Effect of Packaging on the Quality and Shelf-life of Minimally Processed/Ready to Eat Foods

Year 2011, Volume: 9 Issue: 4, 36 - 41, 01.08.2011

Zehra Ayhan

Abstract

Ready-to-eat/use products are a rapidly growing sector in the market because of increased consumer demand for fresh, healthy, convenient and additive-free prepared products. However, especially freshly prepared food items are highly perishable and prone to major spoilage mechanisms of enzymatic discoloration, moisture loss and microbial growth. Good manufacturing practices along with appropriate packaging materials are required to control these spoilage mechanisms. Ready-to-eat or minimally processed food products and their packaging requirements should be examined under two categories: 1 respiring horticultural products like minimally processed fresh-cut fruits and vegetables and 2 non-respiring products like ready-to-eat/use products such as meat, dairy or other products. The former products require highly permeable packaging material to oxygen and carbon dioxide in order to provide gas equilibrium inside the package. The gas equilibrium could be established if the product respiratory characteristics match to film permeability. For this purpose, modified atmosphere packaging MAP is used extensively to keep the product quality and increase the shelf-life. The key for successful MAP of freshly prepared produce is to use packaging film of correct permeability so as to establish optimum equilibrium atmosphere of 3-10% O2 and 3-10% CO2. For non-respiring ready-to-eat products, barrier packaging material is required to increase their shelf-life, and vacuum packaging, modified atmosphere packaging or active packaging technologies or their combination can be applied using multilayered plastic packaging materials with low permeability of especially oxygen and moisture. Nanomaterials with improved barrier properties can be an alternative to multilayered plastics to improve food quality and increase shelf-life

Keywords

Ready-to-eat, Minimal processing, Packaging, Modified atmosphere packaging, Nanomaterials

Az İşlenmiş-Tüketime Hazır Gıdaların Kalite ve Raf Ömrüne Ambalajın Etkisi

Abstract

Taze, sağlıklı, kullanımı kolay ve katkısız hazır gıdalara tüketici talebinin artması nedeniyle son yıllarda tüketime/kullanıma hazır gıdalar marketlerde hızla büyüyen bir sektör olmaya başlamıştır. Ancak özellikle işlenmiş taze ürünler oldukça kolay bozulur niteliktedir ve enzimatik renk değişimi, nem kaybı ve mikrobiyal üreme gibi ana bozulma mekanizmalarına maruz kalırlar. Bu bozulma mekanizmalarını kontrol etmek için ambalajlama sistemlerinin ve malzemelerinin doğru kullanımı ile birlikte iyi üretim uygulamaları zorunludur. Tüketime hazır veya az işlenmiş ürünler ve bunların ambalaj gereksinimleri iki kategori altında incelenmelidir: 1 az işlenmiş taze-kesilmiş meyve ve sebzeler solunum yapan bahçe ürünleri , 2 tüketime/kullanıma hazır et ve süt ürünleri veya diğer ürünler solunum yapmayan ürünler . Birinci grup ürünler ambalaj içinde gaz dengesinin sağlanması için oksijen ve karbondioksit geçirgenliği yüksek malzemelere ihtiyaç duyarlar. Eğer ürünün solunum karakteristikleri ile ambalaj malzemesinin geçirgenliği uyumlu ise gaz dengesi sağlanabilmektedir. Bu amaçla, ürün kalitesini sağlamak ve raf ömrünü uzatmak için modifiye atmosfer paketleme MAP tekniği yaygın olarak kullanılır. İşlenmiş taze ürünlerin modifiye atmosferdebaşarılı olarak paketlenmesindeki anahtar uygun geçirgenliğe sahip ambalaj filminin kullanımı ile optimum gaz atmosferi olan %3-10 O2 ve %3-10 CO2 oranlarının sağlanmasıdır. İkinci grup ürünlerde ise solunum yapmayan tüketime hazır ürünler raf ömrünü uzatmak için bariyerli ambalaj materyalleri gerekmektedir. Bu amaçla özellikle oksijen ve nem geçirgenliği düşük çok katlı ambalaj malzemeleri kullanılarak vakumlu ambalajlama, modifiye atmosfer paketleme veya aktif ambalajlama teknolojileri veya bunların kombinasyonu uygulanabilir. Gıda kalitesini geliştirmek ve raf ömrünü uzatmak için bariyer özellikleri geliştirilmiş nanomalzemeler de çok katlı malzemelere alternatif olabilir

Keywords

Tüketime/kullanıma hazır gıdalar, Az işlenmiş, Ambalajlama, Modifiye atmosfer paketleme

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