The Tinley Beverage Company Inc. announced that the in-line tunnel pasteurizer at the company's Long Beach Facility 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 scheduling of production for the current fiscal quarter incorporating the tunnel pasteurizer is underway with current and prospective clients of Lakewood Libations Inc. ("Lakewood") 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. 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.