Review of Design Engineering Methods and Applications of Active and Modified Atmosphere Packaging Systems

Abstract

Active packaging (AP) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) technologies are shelf-life extension techniques introduced in the last decades in the food industry as a response to the continuous changes in consumer demands and market trends. MAP relies on the modification of the surrounding gas composition solely from the interplay between product metabolism (respiration) and package permeability, while AP is a more innovative technique in which the packaging, or some element of it, also interacts actively with the product to achieve greater shelf-life extension or improve safety or sensory properties. It is possible to design such packages by trial and error, but the most suitable approach is to deploy design engineering methods, based on quantitative models relating the relevant factors influencing respiration rate and gas transfer and the MAP/AP systems. This text provides a review of these tools, as well as their main applications.

Evaluation of the Thickness and Oxygen Transmission Rate before and after Thermoforming Mono- and Multi-layer Sheets into Trays with Variable Depth

“…The O2 concentration in the packaging is determined by the residual O2 after packaging, the respiration or consumption of O2 by the product, and by the O2 ingress during the shelf life (OTR) [34,35]. The simulation software PredOxyPack ® is a practical tool to predict the oxygen ingress for different packaging configurations, materials, and time-temperature profiles [36].…”

Combined Use of Modified Atmosphere Packaging and Natural Compounds for Food Preservation

“…All these three gases are common and readily available, safe, economical and not considered as chemical additives. However, the optimum level of each gas for each food product must be determined and used in order to optimize the effectiveness [73]. The use of MAP presents several advantages and disadvantages as pointed out by various authors [35,65].…”

“…Another disadvantage of MAP is the limitation to storage; the increased pack volume affects retail space increasing logistics costs (for instance, no stacking of packages on top of each other). MAP also requires the temperature control to assure the product safety [73].…”

Influence of Anti-Browning Inhibitors and Biodegradable Packaging on the Quality of Fresh-Cut Pears

“…Reduced respiration rate leads to lower enzymatic browning reactions (Rodriguez-Aguilera and Oliveira, 2009;Sandhya, 2011). Similar results were obtained by scientists of Latvia when testing fresh-cut apple pieces treated with 5% solution of Natureseal® AS5 (Krasnova et al, 2012).…”