Glossary

Transportation and storage of finished goods, under uncontrolled

Ambient distribution
temperatures, from the factory all the way to the consumer

Also called aseptic technology – technology composed of aseptic processing

Aseptic and aseptic filling, aiming at producing a shelf stable product that can be
distributed ambient

Equipment preventing product from being recontaminated while the product

Aseptic filler is being filled inside packages and sealed

Aseptic homogenizer Homogenizer located downstream of the UHT in the sterile zone

Process exposing the product to a powerful and short heat treatment, cooling
Aseptic processing
and storing it into an A-tank

Also called A-tank – storage tank of sterile product with the main role to
Aseptic tank
decouple the UHT process from the aseptic filling process

Physical separation between the sterile zone and the non-sterile zone, it
Barrier provides a local protection to the sterile zone against an identified risk of
recontamination

Transportation and storage of finished goods under temperature controlled

Chilled distribution conditions, generally under 4 to 7 °C, from the factory all the way to the
consumer

Known as Certificate of Analysis - documentation delivered upon receiving

CoA material which confirms that a supplier has completed necessary quality
checks and that the material meets specifications

Commercial sterility Absence of live microorganisms of interest in the package

Also called “positive” pack, it is packaging inside which there are

Contaminated pack
microorganisms of interest

It is, for any defect, the ratio between the number of defects and the number
Defect rate of produced samples. It is NOT the ratio between the number of defects
observed on a sample population, divided by the sampling population

Dry sterilization Sterilization method, applied to equipment, using a sterilant with LOW water
activity, such as hot air

Dry packaging Sterilization method, applied to packaging and equipment, using a chemical
sterilization sterilant mixed to hot air, that will NOT require sterile water for removal of
chemical residues inside the packaging

It expresses for a specific microorganism the performance of a given

Effectiveness sterilization method in reducing the population number of that microorganism

Process aiming at killing ALL microorganisms present on the surface of the

Equipment sterilization equipment and in the air present in the sterile zone

Equipment that, in case of a direct UHT, removes the steam out of

Flash vessel
the product

Fluid Any substance that can flow. Can be liquid phase (water, nitrogen,
chemicals) or gaseous (vaporized hydrogen peroxyde, steam, air).

Heat treatment Process that aims at transferring thermal energy to microorganisms with the
intention of damaging their membranes and eventually causing their death

High acid product Acidic product, which pH is < 4.5

Equipment that maintains the product for a guaranteed minimum time and at
Holding tube
a guaranteed minimum temperature

Process that pasteurizes the product, keeps it and fills it hot (~85 °C) and
Hot fill hold uses the hot product to also pasteurize the packaging

Homogenizer Piece of equipment that aims at breaking down the fat molecules present
inside the product

Filler that controls a low micro load on its surfaces and possibly as well inside
Hygiene filler the empty packages about to be filled, in order to minimize the
recontamination level of the product

Storage of a commercial product, under specific temperature and time

Incubation
conditions, in order to accelerate growth of targeted microorganisms

Insterility rate It is the defect rate looking at "non-sterile commercial product" defects

Also called Log Count Reduction – number of times a given sterilizing

LCR method divides by ten the population number of a given microorganism, on
average.

Low acid product Product which pH is > 4.5

Microorganism For given product, microorganism whose population would grow in presence
of interest of that product and spoil it

Micro-load Number of microorganisms present on a surface

Microorganism Also called Microbe, it is a microscopic living entity

Packaging integrity Condition of a hermetically sealed package

Process aiming at killing ALL microorganisms present on the surface of the

Packaging sterilization
packaging that is in contact with the sterile zone

Process that will heat treat the product, aiming at reducing micro-load of
Pasteurization microorganisms of interest present inside the product, with no ambition to kill
ALL microorganisms

Pathogen Also called an infectious microorganism – microorganism that can cause

disease to the consumer

pH is a scale used to specify how acidic or basic a water-based solution is.

pH Acidic solutions have a lower pH, while basic solutions have a higher pH. pH
neutral solutions have a pH close to 7

Preservatives Substance or chemical that is added to the product to prevent its

decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes

Product and sterile Pressure differential that ensures that the pressure of the product or of sterile
air overpressure air is higher than the pressure of the non sterile side

Product path Part of the equipment that is in direct contact with the product until the point it
comes out of the filling nozzle

Product sterilization Process aiming at killing ALL microorganisms present in the product

Recontamination Exposing a sterile entity (surface, volume or fluid) to microorganisms again,

causing this entity to become unsterile

Refrigerated distribution Same as chill distribution

Process that heat treats filled and sealed packaging in order to sterilize both
Retort the product and its packaging at the same time

Sealed packages It is a package that is closed and therefore prevents microorganisms present
in the environment from entering

Shelf stable Attribute of a finished good applied when it can be distributed at ambient
temperature without spoiling the product

Spoilage Any thing that makes the product unsuitable for consumption, not necessarily
harmful

Sterilant Agent used to kill microorganisms

Sterile Attribute of a surface (pkg, surface, etc.), of a volume or of a fluid applied

when there is no presence of live microorganisms

Sterile media Liquid which formulation will favoritize the growth of ALL microorganisms and
facilitate detection of spoiled packages

Zone that receives sterile product, sterile packaging and sterile fluids and
Sterile zone prevents any direct or indirect product contamination until packages are
hermetically sealed

Implementation of the elements & controls that will ensure that the identified
Sterile zone monitoring significant hazards that would cause the sterile zone to lose its sterility are
under control

Sterility Absence of ALL living microorganisms

Implementation of the elements & controls that will ensure that the identified
Sterility monitoring significant hazards that would cause the final product to lose its sterility are
under control

Sterilization Process aiming at either removing or killing microorganisms

Sterilizing zone Area of an equipment where the sterilization is performed

Steam which is at a higher temperature than required to remain as a gas; as

Super-heated steam
a result, super-heated steam can be cooled by some amount without
changing into a liquid

Thermal sterilization Sterilization using thermal energy to kill microorganisms

UHT Process that exposes the product to high temperatures 140-145 °C for only a
few seconds

Also called “vaporized hydrogen peroxide,” it is a sterilization method,

VHP
applied to packaging and equipment, that mixes vaporized hydrogen
peroxide into air, with air being used as the carrier

Wet sterilization Sterilization method, applied to equipment, using a sterilant with HIGH water
activity, such as liquid or gaseous phase chemicals or saturated steam

Wet packaging Sterilization method, applied to packaging, using a liquid phase chemical
sterilant, that will REQUIRE sterile water for removal of chemical residues
sterilization
inside the packaging