ABSTRACT
Modified atmosphere packaging is a relatively new term
referring to a series of technologies intended to prolong the
quality retention of foods, beverages, and other contained
products. Coined about 20 years ago, the term derived from
the original “controlled atmosphere” preservation to dif-
ferentiate it from methods developed to extend shelf life of
fresh produce in distribution environments as the latter
employed mechanical and chemical procedures to literally
control the temperature and gaseous environment of the
product. Because gas-permeable plastic package materials
are always used to contain respiring food or food contain-
ing respiring microorganisms in modified atmosphere
packaging, total control was lost and thus the descriptor,
“modified,” to convey the notion of dynamic change. Some
professionals included vacuum packaging of respiring
foods or foods containing viable microorganisms such as
primal cuts of fresh red meat within the modified atmo-
sphere term because, despite original reduced oxygen,
biological action by the food continued to alter the internal
package environment. One area generally not encom-
passed by modified atmosphere packaging is reduced oxy-
gen in foods and other products that are biologically (but
not biochemically) inert such as instant coffee or canned
foods.
