Evaluation of the performance of iron‐based oxygen scavengers, with comments on their optimal applications

Abstract

Oxygen scavengers are commonly used in packaged foods in Japan and much less so in other developed countries, in spite of the advantages that they offer in maintaining quality and extending shelf-life. The reason stems from the additional cost involved, and even more so because of the lack of sufficient technical information on their performance and the lack of understanding of how to apply them effectively. In the present study the performance of iron-based oxygenscavenging sachets was evaluated. It was found that the actual scavenging capacity is much higher than the 'nominal' capacity provided by the manufacturers. Also, a significant distribution in the oxygen absorption capacity exists, even in the same scavenger type. The rate of oxygen scavenging was found to depend on the scavenger type and capacity. It was also found that in an atmosphere containing CO 2 (as in MAP applications) the iron-based oxygen scavengers also absorb CO 2 .

Influence of composition on structure and barrier properties of active PET films for food packaging applications

“…There is a wide patent bibliography in the world in which the main active systems, as iron powder or metal salts, are introduced into a polymeric matrix. [5][6][7][8][9][10] The tendency nowadays is to add a polymer based scavenger to proper functionalize plastic materials, in order to produce both rigid and flexible packages by means of conventional processes.…”

Oxygen Scavengers affect Gas Mixture and Color Stability of Master Packed Ground Beef

“…Master packs with ground beef and an oxygen scavenger exhibited a decreased carbon dioxide concentration by 14 d of storage to nearly 0% (p < 0.05), with no difference between the 2 types of oxygen scavengers (p > 0.05). As explained before, iron-based oxygen scavengers are found to absorb not only oxygen, but also carbon dioxide from the package headspace (Charles et al, 2006;Miltz and Perry, 2005). On the other hand, master packs without ground beef show that oxygen scavenger A reduced carbon dioxide concentrations by 14 d of storage, but not as much as oxygen scavenger B (p < 0.05).…”

“…It is important to note that work by several other investigators showed that O2 concentration in a modified atmosphere package with an oxygen scavenger drops rapidly after a few hours of storage (Charles et al, 2006;Gill and McGinnis, 1995b;Limbo et al, 2013;Miltz and Perry, 2005;Tewari et al, 2002). The presence of ground beef also increased the average oxygen concentration compared to packages without meat (p < 0.05).…”

“…Previous studies involving oxygen scavengers did not compare different brands (Beggan et al, 2006;Buys, 2004;Gill and McGinnis, 1995b;Isdell et al, 1999;Limbo et al, 2013;Venturini et al, 2006;Venturini et al, 2014). In a few studies, multiple oxygen scavengers were compared, but the focus was on oxygen kinetics (Charles et al, 2006;Miltz and Perry, 2005;Tewari et al, 2002). For this reason, the current study compares 2 of the most commonly used commercial oxygen scavengers and 2 carbon dioxide concentrations in the headspace gas mixture to show the changes in gas concentrations while meat is master packed, as well as the effect of these treatments on meat color during master pack storage and retail display.…”

Unsteady‐ and steady‐state gas permeation through active packaging walls

“…7 In cases where the use of an active scavenger is contemplated, it is clearly important to be able to quantify its effectiveness with regard to the amount of oxygen or other contaminant, which permeates the packaging wall to reach the packaged contents. Although some studies experimentally investigating the overall scavenger performance have been presented, 8 a systematic approach to the problem seems to be still missing and this work aims at filling that void. The basic equations describing this phenomenon have been presented 9,10 and are analysed further, with certain simplifying assumptions to yield useful information on the barrier property of the plastic wall during both steady-and unsteady-state periods of exposure to ambient contaminants.…”