Abstract: A method for sterilising unpackaged consumable items by means of a treatment agent having a disinfectant, and using storage containers and outer packaging. In order that the abovementioned method can be designed and further developed so that contamination of the consumable items is reliably excluded, a certain quantity of unpackaged consumable items is stored together for a specified time in a storage container and the inside of the storage container is treated with a predetermined quantity of the treatment agent. In order to achieve “long-term sterilisation” a storage container serves to accommodate a plurality of unarranged, unpackaged consumable items, with the material of the storage container being plastic, wherein the storage container is designed as a bag, which after filling with consumable items and subsequent treatment is closed and then stored in a closed outer package.

Abstract: Presented are a method for sterilising packaged, partially packaged, or partially sealed consumable items, such as plastic opening and/or closing elements for subsequent use with beverage or food packaging, by means of a treatment agent having a disinfectant, and storage containers and outer packagings that can be used for this purpose. The method can be designed and further developed so that contamination of the consumable items with germ-forming spores is reliably excluded. A consumable item or an area thereof to be sterilised can be disposed in a first sealed environment, so that a plurality of such individually packaged consumable items or sealed areas thereof is stored together for a specified time in a storage container, the inside of which the treatment agent, so that, through the diffusion thereof, the packaged consumable items or sealed areas thereof are also sterilised, thereby achieving “long-term sterilisation”.