Six Tips for Choosing Packaging Materials for Modified Atmosphere Packaging

The modified atmosphere packaging produced by the modified atmosphere packaging machine fails to achieve a good shelf life. Is it penetration or leakage?

You may have just spent tens of thousands of dollars developing a revolutionary one-dose new infant milk powder product for the infant and toddler market. You decide on the packaging format—stick sticks or heat-seal in small cups. Fresh and achieve a good shelf life process is to use modified atmosphere packaging.

On the production line, the package is flushed with nitrogen, the air is removed, and the oxygen value is reduced to a very low level. Unfortunately, however, market feedback indicates that your product has had quality issues before the use-by date.

You test a package for leaks and you don't find a failing package

So where exactly is the problem?

>>>>

penetration

The answer may be caused by a phenomenon known as permeation, where oxygen and moisture from the air get into your packaging through the packaging material, even if your packaging is sealed and not leaking.

Well, your product has chosen a packaging material that does not perform very well.

Traditional packaging materials such as glass or metal have good oxygen barrier properties, and it is impossible for gas to penetrate into the packaging through this material. At present, there are many packaging materials such as PP and PE on the market with different permeability. The barrier properties of oxygen and water vapor are also different.

This means that molecules in the surrounding air (oxygen or water vapor) can slowly penetrate and enter the package over time, and if you are using modified atmosphere packaging, especially for products that are very sensitive to oxygen, choose a barrier that does not The best packaging material will make your packaging process ineffective.

For your products to achieve a good shelf life after using modified atmosphere packaging

Mingwei Modified Atmosphere Packaging Machinery has the following suggestions for reference:

You need to know exactly whether your product is more sensitive to oxygen or moisture? Foods that contain fat are often sensitive to oxygen, and oxidation can cause odors and promote microbial growth. Medicines are often sensitive to moisture. When you know the answer to this question, you can determine the choice of packaging material with the correct barrier properties.

When you choose a packaging material supplier, you need the supplier to provide performance proof materials such as OTR (oxygen transmission rate) and WVTR (water vapor transmission rate), or you can send packaging material samples to third-party laboratories carry out testing.

The temperature and humidity of the environment can affect penetration and thus shelf life. Especially for some companies that export food for a long time, such as exporting to the tropics, then you may encounter problems. A 10°C increase in temperature doubles the rate of penetration. So you need to understand your market environment.

Different batches of packaging materials from the same supplier may have different performances. Phenomenon: the previous batch of materials may have good barrier properties, while this batch of materials may have some problems. Long-term quality control.

Don't forget the importance of leak testing packages produced by modified atmosphere packaging machines. If your product fails to achieve a good shelf life, in addition to the packaging material, there may also be packaging leakage. In this regard, it can be integrated into the production line for online 100% testing, or offline sampling.

Sixth tip to remember

Check your packaging for residual oxygen levels

is what every quality control needs to do