A system and process for destroying C. Botulinum spores in ready to drink beverages is presented. The system includes a product tank receives ready to drink beverage. The product tank is fluidly coupled to a first heat exchanger for heating the beverage to a kill temperature using a closed loop counter current process. The heated beverage is passed through one or more hold tubes to maintain the kill temperature for a minimum hold time resulting in thermally pasteurizing the beverage. The thermally pasteurized beverage is passed through a second heat exchanger for cooling the beverage down to a desired packaging temperature using a closed loop counter current process. The cooled beverage is then placed in a feed tank ready for packaging. A distribution container is filled with the cooled beverage from the feed tank and the container is sealed. The sealed distribution container is then subjected to high pressure processing.
