Packaging Machinery - Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical Products

Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical products are similar to products found in the Food and Beverage industry in many respects when it comes to packaging.  Pharma and nutraceuticals are normally digested or otherwise consumed.  Whether drugs, vitamins, supplements or medicinal foods, these products must remain uncontaminated during the packaging process in order to serve their purpose - and avoid causing harm - when they reach the end users.  For these reasons, sanitary packaging machines are often necessary in the pharma and nutraceutical industry and container cleaning equipment will almost always be utilized.

Container cleaning equipment may include a wet rinsing machine, air rinsing machine or bottle vacuum.  The type of rinsing machine used on any given packaging system will depend in part on the product itself and the production need.  Air rinsers will use a high pressure blast of air to loosen and remove dust and debris from containers.  Bottle vacuums will use a similar blast of air, but follow it with a vacuuming out of the inside of a container.  Wet rinsers will use water or other cleaning solution to rinse the inside of bottles.  Both wet and air rinsing machines can invert bottles over a rinse basin prior to performing the rinse, returning the containers to the belt conveyor system once the rinse is complete.  Container cleaning equipment keeps medicines and other liquids from becoming contaminated by debris left in a bottle during production of the bottle, transportation or simple storage.  These rinsing machines are one of the first steps in creating a sanitary packaging process.

As is usually the case, the liquid filler used with the pharmaceutical or nutraceutical will depend, in part, on the product itself.  The filling principle used - overflow, gravity, pump, piston - will be the principle that allows the product to be filled most efficiently based on viscosity, desired production rate and a number of other factors.  Again, product contamination may be a concern where more than one product is run on a filling machine.  Special tubing, sanitary fittings and washdown construction can all be achieved on liquid fillers if necessary or desired to keep the filling process sanitary.

Once the bottle runs through the container cleaning equipment and the filling machine, it must be

sealed and labeled as well.  Many pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals will probably take advantage of not only an automatic capping machine, but what might be termed secondary sealing equipment as well.  Induction sealers and/or neck banders may be used to create tamper proof packaging, ensuring the consumer that the drugs, medicine or other ingestible products were not mishandled prior to purchase. Capping machinery can be manufactured as manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic packaging machines.

 

Labeling equipment will also follow the sanitary cleaning and filling of the bottles.  Labeling machines for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products allow both decorative and informative labels to be applied in a variety of manners.  Labels may be wrapped around a container, applied to the front and back of a bottle or even be placed on three panels of a square container.  Coding equipment is often coupled with the labeling machines to print lot numbers, batch numbers or expiration dates on these products. 

 

Automatic packaging machines are responsible for ensuring not only that the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products reach consumers where needed, but that they reach the consumers in a safe, uncontaminated condition.  If you have questions regarding the packaging of pharmaceuticals or nutraceuticals, or just questions about the packaging machinery in general, contact Liquid Packaging Solutions, Inc. toll free today at 1-888-393-3693.