Shelf life prediction of oxygen‐sensitive products: The influence of moisture on prediction accuracy for freeze‐dried coffee

Abstract

Optimised packaging requires that properties are matched to the protection requirements of food for its shelf life duration. Benefits include reduced packaging costs, use volumes, and potentially improved environmental performance. The ability to predict product shelf life in different materials can assist in selecting optimal packaging. However, the availability of such tools is limited, and risk for over packing exists. The aim with this work is to develop a prediction approach which can be applied to assist users to select more optimal packaging materials. Soluble coffee was used to develop the approach, where oxygen consumption of the product is used as a quality indicator. The effect of moisture content on O2 consumption was studied to determine its influence on prediction accuracy. Samples were prepared with different levels of moisture content. O2 consumption rates were measured, and a notable influence of moisture was observed. A model was developed to predict the O2 consumption of the product when packed in a pouch. The model considers oxygen and moisture permeation properties of the packaging film, O2 and moisture differential between the interior and exterior of the packaging, and the evolution of the O2 consumption rate as a function of moisture increase. To test model accuracy, coffee samples were packed in flexible pouches, and O2 consumption was measured which showed that predicted and measured values shared the same trend characteristics. We show that considering both moisture and O2 ingress simultaneously leads to more precise shelf life prediction as oxidation rate is influenced by moisture content.

The Use of Modeling Tools to Better Evaluate the Packaging Benefice on Our Environment

“…In majority of studies, the authors showed the importance of a well-dimensioned packaging to preserve food and increase shelf life. The strategies proposed were (i) to correctly chose packaging regarding gas and water permeabilities to limit for example the oxidation (Rovira et al, 2019;Witik et al, 2019), or the water intake of dried products (Seth et al, 2018), (ii) use an optimal modified atmosphere to limit for example microbial spoilage (Chaix et al, 2015b;Guillard et al, 2016), quality loss of vegetables (Tsironi et al, 2017) or texture modification (Wyrwisz et al, 2017), and (iii) use an active packaging (ie packaging in which components were deliberately added to be liberated in food or headspace or to absorb a substance to increase the food shelf-life), as antimicrobial compounds (Ag, potassium sorbate etc.) to protect products from microbial growth (Marcuzzo et al, 2013;Apjok et al, 2019).…”

Shelf-Life Prediction of Specialty Coffees using the Arrhenius Model

“…This methodology is called Accelerated Shelf-Life Testing (ASLT) and allows us to reduce the time needed to estimate the shelf life of the product (Calligaris et al, 2019). The ability to predict the shelf life of the product in different materials can help select the optimal packaging (Witik et al, 2019).…”

Moisture ingress in commercial steel drums: Water content determination, diffusion modelling and predicted permeation rates

“…[27][28][29][30] Moisture ingress and permeation evaluation in packaging materials has thus far largely focused on lightweight flexible material. [31][32][33][34] It is inevitable that some amount of moisture permeates through gasket materials, and knowing the rate of diffusion can be useful in predicting a more accurate shelf lives for transported and stored products.…”