Earticle

Poly lactic acid(PLA) and poly butylene adipate-co-terephthalate(PBAT) film was prepared using a twin extruder. PLA (25%) and PBAT (75%) were mixed with various ratio of chain extenders, such as Joncryl® and hexamethylene diisocyanate(HDI) to improve the mechanical and thermal properties of produced bio composite films. Tensile strengths of films were steadily increased with increasing ratio of chain extender. The tensile strength of control films was about 25 MPa, and the tensile strength of films with combined chain extenders was above 40 MPa. The films with Joncryl ® resulted in improved tensile strength, while the film with HDI alone showed improved percent elongation at break. By adding chain extenders into PLA/PBAT resin, the cold crystallization temperature (Tcc) and decomposition temperature (Td) of the produced bio composite films increased. It revealed that the addition of two types of chain extenders was efficient way to get PLA/PBAT film with improved strength and elongation.

In this work, the effects of nano TiO2 on functionality and stability of low density polyethylene (LDPE) composite films were investigated for food packaging application. LDPE-nano TiO2 composite films were prepared with various TiO2 contents (0, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0 and 5.0wt%) by melt-extrusion and their basic properties such as crystallinity, chemical bonds and surface morphology were examined by XRD, FTIR and SEM. Ultraviolet (UV) light barrier property of asprepared LDPE-nano TiO2 composite films was also studied and the presence of nano TiO2 resulted in significant improvement of UV light barrier compared to the pure LDPE film. To evaluate influence of nano TiO2 on LDPE properties required as packaging material, thermal, mechanical, gas barrier and optical properties of LDPE-nano TiO2 composite films were characterized with various analytical techniques including TGA, UTM, OTR, WVTR and UV-vis spectroscopy. As a result, except optical property of LDPE, no significant effects were found in other properties. Opacity of pure LDPE was greatly increased with increasing concentration of nano TiO2.

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) of vacuum, 60% N2/40% CO2, 100% N2 and 100% CO2 were examined to preserve fried fish cakes and extend their shelf life. When product packages in air were stored at 5, 10, and 15oC with measurement in quality attributes, aerobic bacterial growth was found to be primary quality factor to determine the shelf life of the product. Huang’s model was adopted to obtain the parameters for use in shelf life determination for a variety of packaging and storage conditions. Temperature dependence expressed in Arrhenius equation showed activation energies of 139.4 and 41.8 kJ/mol for inverse of lag time and growth rate of the microbial spoilage, respectively. MAP of 100% CO2 could double the product shelf life at 10oC compared to air package. High CO2 concentration MAP at low temperature was found to be effective to prolong the shelf life.

This study was conducted to determine types of oxygen transmission rate (OTR) films suitable for modified atmosphere (MA) storage treatment of strawberries (cv. ‘Maehyang’) for export and examination related changes in quality of strawberries during simulated shipping distribution conditions (2oC for 10 days~8oC for 11 days). Strawberries were packed by 1,300, 10,000, 20,000, and 30,000 cc/m2·day·atm OTR films for MA storage treatment and perforated film as the control for MAP. Fresh weight loss rate was less than 0.5% in OTR films except for the perforated film. Carbon dioxide and oxygen content in packages prevailed in permissible range for strawberries under recommended CA/MA conditions (i.e., CO2: 15~20%, O2: 5~10%) at 10,000 cc, 20,000 cc, and 30,000 cc OTR films. Ethylene content in OTR films did not reveal significant differences during storage. The 1,300 cc OTR film revealed highest off-flavor and lowest fungal incidence rate by sensory evaluation. The firmness, soluble solids, and visual quality were preserved the highest at 10,000 cc OTR film. In conclusion, 10,000 cc OTR film preserved the highest quality and extended shelf-life by 13 days if compared with conventional distribution conditions.

Although the global coffee market is growing every year and the demand for coffee wrapping paper is increasing accordingly, research on the effect of PE material and PP material on the coffee aroma used in the sealant layer, which will directly contact the product, is lacking. In this study, we studied the change of aroma patterns and flavor materials by adding coffee to PP and PE pouches. In addition, we observed changes in aroma patterns depending on the temperature and the presence of the deoxidizer. As a result, it was found that the PP type packaging material was slightly better than the PE type packaging material, but the performance was hardly changed by the material. Rather, the change in the aroma pattern due to temperature was dominant rather than the material. It is ideal that refrigerated distribution (4oC) is the best storage temperature and sales are done within a short period of time. Among the indicators, pyridine was the most suitable material to study and there are many data about pyridine. Therefore, it is expected that the results can be derived by using pyridine.

Fruits are subjected to a variety of vibration stress during the transportation from a production area to markets. Vibration inputs are transmitted from the transporting vehicle through the packaged fruit. And the steady state vibration input may cause serious internal damage of fruit. Product quality of fruits declines by various factors while they are stored right after harvesting and among the substance in charge of post ripening action, ethylene (C2H4) biosynthesis increases fruits' respiration process after harvesting and decreases storage expectancy. Ethylene production of apples rapidly increases while storage duration becomes longer. This tendency is much clearer for the apples with vibration stress at input acceleration level. When there was no vibration stress, change in ethylene production level of apples are not very large during storage. Ethylene production rates inside the gas collecting container increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) after 24 hours storage, particularly for apples with vibration stress (0.7 μl/kg·hr (1st stack), 0.78 μl/kg·hr (2nd stack), 0.96 μl/ kg·hr (3rd stack)); whereas less ethylene was produced in control apples (0.18 μl/kg·hr) during storage. Also ethylene production rates of apples according to the stack position were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05). The vibration stress clearly accelerated the degradation of apple quality during storage, resulting in increased ethylene production.

The amount of delivered parcels have been increasing according to the change and expansion of consumption pattern through e-commerce, and they are required to minimize breakout or failure under the delivery. In this study, we measured and analyzed the distribution environment data (vibration and impact) occurred in the packaging, which were prepared with 5 types by the weight and dimension, distributed from Seoul to Busan in Korea by 2 parcel delivery service companies through e-commerce order. Date showed the parcels had 3-5 times of drop impact and 0.3-0.7 m of drop height on average, and 0.8 Grms of vibration acceleration from equivalent equation to the vertical direction. The significant gap in service quality was not found between 2 parcel delivery service companies. This study is expected to be useful for designing the suitable packaging in order to enhance safe transportation of the delivered packaging, and furthermore useful for developing Korean testing method for Field-to-Lab simulation.

Due to the rise of customer’s alertness about fresh foods to health, in the past few years, the consumption of fresh food has increased sturdily. The use of gas scavengers is the most appropriate packaging technologies for fresh, fresh-cut produces and in ready to eat products. The gas absorber/scavenger has ability to protect or stabilize the wanted properties and shelf life of food. The success of gas absorbers in food depends on many parameters such as types of foods, storage temperature, relative humidity, initial gas concentration, and the characteristics of package materials. In this review article, we focus on the most recent research trends in gas scavenging systems used in food packaging, future trends. Intense research from industry and engineers remains important to the development of gas scavenging package that fulfill consumer requirements, enhance product quality, and offer environmentally friendly design and cost-effective application.