Brasil Pack Trends 2020

BrasilPackTrends2020 148 qual ity and new technologies PICTURE 6.7 Ethylene absorbers in the form of label, sachet and incorporated into the cellulosic package material. Source: Press Release The ethylene is a plant growth hormone which has a prejudicial impact, even in low concentrations, over the quality and the shelf life of many fruits and vegetables during storage and distribution. The ethylene induces the ripening, accelerates the respiration rate, and, consequentially, the senescence. The use of packages with ethylene absorbers increases the shelf life of fruits and vegetables, which decreases the loss due deterioration, makes the out of season commercialization possible, expands the markets and may reduce the transportation costs when it allows the ocean freight, instead of the air freight, in exportations. Examples of active ethylene adsorbers compounds are: activated vegetable charcoal, aluminosilicate (zeolites), activated clay, silica gel, betonite, vermiculite, Fuller’s earth, silicon dioxide dust, Oyastone dust, metallic oxides (i.e. aluminum oxide) and many other minerals. Some adsorbers have been combined with catalyzer agents or oxidants chemical compounds which modify or destroy the ethylene after the adsortion. Examples of combined substances are the activated vegetable charcoal impregnated with metallic catalyzer (bromine or palladium) and alumina, silica gel or zeolites impregnated with potassium permanganate (KMnO 4 ). The ethylene absorbers can be presented in sachets and pads/blankets introduced in the packaging lines, or can be incorporated into thermoplastic polymers or cellulosic materials. In order to conduct the action of the absorber, it is possible to spread it in a multilayer material, leaving permeable layer in contact with the food. An example of ethylene absorber in the form of an accessory for the package is the product called It’sFresh! e+ Ethylene Remover, commercialized by Food Freshness Technology, which has been used in supermarkets in England for fruits sales. It is actually a label, fitted to be in contact with the fruits, containing a mixture of clay and other minerals that remove the endogenous ethylene to low physiological activity, reducing the damage to the products. The accessory is placed at the bottom of the packages (Figure 6.7). An example of incorporation of ethylene absorber in corrugated cardboard is the box Fruit Fresh, developed by SCA Packaging together with the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany. The active material is incorporated in the glue that sticks the waves to the external boards, during the production of the corrugated fiberboard, which is followed by the normal manufacture process (Figure 6.7). Ethylene absorbers