The Tinley Beverage Company Inc.’s in-line tunnel pasteurizer has passed validation by a registered process authority – an expert who certifies methods for safe food and beverage manufacturing.

The validation process confirmed that the tunnel pasteurizer meets the micro-organism control specifications for temperature and hold time across a representative range of beverage product and container types.

“The entire Tinley’s-Lakewood team is energized by this milestone, and we thank our Long Beach Operations group who have worked so hard to bring this new capability to our clients,” said Rick Gillis, president and COO, Tinley USA and member, office of the CEO. “We believe our tunnel pasteurizer is a unique option for licensed cannabis beverage manufacturing in California. It offers clients who value more natural product formulations a new choice from Lakewood’s expanding menu of process and container solutions.”

The scheduling of production for the current fiscal quarter incorporating the tunnel pasteurizer is underway with current and prospective clients of Lakewood Libations, Inc. who wish to avoid adding chemical preservatives to their product formulations, a step that the tunnel pasteurizer is designed to eliminate. As previously disclosed, the Company has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all of the equity interests in Lakewood, the closing of which is subject to certain standard conditions precedent including applicable regulatory approvals.

“Unlike flash or vat pasteurization — alternative methods employed at other beverage manufacturers — the tunnel pasteurizer offers the additional advantage of a single-step process for preservative free micro-organism control of both beverage contents and container, avoiding the need for separate container sterilization,” added Gillis.

Lakewood can now direct bottles and cans from their respective production lines, in a range of sizes and materials, through the in-line tunnel pasteurizer. The temperature and time specifications for a client’s product and container type are set during pre-production planning by the third-party process authority.

To ensure standards are met, Lakewood’s Quality Assurance steps now include control of each batch of bottles and cans through the tunnel pasteurizer by data loggers tracking and recording temperatures throughout the heating and cooling process.