Suitability of various plastic films for modified atmosphere packaging of fruits and vegetables: gas transfer properties and effect of temperature fluctuation.
Exama, A., Arul, J., Lencki, R. and Li, Z.
Acta Horticulturae Year: 1993 Issue: No. 343 Pages: 175-180 Ref: 4 ref.
1993
บทคัดย่อ
Packaging film gas permeability requirements were computed by analysing the kinetics of the modified atmosphere (MA) process. Respiration data for selected crops were obtained from the literature. For the 2 package configurations considered (ellipsoid-cylindrical film bags with sealed ends; parallelepipedic square trays sealed at the top with film), only films such as silicone rubber, ethyl cellulose and natural rubber which provide high gas fluxes were appropriate for MA packaging of fruits and vegetables. However, the common films such as PVC and LDPE can satisfy the gas flux requirements of low respiring tissues such as apple, carrot, celery, cabbage and green pepper. Inadequate changes in permeability in response to temperature changes is also a limitation of these plastic films. The development of a film to satisfy the gas permeability requirements of individual crops would be difficult, therefore, it is suggested that strategies for combining films or film/micropore combinations could lead to realistic solutions to meet the required gas transfer properties. The effect of temperature fluctuations could be balanced by the use of a safety device, such as a temperature responsive valve or film.