Headspace Gas Analysis and Industrial Food Packaging
You interact with food and store goods every day that have been preserved to extend their shelf life. Air Source Industries offers high-quality food and restaurant grade gases needed by local industrial food packaging businesses to produce common grocery store items like chips and packaged meats.
Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are the most commonly used gases to fill the empty space in the packaging to preserve the inside contents and extend its shelf life. Longer storage periods gradually alter the gas contents. Testing the gases inside is important because it leads to better-designed packaging and potentially better storage.
What is Headspace Gas Analysis?
Headspace gas analysis is a process used to test the gas contents inside packaging for foods, drinks, medicine, and other packaged items that contain gas mixtures in order to estimate shelf life.
Gas-filled packages like CAP (controlled atmosphere packaging) and MAP (modified atmosphere packaging) contain very tiny amounts of oxygen. When gas flows out of the packaging gradually over time, the oxygen density will increase, which can cause oxidation. In order to make sure the gas mixtures within the packages are optimal, a few packages are taken off the line and tested using headspace gas analysis to ensure quality control.
How is Headspace Gas Analysis used with MAP Packaging?
In order to test the quality of the products, a headspace analysis is performed by inserting a needle into the packaging and drawing a small amount of gas into the analyzer. The analyzing equipment contains a sensor that measures the concentration of the remaining oxygen or carbon dioxide. These tests are carried out to ensure the headspace gas mixture is correct so that the contents in the packaging have the optimal environment to be preserved as long as possible.
What Types of Gases are Analyzed?
The purpose of testing the headspace gas is to ensure that the oxygen that enters the packaging as it’s being filled, does not exceed certain limits. If an excess amount of oxygen is found, packaging processes may need to be evaluated because having higher oxygen in the packaging will lead to bacteria growth and cause food to spoil quicker.
Carbon dioxide levels are also tested because CO2 it’s an essential gas in MAP packaging. Carbon dioxide is what helps preserve the quality of the products and helps regulate the flavor as well. For example, carbonated drinks like soda need carbon dioxide to keep the drink fizzy for a long period of time before it’s opened and consumed.
Conclusion
Food grade gases are commonly used for restaurants and industrial food packaging plants. Air Source Industries provides quality industrial and food grade gases for your business needs in the Orange County and Los Angeles County areas. We also offer scheduled deliveries to your business to make your life easier. For a free quote, please call our experts to help you get started. Call us at (562) 426-4017 or get a food grade gas quote online.
Sources:
http://www.labthinkinternational.com/literatures/headspace-gas-analysis-and-quality-control.html
https://dansensor.com/products/headspace-analysers
https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=11333