Make your modified atmosphere packaging more efficient

29-Sep-2014 - Last updated on 09-Oct-2014 at 09:17 GMT

Many more businesses could raise the efficiency of their MAP operations

Many businesses using modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on their food lines could do much more to make this part of the operation more efficient, according to an international supplier of MAP quality control systems.

Danish company Dansensor specialises in MAP equipment including gas analysers, headspace analysers and leak detectors. This includes both freestanding systems and components integrated into complete lines by manufacturers of tray-sealers, flow-wrappers and other packaging machinery.

Trend

Sales and marketing director Karsten Kejlhof said: “We’re seeing a trend towards much more process control. When food manufacturers are producing faster and faster, at speeds of 120 packs per minute or more, and perhaps with one person monitoring four lines, you need better process control and that’s where we see our role.”

Kejlhof reported Smithers Pira figures putting global growth in MAP at 45% annually. But he admitted that, compared with developing economies and even the US, the UK and Scandinavia were mature markets where “we are not seeing new customers every day”.

But he said Dansensor was seeing more end users currently using offline testing turning to online controls. “Even if you are only testing 12 packs per hour, that still adds up in terms of product and packaging materials waste as well as manual labour,” said Kejlhof. Further savings can be made on gas consumption where a closed loop for gas flushing was set up, he added.

Best practise

In collaboration with Campden BRI, Dansensor has produced a white paper with the title ‘Modified atmosphere packaging quality control’. According to the company, the aim was to create a single ‘best practice’ source for MAP, including hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP), audits, traceability and basic quality control checklists.

“I think there’s a substantial part of the industry which could still optimise its MAP systems,” said Kejlhof.