Eat Natural
Six months in a MAP package but I'm every bit as tasty
Additives are the enemy and MAP replaces them. But the further away the sell-by date, the more urgent leak detection becomes.
Eat natural
Noticed how shoppers have begun reading the fine print on packages — and putting the ones that contain too many additives back on the shelf?
Additives are so 20th century — no wonder food producers are switching to Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP).
MAP uses natural inert gases to extend shelf-life from days to weeks, weeks to months, and even up to a year, depending on the product.
But with extended product lifetimes comes greater pressure to make sure your packaging is leak free.
Leak testing isn’t always crucial for packaging that only lasts a few days, but it’s essential if your sell-by date is well into the future. After six months, even a micro-leak can have a mighty big effect on the product inside.
The good news? There are fast, simple and cost-effective tools for testing package integrity. Not a bad idea with big retail chains demanding leak-detection certificates and prone to reject entire shipments because of a few bad packages!
If you’re new to MAP, it’s best starting out with a shelf-life study. Knowing the microbiology of your product will enable you to find the best possible solution in terms of packaging material, gas mixture and shelf life.