Multi-user equipment approved in grant 2017/50349-0: oxygen permeability measurement system

Abstract

The oxygen permeability rate of films and packaging is an important property for defining the stability and shelf life of foods and beverages susceptible to oxidation, such as fruit juices, functional beverages, coffees, ready-to-eat foods and other categories. When looking for new technologies to increase shelf life and reduce food losses, the gas barrier of the packaging is a key factor. The development of new ingredients and new foods and beverages requires the definition of shelf life, which is intrinsically linked to the packaging barrier properties. The great distances of the national territory and the tropical climatic conditions of the country, increase the protection requirements of foods and beverages to give them a long useful life, so that the possibility of commercialization is not only regional but at national level. Especially for functional food and beverage category, maintaining the nutritional activity of the ingredients during storage and marketing depends on the oxygen barrier properties of the package. The market for refrigerated meats, mainly for export, is extremely demanding of oxygen barrier properties of the package. In the case of fresh fruits and vegetables, gas permeability is associated not only with product durability, but with public health risks, related with the possibility of developing an anaerobic environment favorable to pathogens. The success of new food and beverage processing technologies, such as high pressure, flash sterilization and modified atmosphere conservation, depends on the development of specific packaging for these applications. Because they are technologies for increasing the shelf life of perishable foods, the oxygen barrier of the packaging is decisive in the stability and shelf life of the products. New technologies associated with food and beverage packaging, such as active and intelligent packaging, are largely associated with the barrier properties of packaging. Various types of active systems, with absorbers of detrimental compounds or with antimicrobial emitters are associated with the barrier properties of the package. In the area of new packaging materials, especially functionalized polymers based on nanotechnology and renewable raw materials, the barrier properties of packaging are a key factor for its technological and economic success. The acquisition of this equipment is part the Plan of Institutional Development in Research of the Institute of Food Technology in the Strategic Areas of Food Safety and Health and of Innovation in Products and Processes. (AU)