of Handling Xtreme to see how food safety and flexibility are tested under real production conditions.

In this episode we test:

1. Flexibility – how fast and easy can you do a format change?
2.  Food safety – how smart is the system to find improperly sterilized batches?