History of modified atmosphere packaging

Modified atmosphere packaging can be defined as an alteration in the composition of gases in and around fresh produce by respiration and transpiration when such commodities are sealed in plastic films.

Much of original work was done in Australia and New Zealand when beef and lamb carcasses were shipped in the 1930s to the UK was stored in carbon dioxide to help maintain freshness.

During the 1940s and 1950s fresh apples and pears were placed in enclosed warehouse. The natural respiratory activities of the fruit reduced the oxygen and increased the carbon dioxide within storage areas sufficiently to slow respiration markedly.

The stored apples or pears could be consumed as much as six months after the original harvest: and extensions of about double the normal chilled storage shelf-life. In the 1970s, modified atmosphere packages were used for some retail packs of meat and fish.

The new techniques have been developed, including micro-perforation, anti-fogging layers to improve product visibility.

The use of modified atmosphere packaging technology received a significant boost when the retail chain of Marks and Spencer introduced a wide range of fresh MAD meat products in the UK in 1981.

Today, modified atmosphere packaging is used to package anything from fresh salads or individual meat portions, to sandwiches and snacks.
History of modified atmosphere packaging

Aseptic Packaging in History

Aseptic Packaging in History
The first invention was likely a device for carrying food. Hunters and gatherers needed to lighten the burden of bringing food back to a central camp.

These early camps were undoubtedly located near water, because the means of transporting liquid was still long way off.

As population grew and were forced to move farther away from a secure source of water, the need to carry liquids became urgent.

Skins and shells, followed by pottery and ceramics and then glass, metals and plastics, became the materials needed for storing, preserving and transporting liquids.

In 1989 the Institute of Food Technologist an organization of food scientists devoted to improving the production and distribution of food, selected aseptic packaging as “the most significant food science innovation in the past fifty years”.

Ruben Rausing in Sweden reportedly conceived the concept for holding milk in a container made from a paperboard composite.

The original package had a tetrahedral shape and was called a Tetra Pak.

This new technology was married to aseptic technology, and a new industry was born. The box-shaped package that is so widely available is a laminate of six layers of three materials: paperboard 70% polyethylene 24%, and aluminum 6 %.

Innovations in plastic technology and plasma discharge silica coating technology offer the promise that more foods will be packaged in efficient septic packages during the twenty first century.
Aseptic Packaging in History