Gas Mixer for Modified Atmosphere Packaging

The use of high-precision gas mixtures for Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP).

• What is MAP?

Commerce globalization and the constantly increasing demand for food pushed in recent years the goods’ shelf life improvement to become a central research topic developed worldwide. The interaction between oxygen and food usually causes chemical oxidation and aerobic microorganisms growth, the major causes of food spoilage. Chilling the goods can help in slowing the deterioration of stored foods but it’s the oxygen concentration reduction in the atmosphere surrounding the product that considerably increases the shelf-life. The oxygen reduction and other atmosphere modifications are performed by techniques as known as Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP).

• MAP in constant development

MAP techniques are now the major packaging method used on a wide range of fresh or chilled foods (more detailed information will be discussed further). Even if the majority of products share the same spoilage causes, each food has its own optimal MAP configuration that maximizes shelf life enhancement. This is the main reason that leads the scientific community to constant research for new and more refined solutions. The optimization of MAP processes mostly relies on the atmosphere surrounding the foods, focusing today’s research on different gas mixture experimentation.

• MCQ Instruments solution

MAP development lab applications thus require working with high-precision gas mixtures and quick and easy mixture management methods. For all these applications, MCQ proposes the use of the Gas Blenders, instruments specifically designed for in-laboratory experimentation that allow the user to create up to 6 component dynamic gas mixtures and that offers an intuitive way to manage them with the MCQ Gas Mixture Creator Software.

Map Applications.

Major MAP applications regard the storage and quality preservation of fresh and cured meat, seafood products, fruits and vegetables, and other generic foods. The products are usually minimally processed thus the MAP solves the main role in their shelf life extension. The commonly modified atmospheres are composed of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide mixed together in different proportions depending on the product and the needs of the manufacturer and the consumer. Less common but still used are those applications that involve carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide as modified atmosphere gaseous components.

• Oxygen. The presence of oxygen (and in a small amount, of carbon monoxide) primarily contributes to maintaining the fresh meat oxygenated, giving the product the bright red color commonly associated with a good freshness degree. Oxygen also stimulates the growth of aerobic bacteria, inhibiting the growth of anaerobes at the same time.

• Nitrogen. Nitrogen often replaces oxygen in the packaging process in order to prevent product rancidity and other spoiling factors connected with aerobic organisms’ growth. Nitrogen is also used as a filler gas because of its low solubility in water and lipid compared with that of carbon dioxide, thus preventing pack collapse.

• Carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the major anti-microbial factor in MAP but many factors contribute to its real effectiveness. Gas concentration, storage temperature, and especially the original population of microorganisms inside the product can affect the validity of the CO2 option. Depending on the targeted product, the use of CO2 can turn out to be a good choice for many MAP applications as well as a major cause of spoilage.

• MAP Gas Mixtures. In Table 1 some of the most common foods and their related optimized MAP conditions are shown. Obviously, as the knowledge about the MAP increases, different modified atmospheres that granted better performances are implemented and used, making these values change accordingly.

Map Experimentation.

• Common experimental set-up (Without MCQ Instruments). Many laboratories in which MAP experimentation is undertaken are equipped with an array of mass flow controllers single channeled, connected with an external control unit usually unprovided any software interface for the gas mixture management. 

This kind of hardware configuration can be troublesome and may present mixture composition issues (instrument precision tends to lower especially when working with a low flow rate). Moreover, this kind of configuration doesn’t allow a fast modification of the gas mixture parameters and usually requires a lot of laboratory room.

• Gas Mixers experimental set-up (With MCQ Instruments). The Gas Blender Series are the improved solution proposed by MCQ Instruments to solve these common issues. Designed following the Lab in a Box concept, the MCQ Gas Blenders are high precision Gas Mixers, easy to configure and adaptable to many different laboratory applications, they offer more efficiency and an innovative quick, and easy way for mixtures management and gas flow meter control, all in a compact case.

The Gas Blenders work with up to 6 components of gas mixtures, each gas media connected to a dedicated instrument channel for which MCQ guarantees high accuracy (1.0% of setpoint), high repeatability (0.16% of reading value), and the fastest response time for setpoint value change now available in the market. The instruments work with dry, non-aggressive gases, and the channels are always calibrated with native gases following the customer’s request. For gas mixture management in full automation, the MCQ Gas Mixture Creator Software is also provided.

Easy to use, and compatible with any common desktop or laptop personal computer (or touch screen for the latest products), MCQ Gas Mixture Creator Software allows taking complete control of the gas mixers and their functions. This software is a useful tool created by MCQ Instruments that allows working with dynamic gas mixtures immediately in full automation.

The MCQ Instruments solution.

An example of MCQ Gas Blender Series hardware configuration is represented in the scheme. The gas in use must be dry, non-aggressive gases. The gas mixers work with pure or mixtures of gas media (the example shows pure gases for simplicity). The gas cylinders are connected to the instruments through 6 mm diameter tubes and a check valve is installed on each line as a back-flow prevention device.

Each gas is connected and controlled by a dedicated channel of the Gas Blenders. Another 6 mm tube finally connects the instruments to the working system (a packaging box suited to maintain a modified atmosphere) in which the experiment takes place. The relative amount of O2 and CO2 in the coming out mixture can be adjusted with ease, monitored, and modified by the user with the MCQ software.

Choose your Gas Mixer.

Easy to Use, automated, flexible, multi-gas types. Start creating your dynamic Gas Mixtures by just using pure gases.

GB100

Total Flow Rate: Up to 1,5 L/min

Recent News