New IFU Method # 85: The net volume determination of consumer packaged juices, nectars and related products

The compliance of the declared filling volume is an important topic for all bottlers. On one hand the legal minimum values must be met and on the other hand overfilling means considerable economical loss.

The simple transfer of the juice in a graduated cylinder is quite inaccurate as the scale of such a cylinder is too wide and do not give an exact result. Additionally there will always be some remains in the bottle. Therefore this method is not precise enough for this task.

The usual continuous check of the filling volume in a filling line is done by weighing the full bottle and subtracting the average weight of empty bottle and cap. The weight of the juice can be transferred into volume by the division with the average density of the juice. This can be done automatically, but contains the risk of slightly incorrect results, as the weight of the packaging and the density of the juice normally vary within a predefined range.

This new method describes a more exact way to determine the filling volume (net volume) in a laboratory.

It is now available in the Methods of Analysis section of the IFU Website!