Brief presentation on Novel MAP for foods using oxygen, argon and nitrous oxide atmosphere.

1. Novel MAP applications for
fresh-prepared produce
Er.M.Praveen Raja
College of Food and Dairy Technology
Tamilnadu Veterinary and Animal sciences University
Chennai, India

2. Introduction
Due to consumer’s demand for fresh, healthy, convenient and
additive-free prepared product items, there has been an
explosive growth in the market for fresh prepared fruit and
vegetable (i.e. produce) products.
Fresh prepared produce items are highly perishable and prone
to the major spoilage mechanisms of enzymic discoloration,
moisture loss and microbial growth.
The application of novel MAP is a new approach for the
retailing of fresh prepared produce items and is capable of
overcoming the many inherent shortcomings of current
industry-standard air packaging or low oxygen MAP.

3. Novel MAP gases
I. High Oxygen MAP
• High oxygen MAP involves the use of 70-100% oxygen
atmosphere to extend the shelf life of fresh produce.
• High oxygen MAP within inexpensive hermetically sealed plastic
films was found to be very effective at preventing undesirable
moisture and odour losses and ingress of microorganisms during
wet handling situations.
• High oxygen inhibits microbial growth by,
Active oxygen radical damage vital cellular components.
Prevent growth of anaerobic microbes.

5. Inhibition of Polyphenol Oxidase enzyme

6. Novel MAP gases
II. Argon and Nitrous oxide MAP
• Argon and nitrous oxide are classified as miscellaneous
additives and are permitted gases for food use in the EU.
• Ar and N2O are able to inhibit fungal growth, reduce
ethylene emissions and slow down sensory quality
deterioration.
• Ar was also found to reduce respiration rates of fresh
produce.

7. II. Argon and Nitrous oxide MAP
• Ar has similar atomic size to oxygen and higher solubility in
water and so this makes it to replace oxygen in cellular
mechanisms and thereby inhibit the growth of microbes as
well as reduce respiration rates of produce.
• It was also found that Ar and N2O were able to sensitize
microbes to anti-microbial agents.
• In comparison with N2O, Ar can more effectively inhibit
enzymic activities, microbial growth and degradative chemical
reactions in selected perishable foods

8. Testing of MAP Applications
• High O2 MAP were more effective than low O2 MAP.
• High O2 is effective to,
Reduce enzyme discoloration of cut fresh produce.
Improve sensory qualities of prepared foods.
Prevent growth of generic species of bacteria and fungi.
Prevent growth of pathogenic microbes.
• In combination with 10-30% CO2,
Reduced respiration rates of prepared produce.
Prevented the growth of all bacterial types.
Prevented PPO damage in mushrooms.

9. Testing of MAP Applications
• High O2 and Ar MAPs have beneficial effects on Vitamin C
retention.
• Ar MAP prevents membrane damage in fresh cut produce and
inhibits activity of PPO.
• Ar MAP cannot reduce respiration rates of produce and cannot
prevent enzymatic browning of fresh cut produce.
• Ar and N2O MAP are not having effective anti-microbial
properties when compared with N2 MAP.

12. Applying High O2 MAP
• The recommended optimal headspace gas levels immediately after fresh
prepared produce package sealing are 80-95% O2/5–20% N2.
• It is desirable to maintain headspace O2>40% and CO2 in the range of 10-
25% for maximum benefits.
• Use CO2 absorbers (or) selective packaging permeable to CO2 (or) lower
storage temperature to maintain high O2 level.
• Vertical form-fill-seal and Horizontal form-fill-seal machines use gas
flushing or air dilution system and so we can achieve a concentration of
80% only and O2 is released in nearby environment.
• Thermoform-fill-seal and Preformed tray and lidding machines use
compensated vaccum technique which can achieve a concentration of 85-
95% O2 while no O2 is lost into environment.

13. Packaging materials recommended for
high O2 MAP
• 30um oriented polypropylene (OPP)
• PVDC coated OPP
• Coextrusions and laminations containing EVOH, PET, PA and
PVDC
Temperature Control:
• Must be maintained below 8C.
• In the range of 0-3C through entire food chain.

14. Method for the preservation of fresh
vegetables (US 5128160 A)
Abstract
• Fresh fruit and vegetables are preserved under refrigerated
temperatures generally between 0° C. and 20° C. by placing the fruits
and vegetables under a pressure of 0.5 to 3×105 Pa in a gaseous
atmosphere initially containing an effective amount of nitrogen
monoxide or argon in the range of 10-100%, with optionally up to
50% oxygen, any remainder being composed of an inert gas. The
fruits and vegetables may be maintained continuously in such
atmosphere or in stages interspersed by placing the vegetable
products in a different atmosphere.

16. Effect of Superatmospheric Oxygen Packaging on Sensorial
Quality, Spoilage, and Listeria monocytogenes and
Aeromonas caviae Growth in Fresh Processed Mixed Salads
• Atmospheres with O2 levels higher than 70 kPa for MAP (initial conc. 95
kPa).
• Product: Mixed vegetable salad
• Packed with 2 plastic films viz., low-barrier film permeability for O2 was
1,629 mlO2/m2 × 24 h × atm with 30 μm of thickness (Hyplast,
Hoogstraten, Belgium) and the O2 permeability of the high-barrier film
was 2 mlO2/m2 × 24h × atm with 150 μm of thickness (Euralpack,
Wommelgen, Belgium).
• Stored at 4C for 8 days.

17. Result
• Growth inhibition: LAB, Enterobacteriaceae
• No effect: Yeasts, Listeria monocytogenes, Aeromonas caviae
and psychrotrophic bacteria
• Shelf life was increased and overall visual appearance was
better when O2 is above 50 kPa.

18. Microbial and quality changes in minimally processed
baby spinach leaves stored under super atmospheric
oxygen and modified atmosphere conditions
• The effect of High O2 MAP on plant metabolism, organoleptic
quality and microbial growth of minimally processed baby
spinach was studied.
• Concentrations: 80 and 100 kPa
• Storage: 12 days at 5C
• Two packaging films: O2 permeable PE film and O2 barrier PE
film
• Packaging type: MAP bag type

19. Result
• Packages with the barrier film also exhibited a more rapid accumulation of
CO2 than those with the permeable film, with CO2 levels ranging from 16.2
to 22.5 kPa in the barrier film packages, versus 6.1–10.6 kPa in the
permeable film packages at the end of 12 days of storage at 5 °C.
• Packages prepared with the barrier film with an initial O2 level at 21%
accumulated CO2 during storage and exhibited a significant reduction in
aerobic mesophilic bacterial growth compared to the perforated film
packages (control).
• This treatment also developed strong off-odor and a loss of tissue integrity.
• Adding super atmospheric O2 to the packages alleviated tissue injury in
addition to reducing aerobic mesophilic microbial growth and prevented
post-processing contamination and improved quality of baby spinach.

21. References
• Ahvenainen, R. (Ed.). (2003). Novel food packaging techniques. Elsevier.
• Allende, A., Jacxsens, L., Devlieghere, F., Debevere, J., & Artes, F.
(2002). Effect of superatmospheric oxygen packaging on sensorial
quality, spoilage, and Listeria monocytogenes and Aeromonas caviae
growth in fresh processed mixed salads. Journal of Food Protection,
65(10), 1565-1573.
• Allende, A., Luo, Y., McEvoy, J. L., Artés, F., & Wang, C. Y. (2004).
Microbial and quality changes in minimally processed baby spinach leaves
stored under super atmospheric oxygen and modified atmosphere
conditions. Postharvest Biology and Technology, 33(1), 51-59.
• Fath, D., & Soudain, P. (1992). U.S. Patent No. 5,128,160. Washington,
DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.