ABSTRACT
CONTENTS 18.1 Packaging Technology .................................................................................................... 464
18.1.1 Packaging Materials ........................................................................................... 464 18.1.1.1 Polymers ............................................................................................... 464 18.1.1.2 High OTR Materials and Technologies............................................ 465 18.1.1.3 Microperforated Films ........................................................................ 466
18.1.2 Package Formats ................................................................................................. 467 18.1.2.1 Flexible Packaging............................................................................... 467 18.1.2.2 Rigid Packaging................................................................................... 468 18.1.2.3 Active and Intelligent Packaging ...................................................... 469
18.1.3 Packaging Misconceptions................................................................................. 471 18.2 Atmosphere Effects.......................................................................................................... 471
18.2.1 Physiology............................................................................................................ 471 18.2.2 Microbiology........................................................................................................ 475 18.2.3 Quality and Shelf Life ........................................................................................ 478
18.3 Elevated Modified Humidity Effects ............................................................................ 478 18.3.1 Physiology............................................................................................................ 481 18.3.2 Microbiology........................................................................................................ 482 18.3.3 Shelf Life............................................................................................................... 483
18.4 Challenges Facing the Industry and Future Research Directions ............................ 484 References.................................................................................................................................... 486
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is effective in maintaining quality through its effects on modification of the gas composition in the package headspace (Schlimme and Rooney, 1994; Jacxsens et al., 2002; Kim et al., 2003; Luo et al., 2004). The degree of atmospheric modification within a modified atmosphere package is a consequence of the respiratory O2 uptake and CO2 evolution of the packaged produce and the rate of gas transfer across the package film (Al-Ati and Hotchkiss, 2002). But several factors impinge on this basic understanding and directly influence the final package atmosphere, including temperature, product weight, and package surface area (Bell, 1996). There have been previous reviews of the effects of modified atmospheres (Mir and Beaudry, 2004; Varoquaux and Ozdemir, 2005) and so the discussion in this chapter will focus on recent findings or those which have not been discussed in detail by other authors.
