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2014

Fill level tolerances - Packaging - ADI Forums

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Fill level tolerances

Started by Thunderhead Rd. , Aug 1 7 2 01 1 01 :2 7 PM

Thunderhead Rd.
Hi All,

Post ed 1 7 A u g u st 2 0 1 1 - 0 1 :2 7 PM

Can't seem to find the allowed tolerance for fill level, +/-. Can someone point me in the right direction? Cheers
Post ed 1 7 A u g u st 2 0 1 1 - 0 1 :4 1 PM

will
from one of the TTB guys who was at the ADI Conference: over relatively long periods of time, about the same number of overfills as underfills. there's no hard specification. the ttb relies on the industry to do a good job.

before, during, and after bottling, if you take a sample of bottles, weigh them (and mark them with the weight), then fill them and weigh them again, you can easily convert weight back to volume. the net wt. of a 750ml bottle of a nonsugar containing product at 80 proof is 712 grams. weigh each after filling, compute the net weights, then the average weight, and adjust the equipment up/down to maintain 750ml average. keep records of these QC fill-checks, and you'll do fine. we have had so-called high quality bottles that have filled to very different levels when at 750ml (712g net) - so their internal volume was slightly different. we found a better source, but had to live with some funny looking fills for a while. good luck, will
Post ed 1 7 A u g u st 2 0 1 1 - 0 2 :5 9 PM

Gary Spedding

The TTB website or Seminars posted by TTB should help here. I know what it is for beer bottles but I would always look up the TTB regs. It is out there. If you cannot find it I'll try and get an answer soon.

'will', on 17 Aug 2011 - 9:41 PM, said: from one of the TTB guy s who was at the ADI Conference: ov er relativ ely long periods of tim e, about the sam e num ber of ov erfills as underfills. there's no hard specification. the ttb relies on the industry to do a good job. before, during, and after bottling, if y ou take a sam ple of bottles, weigh them (and m ark them with the weight), then fill them and weigh them again, y ou can easily conv ert weight back to v olum e. the net wt. of a 7 50m l bottle of a non-sugar containing product at 80 proof is 7 1 2 gram s. weigh each after filling, com pute the net weights, then the av erage weight, and adjust the equipm ent up/down to m aintain 7 50m l av erage. keep records of these QC fill-checks, and y ou'll do fine. we hav e had so-called high quality bottles that hav e filled to v ery different lev els when at 7 50m l (7 1 2 g net) - so their internal v olum e was slightly different. we found a better source, but had to liv e with som e funny looking fills for a while. good luck, will

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Fill level tolerances - Packaging - ADI Forums

Post ed 1 7 A u g u st 2 0 1 1 - 0 7 :0 3 PM

Thunderhead Rd.
'Gary Spedding', on 17 Aug 2011 - 10:59 PM, said:

The TTB website or Sem inars posted by TTB should help here. I know what it is for beer bottles but I would alway s look up the TTB regs. It is out there. If y ou cannot find it I'll try and get an answer soon.

Can't seem to find it in TTB regs, nothing concrete.

Post ed 1 7 A u g u st 2 0 1 1 - 0 8 :4 1 PM

Artesian Distillers

I clearly remember reading +/- .2 % of volume. Now i cant find it for you.. if u have a gravity filler like we do, you're hoping its shutting vacuum at right level and all nozzles are producing same repeatabilty against itself and also gauged against your other 8 or 12 heads. Its a tricky balance and as long as you do you part to maintain record of QC, you should be fine even with minute deviations along the way. good luck
Post ed 1 7 A u g u st 2 0 1 1 - 1 0 :2 8 PM

will
it's actually in 27 CFR 19.356 - variations of fill.

for packages of 750ml, it's +-2% - not 0.2% - and that's +- 15ml. that's easy. as fat as a Cadillac. what they will focus on in an audit is whether you have records indicating that you test, and what the results are, and what corrections you made. again, it clearly says that you should have about the same number of overfills as underfills. will
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Jedd Haas

Since Will provided the number for easy reference, here is the full text for further detail: 19.356 Alcohol content and fill. (a) General. At representative intervals during bottling operations, a proprietor must examine and test bottled spirits to determine whether the alcohol content and quantity (fill) of those spirits agree with what is stated on the label or the bottle. A proprietors test procedures must be adequate to ensure accuracy of labels on the bottled product. Proprietors must record the results of all tests of alcohol content and quantity (fill) in the record required by 19.600. ( Variations in fill. Quantity (fill) must be kept as close to 100 percent fill as the equipment and bottles in use will permit. There must be approximately the same number of overfills and underfills for each lot bottled. In no case will the quantity contained in a bottle vary from the quantity stated on the label or bottle by more than plus or minus: (1) 1.5 percent for bottles 1.0 liter and above; (2) 2.0 percent for bottles 999 mL

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through 376 mL;

Fill level tolerances - Packaging - ADI Forums

(3) 3.0 percent for bottles 375 mL through 101 mL; or (4) 4.5 percent for bottles 100 mL and below. Variations in alcohol content. Variations in alcohol content, subject to a normal drop that may occur during bottling, must not exceed: (1) 0.25 percent alcohol by volume for products containing solids in excess of 600 mg per 100 ml; (2) 0.25 percent alcohol by volume for all spirits products bottled in 50 or 100 ml size bottles; or (3) 0.15 percent alcohol by volume for all other spirits and bottle sizes. (d) Example. Under paragraph of this section, a product with a solids content of less than 600 mg per 100 ml, labeled as containing 40 percent alcohol by volume and bottled in a 750 ml bottle, would be acceptable if the test for alcohol content found that it contained 39.85 percent alcohol by volume. (26 U.S.C. 5201, 5301)

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