Tenaya LLC, Chicago, has introduced MADE® beverages in Ball Corporation's 16-oz PET bottles with Plasmax® barrier coating from KHS. MADE beverages are filled at Kan-Pak, LLC, Arkansas City, KS, and are reportedly among the first high-acid, shelf-stable beverages aseptically filled in PET bottles in North America.
"The entire Tenaya team shares a philosophy and a vision about how to develop products that are better for the earth, good for the company and good for people, and we do our part to support the overall health of the environment," says Charley Snell, Tenaya founder and former executive of Nestlé USA.
"We strive for environmentally friendly production and packaging. To that end, our current products are uniquely created and packaged aseptically to allow for shelf-stable storage with no need for preservatives or refrigeration, reducing the environmental impact of shipping and storage. We chose Ball's Plasmax-coated PET bottles because the bottles are 100-percent recyclable and widely accepted for recycling, and the Plasmax barrier is highly compatible with the aseptic filling process," Snell adds.
A Ball press release notes, “the term ‘aseptic’ means ‘free of pathogenic organisms,’ and the aseptic filling process removes all organisms that can cause spoilage, without impacting flavor or nutrition. The end result is an aseptically packaged beverage that can be safely shipped and stored for up to six months, without preservatives or refrigeration.”
According to Tenaya, MADE is a certified organic, all-natural line of beverages that combine green tea and fruit juices with refreshing floral and herbal extracts. It is available in eight varieties: Strawberry Lemonade, Pomegranate Mojito, Blackberry Peach, Cranberry Limeade, Strawberry Mojito, Pomegranate Lemonade, Raspberry Peach and Blueberry Lemonade.
Ball describes Plasmaxas “an ultra-thin, commercially proven, transparent, internal silicon oxide barrier coating technology that protects the beverage inside the bottle from oxygen ingress and also prevents the PET from absorbing the sterilizing agent used inside of the bottles as part of the aseptic filling process. Unlike many other PET barriers, Plasmax is easily removed during the PET recycling process and as a result does not contaminate the recycled PET. Finally, because the barrier does not degrade over time, the length of time bottle inventory can be stored is not limited by the barrier material.”
