Mathematical modelling of Modified Atmosphere Package: An Engineering approach to design packaging systems for fresh-cut produce

Consumer demand for freshness and convenience food has led to the evolution and increased production of fresh-cut fruits and vegetables. Moreover this may represent a way to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and therefore a benefit for the crops sector economy. Since the increase in convenience for the consumer has a detrimental effect on product quality, attention must be focused on extending shelf life while maintaining quality. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is a packaging technology which by making qualitative or quantitative changes to the atmosphere composition around the product, can improve product preservation. However, MAP must be carefully designed, as a poorly designed system may be ineffective or even shorten product shelf life. Thus, while in the past a trial and error approach to package food was predominant, nowadays the need has emerged for an engineering approach to properly design a package to improve product shelf life. Therefore, to ensure an appropriate gas composition during the product’s shelf life, a model should take into account all the variables that play a critical role, such as product respiration and its mass; packaging material and its geometry; and environmental conditions such as temperature, relative humidity and gas composition. In this chapter a procedure to design a package for fresh-cut produce is described. An engineering approach is used to develop a mathematical model with the experimental data obtained for product respiration and package permeability and solve the mass balance equations using computer software. A case study on fresh-cut apples is reported in order to validate the model.