Canning and pasteurizing soda questions

[Daphne]

Hi, I’ve been lurking on these boards for a while and am looking for some advice. I’m starting a soda business with a partner. We sold last fall at farmers markets and we’d like to start selling in stores. Our first experiment with canning the soda went like this:
-Made a 5 gallon batch of flavored tea (black tea, hibiscus flowers and cane sugar)
-Put it into a corny keg and force carbonated.
-A local “mobile canning” business came to our kitchen and canned the soda.
-Pasteurized half the cans in a water bath at 160 for 10 minutes
-Put half the pasteurized cans in the fridge and half on a shelf
-Put half the unpasteurized cans in the fridge and half on a shelf

Started testing for shelf life one week later.
The unpasteurized cans were less carbonated.
At 1 and 2 weeks everything tasted the same.
At three weeks 3 cans tasted the same and the UNpasteurized UNrefrigerated can “exploded” upon opening (not actual shards of metal). It smelled like a wine cooler and tasted a bit like kombucha or drinking vinegar.

So pasteurization seems to be a good idea but if you have any insight into the process and/or results so far I’d love to hear it.
Thank you

 

[MrFoodScientist]

You're on the right track, your testing method is mostly sound.

If you're going to be selling in stores, pasteurizing is a must. You don't want to deal with a recall.

I would imagine that 160° for 10 min might not be adequate for complete shelf stability. How did you choose those parameters? Was that the temperature of the water bath? If so, how do you know what the internal temperature of the beverage was and for how long? Pasteurization is a combination of time and temperature, so a higher temp for shorter time is better. If you can't validate the time above a certain temperature, then it's best to try and hit a higher temp (like 190°) where the length of time required would be considered instantaneous. Next time, try and get your hands on a max temp or dishwasher thermometer that you can put in one of the cans so you know what the highest temperature is that you achieve with each batch you pasteurize and keep records.

For your shelf life testing, you're doing pretty good, but you're looking at it from a quality standpoint whereas the pasteurization is considered a safety issue. Do you have any labs nearby that can do micro testing for you so you know that your pasteurization is effective? For quality, you'll also want to probably go much longer than 3 weeks. I'm not sure off hand what typical shelf life is for beverages, but I think that stores will want at least six weeks.

 

[torilen]

Interesting. I'll keep an eye on this thread, just for the info.

Good luck with that business, by the way.

 

[Daphne]

Mr. Food Scientist, thank you for your answer. To be honest, I can't find the info about where we decided on those numbers. The main mistake, and one that you pointed out, is that we never measured the temp inside of a can. That’s what we’ll do for the next round. And we'll get it to 190.

We have a lab where we’ll send sample of the first two flavors and we can choose to do additional testing beyond nutrition. Would you recommend against using a home kit? https://www.biosan.com/yeast-mold-test-kit

 

[rodolfof1]

Mr. Food Scientist, thank you for your answer. To be honest, I can't find the info about where we decided on those numbers. The main mistake, and one that you pointed out, is that we never measured the temp inside of a can. That’s what we’ll do for the next round. And we'll get it to 190.

We have a lab where we’ll send sample of the first two flavors and we can choose to do additional testing beyond nutrition. Would you recommend against using a home kit? https://www.biosan.com/yeast-mold-test-kit

Hey, how is your soda production going?
Could you tell me a little bit more about your experience?

 

[Daphne]

We've sold for 2 seasons at the Farmer's Market so far. We "brew" the juice, spices etc. in a commercial kitchen, put it into a 5 gal keg and force carbonate to about 30 psi. We take kegs and a jockey box to the market and sell it by the cup or growler. You can see some pics at piraquadrinks.com or find us on face book: Piraqua Drinks. We're also gearing up to bottle (skipped cans for now) at a facility that can do small runs.

 

[rodolfof1]

Hi, I’ve been lurking on these boards for a while and am looking for some advice. I’m starting a soda business with a partner. We sold last fall at farmers markets and we’d like to start selling in stores. Our first experiment with canning the soda went like this:
-Made a 5 gallon batch of flavored tea (black tea, hibiscus flowers and cane sugar)
-Put it into a corny keg and force carbonated.
-A local “mobile canning” business came to our kitchen and canned the soda.
-Pasteurized half the cans in a water bath at 160 for 10 minutes
-Put half the pasteurized cans in the fridge and half on a shelf
-Put half the unpasteurized cans in the fridge and half on a shelf

Started testing for shelf life one week later.
The unpasteurized cans were less carbonated.
At 1 and 2 weeks everything tasted the same.
At three weeks 3 cans tasted the same and the UNpasteurized UNrefrigerated can “exploded” upon opening (not actual shards of metal). It smelled like a wine cooler and tasted a bit like kombucha or drinking vinegar.

So pasteurization seems to be a good idea but if you have any insight into the process and/or results so far I’d love to hear it.
Thank you

Have you tried pasteurizing before put the liquid into the keg to carbonate? I think it would be easier and less dangerous. I've never tried it, just thinking.

 

[themaroon]

We've sold for 2 seasons at the Farmer's Market so far. We "brew" the juice, spices etc. in a commercial kitchen, put it into a 5 gal keg and force carbonate to about 30 psi. We take kegs and a jockey box to the market and sell it by the cup or growler. You can see some pics at piraquadrinks.com or find us on face book: Piraqua Drinks. We're also gearing up to bottle (skipped cans for now) at a facility that can do small runs.

What you are doing is almost certainly illegal. Most states' cottage food laws don't include beverages. If you are using fresh juices, you'll need to have a HACCP plan in place. (I'm pretty sure that's due to federal regs, but your state department of ag will never approve it without that.)

I am working on bringing a carbonated product to market and it's complicated!

 

[MrFoodScientist]

What you are doing is almost certainly illegal. Most states' cottage food laws don't include beverages. If you are using fresh juices, you'll need to have a HACCP plan in place. (I'm pretty sure that's due to federal regs, but your state department of ag will never approve it without that.)

I am working on bringing a carbonated product to market and it's complicated!

I think it is different when it is viewed as food service versus packaged food production. If you're trying to get into grocery stores, yeah, it's complicated and you're subject to federal regulations, because it's typically interstate commerce at that level. If you're serving at a farmers' market, it generally is acceptable to follow county health department regulations and you're good to go if you're serving it on site rather than selling bottled product.

 

[Daphne]

Mr. Food Scientist is right, there are different regulations for products consumed on site (and growlers are included in this designation) and those packaged for resale. We have all the necessary permits and licenses from the county for the farmers market and are going through the state dept. of ag for the bottling.