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Retorted pouch-within-a-pouch protects sensitive yeast products

Wyeast Laboratories, Inc., Hood River, OR, a leading producer of pure liquid yeast products (fermentation cultures) for beer- and wine-making, and Ampac Flexibles (www.ampaconline.com), a unit of Ampac Packaging LLC, have earned FPA’s 2007 Highest Achievement Award, including Gold Awards for both Packaging Excellence and Technical Innovation. These awards are in recognition of the “Smack Pack” 50-mL and 125-mL retortable stand-up pouch packaging system for Wyeast’s home brewer’s and vintner’s lines of products.

Pw 8870 Smack Pack Db

FPA judges describe the Smack Pack system as “the first retorted pouch-within-a-pouch liquid yeast package for beer- and wine-making.”

The heat-tolerant, flex-crack-resistant pouches supplied by Ampac incorporate a packaging structure made from a proprietary high-barrier adhesive lamination that provides protection from both oxygen and ultraviolet (UV) light. Jenny Logsdon, GM of Wyeast Labs, explains, “Because oxygen stimulates yeast metabolism, our packaging must protect our yeast from exposure. The yeast needs to rest in a dormant state so that it does not metabolize in the package, which would deplete the energy it needs for fermentation. Also, if the yeast is exposed to light, you will get cell mutation, which results in cell death and lower cell counts. The shelf life of our liquid yeast is up to six months when refrigerated at the appropriate temperature.”

In typical retort pouch packaging applications, the product is filled and sealed in the pouch and then retort heated (at approximately 250º F) to achieve commercial sterility and non-refrigerated shelf life. But due to the sensitive nature of the liquid yeasts, Wyeast has developed an alternative procedure whereby the empty pouch is retort sterilized prior to clean-room filling and sealing. Says Logsdon, “We actually retort the pouch before filling it because we want a sterile environment in which to put the yeast.”

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