With the continuous improvement of living standards, people's requirements for food are also increasing. They not only demand freshness and quality but also nutrition and safety. However, food is prone to decay and deterioration during storage and transportation, leading to a reduction in quality and nutritional value. In severe cases, harmful substances may even be produced, endangering human health. Food decay and deterioration result from the oxidation of food or the reproduction of microorganisms such as molds, bacteria, yeast, and insects.
Food oxidation is directly caused by oxygen, and the proliferation of microorganisms and insects is closely related to oxygen. Therefore, removing oxygen from food is crucial. Deoxygenation packaging technology involves using a deoxygenating agent sealed in the packaging container to chemically react with oxygen, thus eliminating oxygen from the packaging and preserving the packaged goods under conditions of low or almost no oxygen. Currently, deoxygenation packaging technology has been widely applied in the food industry.
I. Definition and Characteristics of Deoxygenation Packaging Technology
Definition of Deoxygenation Packaging Technology
Deoxygenation packaging refers to a packaging technology where a deoxygenating agent, capable of chemically reacting with oxygen, is sealed in a packaging container to eliminate the oxygen within, creating an environment with very low or almost no oxygen for preserving the packaged items.
Characteristics of Deoxygenation Packaging Technology
Deoxygenation packaging emerged as a new packaging method after the development of vacuum and gas-filled packaging. Its most significant feature, compared to vacuum and gas-filled packaging technologies, is its ability to reduce oxygen levels within the sealed packaging to very low levels, creating an environment with almost no oxygen. This is because the deoxygenating agent not only removes all the oxygen inside the packaging container but also eliminates oxygen that infiltrates from the external environment and oxygen dissolved in liquids or filled in the porous structures of solid sponges.
Furthermore, compared to other packaging technologies, deoxygenation packaging technology has the following characteristics: it can reduce or eliminate the need for food additives with functions such as mold resistance and antioxidation in the food production process, making food safer; it can prevent oxidation damage to various foods, such as preventing the development of off-flavors in oils and fats, avoiding discoloration in animal and plant tissues (such as meat), and reducing the loss of nutritional elements, thus preserving the original color, aroma, taste, and nutrition of the products; it can effectively prevent or delay decay and deterioration caused by aerobic microorganisms, thereby extending the shelf life appropriately. In summary, deoxygenation packaging technology is an efficient, convenient, and safe food packaging technology.