Reuse of refillable PET packaging: Approaches to safety and quality in soft drink processing

Abstract

The reuse of refillable PET packaging by the soft drink industry requires high attention, since these packages may return to the industry with some contamination. Given this background, the aim of this study was to develop a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plan for a soft drink production line of returnable PET packaging, through strategies such as analysis of consumer complaints profile for this drink and the employment of quality tools. The results showed that the most significant complaint observed was a change of flavor, which is commonly associated with a failure in the sniffer. However, the implementation and monitoring of the proposed plan led to the reduction of altered flavor complaint percentages, from 52% (October 2013) to 14% (July 2015). From January 2015 to July 2015, altered flavor complaints dropped from 16 to 5, corresponding to a decrease of more than 50% in 7 months. Furthermore, a reduction of the sniffer reject index was also observed, from 3% to 1%, demonstrating that the HACCP plan implemented was an effective tool to identify, evaluate, and control chemical and physic hazards in the reuse of refillable PET packaging by the soft drink industry.