What Is in the Freshness Packs in Beef Jerky

This article is from Meat + Poultry, "Packet Protection for Meat Snacks"  by Keith Loria

Although they might non control attention, the petty packets within jerky packages are vital for the product, as they help jerky last longer on the shelf while controlling mold and bacteria in the package.

These packets likewise can provide customers with peace of mind that the quality of the product is important with the investment in the packets in the packaging.

David Marinac, president of ABC Packaging Direct, dwelling of StandUpPouches.net in Avon, Ohio, says oxygen absorbers are used in plastic pouch bags (like those used for beefiness jerky) to prevent the growth of fungi and microorganisms which tin can make the hasty unfit to eat. This is achieved by keeping oxygen levels inside packaging close to zero.

"Aerobic (those who need oxygen to survive) bacteria cannot alive in an atmosphere devoid of oxygen. So, a lack of oxygen prevents the beef hasty from rotting," he says. "For manufacturers and consumers, this ways fresher beef hasty which means a longer shelf life."

Andrew Tice, president of PackFreshUSA, Ontario, California, warns jerky should be packaged with an oxygen cushion, not a desiccant, and people often get the two confused, though they are very different. A desiccant buffers the moisture level while an oxygen cushion removes oxygen.

"Oxygen causes oxidation, which results in oils and fats condign rancid, colour and nutritive changes, and staleness," he says. "When you remove the oxygen from a package you both eliminate the effects of oxidation and prevent growth of oxygen-dependent organisms like mold and bugs. This is the principle behind vacuum-sealing and gas flushing every bit well, but these methods only reduce the exposure of a product to oxygen whereas an oxygen absorber will effectively eliminate all oxygen, (<0.01 pct) leading to much longer and more constructive preservation."

Therefore, it's important to choose an oxygen absorber that is the right size for a package and choose packaging that can keep oxygen from returning the package over time. It doesn't help much to remove the oxygen from your packaging if it can come right back in, so you lot too need a heat-sealed pouch made from a barrier motion-picture show with a depression oxygen-transmission charge per unit.

Tice explains an oxygen cushion is like a sponge, and you demand one with plenty capacity to absorb all the oxygen in your package. Essentially, oxygen absorbers are iron pulverization that "rusts" becoming iron oxide. They trap available oxygen from the environment, which leaves an oxygen-free atmosphere inside the packaging.

They are non "air absorbers," so although you may notice a decrease in the volume every bit the oxygen is captivated, the rest of the "air," mostly nitrogen, will remain.

"Oxygen is roughly ane/fifth of air, and so if y'all have 500 ccs of air in your packaging, a 100-cc oxygen absorber volition articulate the oxygen from the package," he says. "We are happy to assistance our clients figure out the size they need for their package size."

Dale R. Woerner, Cargill Endowed Professor in Sustainable Meat Science at Texas Tech Univ. in Lubbock, Texas, says despite the fact that there are advanced packaging technologies available, the industry has yet to find one with 100 percent efficacy that removes oxygen.

"We tin get down to less than 0.10 percentage in a package with some of the very best technology, but these oxygen scavengers are able to get u.s.a. below 0.01 percent," he says. "With the ability to do that, we drastically improved the ability to store shelf-stable products – like hasty – without any level of oxidation in that package."

When choosing this for jerky packaging, Marinac says basically one needs to consider how large the purse is vs. how much oxygen needs to be absorbed and how big of an amount of oxygen absorber should exist used. (How many grams, handbag dimensions and pct of oxygen captivated).

The package material of the oxygen absorber is commonly composed of a type of plastic film or not-woven coated cloth that is food condom. The raw materials used are traditionally: atomic number 26 salts (iron oxide), yeast, palladium catalysts, sugar alcohol/glycols, sulfites and even boron. Depending on the type of nutrient product and condom or oxygen assimilation properties needed, a raw material is called based on speed, safety and best fit.

Tracking progress

In 1965, oxygen absorbers and scavengers were invented in Japan utilizing reduced iron salts. Later as this methodology expanded into Europe and the United States in the 1970s, the technology improved along with new methods and raw material types.

The concept of using oxygen absorbers in hasty packages was showtime commercialized in the late 1970s. Since then, they have been widely used in Asia, but it wasn't until the 1990s that they started to be used in the United states.

"Past the 1990s and into the 2000s all kinds of methodologies have been developed and tried forth with the original iron salt formulation in various formats," Marinac says. "Strides continue to improve with regards to the raw material being more environmentally friendly, more than effective, longer lasting and safer."

Within the by decade, oxygen cushion apply has increased dramatically.

Near all jerky companies have switched over to oxygen absorbers due to their superior effectiveness, affordability and ease of use.

"In that location accept been a few improvements fine-tuning the formulation, production, and the nylon sachet, but for the nigh part they have not changed much," Tice says. "Greater availability and improvements in flexible packaging have helped bring the oxygen absorber into more broad-spread utilize, but I remember the recent explosion in popularity has been primarily driven by their effectiveness as more and more industries are discovering oxygen absorbers are the best mode to preserve their products."

Tech talk

The technology works today by using a breathable packaging material and inserting the oxygen cushion during the packaging process after several tests are conducted given customer requirements and packing dimensions.

"Depending on the type of raw textile used, chemic absorption or physical adsorption occurs inside the packaging through the oxygen absorbers breathable membrane and is stored inside the raw fabric," Marinac says. "Through the FDA or other governing body, all entities are ensured that the oxygen cushion is safe to be packed together with the nutrient products."

Oxygen absorbers can greatly increase the storage time and preserve freshness of many products such as jerky, without the use of chemicals or additives.

In addition to being more effective than other methods, they are also very like shooting fish in a barrel to apply in both high-volume packaging or a home kitchen. Automatic dispensers are available for production lines, but a one-person cottage food operation tin also easily do their own packaging with no special equipment other than a hand-operated impulse sealer to heat-seal the pouches.

"The most commonly used oxygen absorbers contain an iron carbonate formulation forth with a tiny amount of entrapped water that allows them to actuate in dry out conditions," Tice says. "Atomic number 26-free oxygen absorbers that use ascorbic acrid instead are bachelor, and usually used considering they will not set off a production line metal detector."

Although oxygen absorbers are gaining popularity for preserving many food products, virtually all jerky companies have switched over to oxygen absorbers due to their superior effectiveness, affordability and ease of use.

"Oxygen is very destructive to food products, directly and indirectly, and that is why completely removing it has such a dramatic effect," Tice says. "Oxygen absorbers prevent contamination from mold, bugs, worms, and all other aerobic organisms. They also foreclose lipid oxidation in jerky which leads to rancidity, discoloration and flavour defects."

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Source: https://packfreshusa.com/blog/using-oxygen-absorbers-for-jerky-snacks-/

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