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Case Study 05-26-10
Leak Testing Baby Formula Packaging
The cost of protein based powders is relatively high, and global dairy prices lead the pack in price increases. The overall global demand for dairy has surged as a result of increased dairy use in the Middle East and Asia. As countries become more developed, the use of dairy based baby formula increases dramatically. Dairy prices soared from $2,000/ton to $6,000/ton in 2007, and remains at a price of $4,000/ton1. Dairy prices will continue to increase, meaning the cost of wasting dairy product weighs heavier on manufacturing operations each and every day.
| $1 per lb of Dairy | x100 Tests/Day | x320 Days of Operation | = $32,000 Cost for a Single Production Line in 2006 | |
| $2 per lb of Dairy | x100 Tests/Day | x320 Days of Operation | = $64,000 Current Cost of Testing for a Single Production Line |
With expanding markets for protein based products in flexible packaging, increased package testing standards will improve shelf-life and ensure the security of large scale operations. Products using Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) have the highest risk related to deficiencies in package quality control. Most MAP applications use Nitrogen flushing, and testing package quality involves sampling package gas content days after the product has been packaged. This presents two issues:
- The production line is capable of producing 100,000’s of units before a critical process issue can be detected.
- A 50 micron leak will typically only increase the Oxygen (O2) levels in a protein based product from 0.5% to just over 1% in seven days.
The protein based content of many products will allow bacteria to consume the majority of the O2 content before the increase in O2 is detected by gas testing equipment. Leaks as small as 10 microns dramatically decrease the typical 12 to 24 month shelf life of protein based products, but will go undetected using current gas measurement tests.
More immediate package testing is often done by means of the water bath leak test. However, the water bath leak test is only sensitive at best to 25 micron leaks, and in most cases only to 50 microns depending on the package expansion during the testing process.
Although dairy provides unique challenges for package leak testing, cost concerns and testing needs are similar when producing other powder products. Most powders have high cost per weight and rapidly attract both moisture and Oxygen, quickly reducing shelf life.
The PTI VeriPac D-Series have a proven capability of non-destructively testing packaging at the production line, thereby reducing waste and improving testing capabilities. The system reliably detects leaks as small as 10 microns, identifying process issues before they become critical. The patented FLEX-Chamber eliminates the need for changeover when testing different size pouches, and is immune to package variations. It’s also possible to test multiple packages in a single test cycle. VeriPac provides a qualitative result (PASS or FAIL) as well as quantitative data that correlates to leak rate and leak size.
VeriPac D-Series is a practical alternative to destructive testing because it eliminates the subjective results. Water bath testing also increases the risk of bacteria and moisture contamination of the product being packaged. Case studies have proven that vacuum decay leak testing technology provides a very rapid return on investment when compared to destructive test methods. Good packages are not discarded, dramatically reducing waste from quality testing. Significant product savings can be created at the plant and retail levels.
