Enhance Food Shelf Life with Oxygen Scavengers in Packaging

Oxygen scavenger powder for food packaging that reduces heat generation when the package is opened. The powder contains iron, a metal halide, and a barely water-soluble alkaline agent. The alkaline agent has low water solubility and high pH. It suppresses iron oxidation and heat generation by forming a high pH coating on the iron as moisture is absorbed. This slows iron corrosion when the package is opened.

Oxygen absorber for food packaging that reduces odor while maintaining high oxygen absorption. The absorber contains an unsaturated oligomer, oxygen absorption promoter, carrier, inorganic particles, and activated carbon. The key is adsorbing less than 6.5% of the oligomer onto the inorganic particles. This prevents excessive oligomer migration and off-gassing during oxygen absorption. The inorganic particles absorb volatile compounds before the oligomer reacts with oxygen. The activated carbon further reduces odor.

Polymeric preform and container that can have a high percentage of recycled material while maintaining oxygen barrier properties. The container has an active oxygen scavenger layer with up to 25% recycled polymer to extend shelf life. This layer contains an oxygen scavenger, catalyst, and recycled polymer. The rest of the container has at least 25% recycled polymer. This allows using more recycled material in the container while still providing oxygen barrier properties.

Packaging system for extending the shelf-life of retail-ready meat cuts by reducing oxygen concentration to zero within a few hours after packing. The system involves using oxygen scavengers with iron-based chemistry placed inside meat trays or bags containing nitrogen instead of air. This rapidly removes oxygen to prevent discoloration and spoilage, allowing longer shelf-life of centrally prepared meat cuts. The scavengers absorb oxygen rapidly due to their chemistry and placement inside the packages. By reducing oxygen to zero, it restores the meat's ability to prevent browning and extends shelf-life compared to partial oxygen depletion.

Oxygen absorbing packaging material with improved light blocking and odor suppressing properties while maintaining oxygen absorption. The oxygen absorbing material contains a specific ratio of iron powder, titanium oxide, calcium oxide, and polyolefin resin. This composition allows the oxygen absorbing properties of iron powder to be combined with improved light blocking and odor suppression from the other components. The oxygen absorbing material can be used as a film or layer in packaging applications like food containers or cover materials to provide extended shelf life.

Packaging system for extending the shelf-life of retail-ready meat cuts by reducing oxygen levels to prevent discoloration. The system involves using oxygen scavengers inside the meat trays and master bags containing multiple trays. The scavengers absorb oxygen rapidly to achieve zero oxygen levels in a short time after sealing. The scavengers based on iron chemistry can do this due to their fast oxygen absorption rates. Placing them inside trays and bags optimizes oxygen removal. The zero oxygen environment prevents metmyoglobin formation and maintains meat color.

Blow molded containers for food packaging that reduce costs and waste compared to conventional containers. The containers are made by injection molding a first material for the top and a second material with an oxygen scavenger for the bottom. The bottom has inner, outer, and intermediate portions. The inner and outer portions are the first material, the intermediate portion contains the oxygen scavbler. This allows targeted barrier layers without dispersing them throughout the container. The intermediate portion thickness is between the inner and outer. The bottom is blow molded into the container without trimming. This minimizes scrap compared to trimming the entire preform.

Oxygen scavenger compositions for packaging applications that have improved oxygen scavenging properties. The compositions contain a base polymer, a butadiene polymer, and titanium dioxide. The butadiene polymer scavenges oxygen when catalyzed by the titanium dioxide. The compositions can be used to make packaging films, bags, containers, etc. that absorb oxygen and prevent oxidation of the packaged items. The base polymer can be ethyl cellulose, the butadiene polymer is preferably low molecular weight unfunctionalized polybutadiene, and the titanium dioxide is added in an amount to catalyze the butadiene oxidation. The compositions can be prepared by solution mixing, melt extrusion, or electrospinning techniques.

Using tea as an oxygen scavenger in packaging to extend the shelf life and improve quality of oxygen sensitive products like food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The tea is incorporated into packaging materials or used as sachets to scavenge oxygen and prevent deterioration of packaged products due to oxygen exposure. The tea provides an environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and consumer-preferred oxygen scavenging alternative to synthetic additives. The tea's increased oxygen uptake rate in packaging allows more effective scavenging compared to other natural scavengers.

Food packaging with absorbent pads that improve the quality of packaged foods by controlling the internal atmosphere and inhibiting spoilage. The pads have a multi-layer architecture with fluff made from wood pulp for liquid absorption and a tissue laminate layer containing chemical agents like CO2 generators. The tissue layer provides a substrate for the fluff during manufacturing and allows controlled distribution of chemicals. The pads also have options like oxygen scavengers and ethylene inhibitors. This design allows tailored chemical reactions to extend food shelf life by controlling factors like CO2 levels, oxygen, and ethylene.

Oxygen scavenging compounds for packaging materials that contain a heteroatom-substituted aryl group. The aryl group can have unsubstituted methylene positions. These compounds react with oxygen in the presence of transition metals to mitigate oxidative damage to packaged contents. The compounds can be incorporated into polymers or used as additives in packaging compositions to extend shelf life of oxygen-sensitive materials.

Substantially transparent oxygen scavenging compositions for packaging of oxygen-sensitive materials. The compositions contain a base polymer, an oxygen-scavenging compound with a specific chemical structure, and a transition metal. The compounds scavenge oxygen from the packaging environment to extend shelf life of sensitive products like food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. The compositions are substantially transparent due to improved dispersion of the scavenger compound in the polymer matrix.

Oxygen scavenger composition for food packaging to prevent oxidation and hydrogen generation. The composition contains a mixed granule of water retention agent, swelling agent, metal halide, water, iron, and alkaline substance. It is prepared by mixing all ingredients instead of layering them. This disperses the iron throughout the granule and provides a uniform oxygen absorption surface. The alkaline substance helps suppress hydrogen generation. The composition can absorb oxygen without container deformation.

Food container with removable gas absorbing elements to preserve freshness of food items. The container has a body with a cavity to hold food and a lid. Removable gas absorbing elements like membranes with zeolite, activated carbon, or potassium permanganated silica are placed inside the container or attached to the lid. These elements absorb spoiling gases like ethylene, moisture, and odor to keep the food fresher for longer. The elements can be easily removed and regenerated by heating to restore their gas absorption capacity.

An oxygen scavenger composition for use in sealed containers to prevent oxidation of stored products. The composition contains a water retention agent, a swelling agent, an ammonium salt, water, and iron. The composition can be made by mixing these ingredients together to form a mixed granule. The granule disperses iron throughout, allowing rapid oxygen absorption. An optional outer layer of porous particles further enhances oxygen scavenging. The compact mixed granule with dispersed iron and water has high oxygen absorption rate.

Transition metal-loaded polymer compositions for oxygen scavenging in packaging materials. The compositions have a transition metal composition dispersed in a polymer carrier at high metal loadings >30,000 ppm. This allows easier handling and processing compared to dispersing the metal catalyst in the final article. The metal-loaded polymer masterbatch can be compounded with an oxygen scavenger composition in a ratio >85% to make a single-component catalyst/scavenger for packaging. The metal catalyzes the oxygen scavenging reaction.

Using carrots as a natural oxygen scavenger in packaging to extend the shelf life of oxygen-sensitive products like food, beverages, and pharmaceuticals. The carrots are incorporated into packaging materials or used as sachets inside containers to reduce the oxygen level and prevent deterioration. Carrots have unexpectedly high oxygen scavenging properties. Placing carrots in packages can maintain product quality by removing residual oxygen. The carrots can be presented in sachets or dispersed in packaging materials like films.

Blow molded containers with selective barrier layers for food packaging applications. The containers have a top portion made of one material and a bottom portion with an inner, outer, and intermediate section. The inner and outer sections use the same material while the intermediate section contains an oxygen scavenger. This allows targeted placement of the barrier layer inside the container wall thickness. The intermediate section thickness can be less than the inner and outer sections. This prevents the barrier from extending through the outer or inner sections when molded. The selective barrier layer improves shelf life of packaged food without adding excessive costs from high concentrations of barrier material throughout the container.

Composite material for oxygen scavenging in food packaging that combines iron nanoparticles encapsulated in a porous silica particle with a polymer coating. The composite has enhanced oxygen scavenging capacity compared to bare iron nanoparticles due to the encapsulation preventing particle aggregation and improving oxygen contact. The polymer coating further protects the iron/silica composite from degradation. The composite can be used as an oxygen scavenger in containers or integrated into packaging films.

A polyether-polyester copolymer with end-capped segments that can scavenge oxygen in packaging materials. The copolymer has segments made of polyether and polyester, bridging elements connecting them, and end-caps on the polyether segments. The end-caps contain transition metal catalysts that accelerate oxygen scavenging reactions. The copolymer can be added to plastic materials like PET, PBT, or polyolefins to provide active oxygen barriers for packaging applications. By adjusting the copolymer concentration, the oxygen scavenging rate can be tuned to match specific product needs.