PredOxyPack® : How to predict the impact of the cold chain conditions on the oxygen barrier properties of packaging

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), including vacuum packaging, is a well-known technique used to prolong the shelf life of perishable food products. By eliminating or replacing the air surrounding a packed food product, various deteriorative processes that occur in food can be restricted mostly by reducing O2-concentrations and increasing CO2-concentrations. As it is important to maintain the modified atmosphere in the packaging during the shelf life of the product, there has been an increased interest in the production of different packaging concepts. The O2-concentration in the packaging is thereby determined by (i) the residual O2 after packaging which is dependent on the filling-system and (ii) the O2 ingress during the shelf-life. To prevent this O2 ingress, different barrier packaging materials can be used. The permeability of these packaging material is dependent on the polymer type, temperature, relative humidity, nature of the polymer (e.g. crystallinity, orientation, etc.), thickness of the polymer and differences in partial pressure of the gasses. Next to the O2 barrier, the packaging should also have a good water vapor barrier, good mechanical strength and low cost. As there is no polymer which has all these features, multilayers are often used. This implies that there exists a multitude of packaging materials for different conditions which makes it very difficult for the user to choose the right packaging material. Besides, on the technical sheets the permeability’s are often mentioned at 20-25°C while a lot of packed food products are stored in the cold chain. Therefore it is difficult to estimate the permeability of the packaging configuration under realistic storage conditions. To fill these gaps the software PredOxyPack® (www.predoxypack.com) has been developed in collaboration with Food2Know based on previous results of a Flanders’ FOOD project.