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High-barrier flexible packaging for meat gains traction

Source:Ringier Food Release Date:2017-07-27 368
Food & Beverage
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Meat and meat product packaging is increasingly seen not just a means of providing a container for the meat but also—and more importantly—as a means of preserving it.

MEAT and meat product packaging is increasingly seen not just a means of providing a container for the meat but also—and more importantly—as a means of preserving it.

The use of appropriate packaging methods helps inhibit microbial growth, which together with enzymes and oxidation, contributes to meat deterioration, according to “Application of High-barrier Flexible Packaging Material in Fresh Meat and Meat Packaging.” This paper by Zhang Hong and Hu Honghai of the Institute of Agricultural Products, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences looks at how high-barrier flexible packaging materials can be used to extend the shelf life of meat and meat products.

By preventing microbial growth, the correct packaging materials and methods prevent secondary pollution and slow down the oxidation of fat. They help retain the appearance of fresh meat, thereby increasing product marketability.

Packaging technology and the use of correct packaging materials work hand in hand to provide an effective means of preserving fresh meat and meat products, Zhang and Hu’s research posits.  A key part of food processing and production, packaging ensures food safety with its barrier and sealing properties. In this capability, it serves as a first line of defence for food products. In addition to accommodating the product shape, food packaging should be easy to use and of a reasonable size. It contains the product name, ingredients, food methods, storage conditions and other information. It also serves to attract customers, thereby also functioning as a marketing tool.

Recent years have shown how food packaging continues to evolve. From metal containers and glass reminiscent of hard packaging containers, flexible packaging is rising in popularity. This technology allows flexibility in terms of shape while providing resistance to extrusion and capability to withstand microwave heating. Some flexible packages are transparent and can be sealed like a plastic bottle.  The shape of the packaging container will change after filling or removing the content.

All these factors make flexible packaging ideal for food. In particular, high-barrier flexible packaging helps address the factors that cut the food’s shelf life such as microbial growth, oxygen, light, water vapour, and loss of flavor and aroma.

High-barrier materials block or reduce oxygen, water vapor and carbon dioxide from entering the packaging. Some can even block UV and prevent odor and aroma loss. 

Newer meat packaging preserve physical attributes including color and freshness

Keep meat and processed meat products looking fresh and new with the right flexible packaging

Packaging attributes

High-barrier packaging materials include aluminum foil, aluminum or alloy flakes, ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), silicon or aluminum oxide (SiOx or Al2O3), acrylic resin or nano inorganic. The barrier layer features 20℃ temperature, 0.1Mpa oxygen partial pressure difference and 65% relative humidity for 24 hours per square meter of packaging material with an oxygen volume of <2cm³ of the aluminum-plastic composite, Zhisu composite, plastic composite bag or forming container. 

High-barrier flexible packaging materials should have the following characteristics: oxygen permeation capacity, water vapor transmission capacity, oxygen residue, stripping force, tensile force and burst pressure.

Oxygen permeability indicates a material’s ability to transmit or bar oxygen. At a temperature of 20℃, the oxygen partial pressure difference should be 0.1Mpa at a relative humidity of 65% per square meter of packaging material for 24 hours.

Water vapor permeability refers to the ability to let moisture through. that is, 40 ° C, 90% of the sample on both sides of the relative humidity difference between the 24 hours per square meter of packaging material through the water vapour grams (g) , Expressed in g / m2 · 24 hr.

The amount of residual oxygen in a product packaging is measured using an oxygen content detector. This is usually expressed as a percentage (%).

The stripping force is an indicator of the heat sealing strength of a material. This is typically measured in Newton (N) per 15 mm using a peel force tester. Meanwhile, the tensile force reflects the heat- sealing strength and opening performance of a composite forming container. This is also measured in N. The burst pressure is a measure of the heat seal strength and resistance to internal pressure. This is measured in MPa using a burst pressure detector.

EVOH, PVDC, polyamides, polyester, styrene acrylonitrile (SAN), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), SiO²x, metallized polyester, polyglycolic acid (PGA) and polyalkylketones have strong oxygen barrier properties.  PE, ethylene copolymers, ionomers, EVA, acrylic copolymer (ACR), PP, PVDC, cycloolefin and α-olefin copolymers (COC) and liquid crystal polymer (LCP) block water vapour, while EVOH, PVDC, polyamides, polyester, SAN, PAN, SiO²x, metallized polyester, PGA and polyalkylketones block fragrances.

Ionomers, EVOH, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polyamides and PP serve as good grease barriers.  Aluminum, metallized OPET and OPP (O-phenylphenol and aromatic polyamides serve as good UV barriers.

Packaging material types

In general, high-barrier flexible packaging materials may be categorized by container material and shape.

In terms of material, there are aluminum plastic, barrier plastic, and barrier paper and plastic composites. The first combines aluminum foil, a vacuum aluminum foil, a plastic film composite or a coating material for coating. The barrier plastic composite uses (PET), nylon (PVDC) coated with oxide (SiOx or Al²O³), acrylic resin layer or nano-inorganic materials as the barrier layer. It also has PET, nylon, PA or PE, PP and other plastic materials made of composite film or sheet made of packaging containers. The barrier paper and plastic composite packaging combines a high-barrier plastic and paper made of composite film or sheet made of packaging containers.

As regards shape, high-barrier flexible containers may be classified into casings, bags, forming containers and others.

Casings generally use PVDC or EVOH and other barrier materials for intestinal food packaging such as plastic composite film. For bags, EVOH and a coating combining SiOx, Al²O³, chemical coating or nano-inorganic serve as the barrier layer. In addition, these have polyester, aluminum foil, polyolefin and other multilayer composite films. They can also use EVOH, PET, nylon (PA) and PE, PP and other materials made of composite film. Bags can be further classified into large, or those with a volume capacity exceeding 10L; medium, for bags that can support up to 10L; and small, or those with 1L volume capacity. In terms of shape, bags can be categorized into self-standing and side-sealed variants.

Forming containers comprise an aluminum-plastic composite box made of an aluminum composite material or an alloy rolled into a sheet. These can be coated with a plastic film adhesive or a coating material. The outer layer may have a metal protecting coating combining EVOH, polyolefin and other composite plastic materials made of plastic composite, box and cup or polyester, EVOH, polyolefin and other plastic composite made of plastic compound bottle.

There are also containers such as penguin bags that use aluminum composite or plastic composite.

Soft flexible packaging

Soft packaging for meat, poultry, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, cereals and other raw materials require high-barrier flexible packaging containers. Filled, sealed, sterile or aseptic packaging helps meet the requirements of commercial aseptic food.

Aluminum-plastic composite is one of the flexible packaging materials used for a wide range of products. An ordinary aluminum foil generally has three layers—the outer polyester layer that serves as the base layer to prevent external shock, the aluminum foil barrier layer that block air and prevent oxidation, and the PP inner layer that acts as the seal layer for acid and heat to prevent quality deterioration.

The multilayer aluminum-plastic composite packaging promises to extend the shelf life of the food. The latest international barrier layer and oxygen layer, the seven-layer configuration consists of a layer using polyolefin, oxygen absorber, polyolefin, aluminum foil and polyester. The oxygen and aluminum foil layers help prevent oxygen outside the package from penetrating.

In addition to a high degree of oxygen resistance, the seven-layer packaging boasts strong capacity to prevent moisture, shading and fragrance penetration. The sterile packaging supports high-temperature sterilization or ultrahigh pressure sterilization. It can extend the product’s shelf life up to five years. 

Flexible packaging based on paper and plastic composite may be roughly divided into those suitable for water bath heating and those for microwave heating. The first type consists of packaging using PP, PE, paper, aluminum foil, PE and CPP. Versions for microwave heating may use OPP, PE, paper, barrier, PE and CPP.

Plastic composite flexible packaging materials, which are usually transparent, are made using different types of plastic and composite materials. These also vary depending on structure.

Some packaging materials of this type may contain an acrylic resin barrier layer. This type of barrier features a high oxygen and heat resistance, softness and transparency. With an oxygen permeability rate of less than 1ml/㎡ at 0.1Mpa for 24hours, an acrylic resin barrier prevents oxidation of food, thereby extending its shelf life. It can withstand up to 135℃ for 60 minutes, making it suitable for sterilization packaging and microwave heating. The performance of the barrier layer is not compromised by twisting. Lastly, because of the transparent characteristic of the material, the food and its color are easily visible to the end-user, helping stimulate interest and purchase. The transparent design also facilitates easy inspection of the product as foreign bodies are more easily seen and identified.

Plastic composite packaging materials that contain nano-inorganic compounds boast excellent barrier properties. These have a base film made of organic polyester that is highly resistant to oxygen. A dense nano-inorganic barrier layer also serves as an oxygen barrier, doubling the material’s anti-permeability attributes.

Versions with an EVOH layer have an oxygen barrier performance of 1.0 to 3.5cm³/m² at 65% RH for 24 hours.

Non-transparent plastic composite packaging materials are typically made up a PP or PS layer, resin adhesive layer, high-barrier layer, resin adhesive layer, PP or PS layer and other five layers. The last can consist of co-extruded packaging sheet. 

Fresh meat packaging

High-barrier flexible packaging is increasingly used for fresh meat.

In developed countries such as the United States and those in Europe, fresh meat represents 45% of sales in large supermarkets and 28.5% of small supermarket sales. It accounts for 11%, 10.2%, 0.1% and 5.2% of sales in small buckle stores, slaughterhouses, network sales and others such as markets and direct marketing. Fresh meat sales in supermarkets continue on an upward trend, whilst sales of meat from slaughterhouses have been declining in recent years.

The current shelf life of fresh meat ranges from 5 to 12 days at a temperature of 4℃. With sales through the supermarket channel expected to continue rising, packaging should emphasize prevention of microbial growth and reproduction to extend product life. Preserving the meat color and flavor is another important consideration. Designs should also provide buyers with a larger view of the surface area so they can see the state of the meat.

Fresh meat packaging options at present include ordinary tray, vacuum, atmosphere and fresh air-conditioned packaging.

Ordinary tray packaging materials often use PSE, whilst high-barrier materials generally go into vacuum packaging, which features an oxygen residue level of almost zero.

Atmosphere packaging is increasingly used by more manufacturers and consumers. For fresh air-conditioned packaging, materials feature PSE, EVOH, PE, APET and PP. The proportion of mixed gas is usually 70% to 80% oxygen and 20% to 30% carbon dioxide. An alternative is 100% carbon dioxide.

In line with smart packaging trends, some developed countries have developed Time-Temperature Indicators (TTI) to monitor the integrity of the cold storage conditions for fresh meat storage and transportation.

The French company CRYOLOG has invented the Traceo, a bio-tag designed to maintain the best freezing condition for food items. Made of salt and food microorganism, the Traceo label is a new generation of self-adhesive label that changes its color when the freezing chain is interrupted or the product has reached the consumption validity period. This helps users in determining meat freshness and whether or not the product is still safe for consumption.

High-barrier meat packaging options include bag, vacuum, body, cooking bag and other forms.  Integrated bag packaging starts with drum-like packaging film and cover bagging, filling, heat sealing, cutting and other processes.  Vacuum packaging is suitable for salami, barbecue, sausage and ham. Body packaging materials are stretched or heated for moulding on to the food before applying vacuum and heat sealing. This is ideal for ham slices.

Cooking bags, a multilayer composite that also undergoes vacuum, heat sealing and high-temperature sterilization, can be used for packaging sausage and barbecue. It is also suitable for high-temperature sterilization of meat pie and room-temperature preservation of other meat types.

Paper, deoxidation and liquid standing bag packaging forms can likewise be used for meat. Packaging that can be used for microwave heating expands the options. 

High-temperature cooking bag packaging is useful for high-temperature and high-pressure sterilization of meat products. The barrier properties of the packaging material will affect the quality of the meat during storage.

These barrier properties undergo significant change before and after high-temperature cooking. During the cooking process, for instance, the oxygen permeation amount of the packaging material will increase significantly. After cooking, the oxygen resistance will be restored as the temperature drops.

It is therefore prudent to consider the effect of the cooking process on the oxygen barrier properties of the packaging material when selecting the barrier material for the cooking bag. This can help in determining potential change in the oxygen permeation level of the packaging material before and after cooking, which can then be factored in the shelf life model to predict product life span. 

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