| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 431.32 KB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Shelf-life of many foods is largely dependent on the barrier to moisture and oxygen of the respective
package. Barrier is often assessed by measuring the transmission rate of
films. However, in thermosealed
packages leaks and weak seals can give rise to increased total mass transfer entering the system and
reaching the food. While leaks are random defects and are associated to early failure, lower integrity of
regular seals tends to affect whole batch causing a decrease in the product shelf-life. In the present work
the contribution of the seals to total permeability of packages was assessed by measuring transmission
rate of the
film and of thermosealed packages of different sizes, therefore with different seals length.
Packages made of PA/PE and PVDC coated PET/PE and their respective
films were tested for moisture and
oxygen transmission rate at different temperature and relative humidity. Results indicate that industrial
regular produced seals can account for ca. 25% of the total mass transfer through the system. This
decrease of the package barrier as compared to the material barrier will have a significant impact on the
product shelf-life and it should be considered in the packaging design process.
Description
Keywords
Package permeability Thermoseals Shelf-life Oxygen barrier Moisture barrier
Citation
REINAS, Isabel; OLIVEIRA, Jorge; PEREIRA, Joel; MAHAJAN, Pramod; POÇAS, Maria de Fátima - A quantitative approach to assess the contribution of seals to the permeability of water vapour and oxygen in thermosealed packages. Food Packaging and Shelf Life. ISSN 2214-2894. Vol. 7 (2016), p. 34-40 doi:10.1016/j.fpsl.2016.01.003
Publisher
Elsevier