Solutions based in a mix of minerals and clays

Lengthen the useful life of fruit and vegetables, increase the barrier for liquid products and semi-liquid, adapt to the needs of the greater population, achieve the economic sustainability, social and environingingmental, avoid the wasteful of foods, … these are some of the aims to which confront the destined containers to house products of feeding. To continuation the Technological Centre Ainia does balance of the some of the technologies used in 2013 to fulfil with these challenges.

The technology of active containers with absorbers of etileno that increase the useful life in fruit and vegetables employs, or pads or trays absorbedoras that avoid that it return the etileno that give off to the container or container and ralentizando like this the maduration and deterioration of the fruit. These solutions base in a mix of minerals and clays. Besides it can be employed along all the chain of value, since the dimension of the absorber dimensiona in each one of the stages. The capacity of absorption of etileno designs in function of the type of fruit guaranteeing that absorbs the quantity of gas adapted. In this same line a group of Italian researchers has patented a material of packaging that, by means of the incorporation of oils or natural extracts is able to lengthen the useful life of cool products of animal origin, meat or fish.

This technology uses mainly in the sterilisation of containers, since with her reduces and even deletes the employment of desinfectantes chemical, like the peroxide of hydrogen, used in the aseptic processing of containers, which can leave undesirable waste in the container that transfer to the food.

Polietilentereftalato (PET) Improved like alternative for products pastaurised and filled in aseptic, like juices; plastic Materials with properties barrier, substitutes of the glass and metal in containers for sauces; multilayered plastic Containers with integrated label for ice creams, containers of multilayered cardboard for milk that generates 28% less than CO₂ respecto other similar solutions and packaging PET with barrier to ultraviolet light in olive oil, are some of the tendencies in the market of the destined containers to liquid foods and semi-liquid that you can read in the following article.

The use of inks in the packaging, that can not erase, does more complex the alterations of the information. These inks are developed in a formulation of fast dried and are compatible with fast lines of production and in other materials of packaging. This solution, developed by the group of researchers of the University of Hong Kong, contributes to guarantee that the information does not lose and that the trazabilidad keeps along the chain of value, from the producer until the consumer. Besides the use of active labels incorporated to the container, also can be a solution to the wasteful of foods.

The coatings barrier improve the characteristics of the material of the packaging and contribute, in the majority of the cases, to the reduction of use of material. In the case of the functional additives, these improve a determinate function of the container, for example the absorption of the oxygen, that no the material of packaging in himself. In this sense, the demand of materials that incorporate some type of functional additive or coating barrier is increasing. This has to mainly to the diverse advantages that contribute. This only is a summary of some of the technologies used for the container of destined foods to feeding.