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Brasil
PackTrends
2020
148
quality 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