Technology and Application

Many people know about packaging machines, but they don’t know what technology is used and how it works. Today I would like to introduce you to Modified Atmosphere Packaging, or MAP as many people are used to calling it.

First of all, Modified Atmosphere Packaging is a new process that is widely used in food preservation packaging. It uses protective gases to replace the air inside the package during the packaging process, which keeps the air inside the package composed of 78.8% nitrogen, 20.96% oxygen, and 0.03% carbon dioxide (this percentage is based on the majority of food products as an example, and they mainly keep the principle of reducing the oxygen content inside the package and increasing the content of nitrogen and carbon dioxide).

The different proportions of each gas to cause different effects on the food to inhibit the growth of bacteria and growth, but also to reduce the respiratory rate of plant activity such as vegetables and fruits, to achieve the packaging to extend the shelf life.

Carbon dioxide at a concentration of 15-20% can inhibit the reproduction of most aerobic bacteria and fungi.

Oxygen is the main gas that causes aerobic bacterial reproduction, so the general air-conditioned packaging reduces its content as much as possible, but for aquatic products, a certain concentration is needed to prevent anaerobic bacterial reproduction.

Market Application

The more mature the technology of air-conditioned packaging becomes, the higher the standard of living you will experience in your daily life. Among them, air-conditioned packaging has higher requirements for food. Because the food industry is essential in people’s lives, safety management is also the most important, in air-conditioned packaging also pays great attention to this point. In recent years due to the epidemic, RTE food packaging, food semi-finished products and ready-to-eat products also rise wave.

Applications in the food industry

1. Fruits and vegetables.

You will often see “imported” or “from xxx” vegetables and wraps in large shopping malls, imports are generally through the sea, and from what region to another region, it also takes time to transport. They are transported from a distance to you, how do they maintain their freshness and nutrition during the long period of transportation? Relying on this air-conditioning technology, to understand the activity of each fruit and vegetable, so as to deploy the proportion of air inside the package, low oxygen can make the fruits and vegetables to maintain freshness, so the vegetables are generally in the 5-10% carbon dioxide +5-6% oxygen +90% nitrogen combination of gas.

2. Fresh meat food and seafood.

For meat you will often see is frozen food, which is also a way of packaging food, but the maximum degree of freshness is to maintain the meat just after processing the state, the taste is also the best at the same time the nutritional value is also high. High oxygen can be red meat to maintain the color, so in fresh meat, pork and other red meat to maintain 70% -75% of oxygen + 30-25% nitrogen, chicken and other white meat is 60-70% of carbon dioxide + 40-30% nitrogen combination, the storage temperature is also maintained at 0-4 ℃.

For seafood fish like grass carp, pomfret and other less fatty fish, the gas mixture consists of 50-70% carbon dioxide + 10-15% oxygen + 40-15% nitrogen. While high-fat fish like tuna is 50-70 carbon dioxide + 50-30% nitrogen and does not require oxygen.

3. Baked goods

Mooncakes, creamless cakes, pizza and bread are common pastries. This food category is gas-conditioned packaged so that no oxygen is required in combination, so carbon dioxide is in the range of 60-80% + 40-20% nitrogen. Common packaging consists of packaging with trays, and plastic film packaging.

4. Cooked meat products and fast food box lunch

This category has grown rapidly in recent years and it provides people with quick and convenient food that is economically logical. Because these foods are cooked and packaged, they can be heated directly through. So the gas in the package is 60-80% carbon dioxide + 40-20% nitrogen-based, with a storage temperature of 6-8 degrees Celsius, you will often see the seven-eleven chain store stores belong to fast food.

Feature

Aerosol packaging can be used by the packaging industry on a large scale, without it has the superiority in high temperature and high pressure for a long time under the sterilization packaging.

These include:

1. Because of the adjustment of the proportion of gas inside the package, so it can better maintain the color, taste, shape and nutrition of the original food. The common ones are ready-to-eat food packaging.
2. In the absence of additives with a certain freshness and shelf life, in combination with the automated packaging machines, can achieve no artificial packaging, safety, and health
3. Under certain conditions to preserve fresh agricultural products, the agricultural industry can expand the scope of sales in different places, to achieve a balanced listing in different seasons, improve the added value of agricultural products, from increasing the income of farmers, improve the overall efficiency of agriculture.
4. Reduce the situation and loss of food spoilage due to improper storage, reduce urban garbage and improve the ecological environment.

Improving Quality of Life – RTE Food Packaging Solutions