All of Explore
What packaging is used for viscous products?
Pastes, purees and heavy liquids are decided by how you get them out, not how you get them in.
Short answer
For viscous products the discharge method usually chooses the package. Wide-opening containers, liners with fitments, and formats that allow scraping or pumping tend to win over closed containers that trap product against the wall.
Why discharge dominates
A thick product left clinging to container walls is lost yield and a cleaning problem. Every percent left behind is paid for twice — once as product and once as waste handling.
Formats that come up
- Open-head drums, which allow full access and easy lining
- Bag-in-drum and bag-in-box systems, where the liner is emptied and discarded
- Aseptic bags in a rigid outer for heat-sensitive food products
- IBCs with bottom discharge where the product still flows
- Conical drums where empties come back and cleaning is a concern
Things that quietly matter
- Fill temperature and whether the product sets as it cools
- Headspace and oxygen exposure for food products
- Whether the plant can heat, pump or scrape the container
- Whether a liner removes cleaning entirely
What to consider
- How the product will be discharged at the receiving end
- Acceptable product residue left behind
- Fill temperature and cooling behaviour
- Barrier requirement and shelf life
- Whether food contact applies
Worth being clear about
- Product compatibility and food-contact suitability need confirmation for the specific product and structure. That is a specification exercise, not a general rule.