Performance of a New Tetra Recart® Package Storing Oxygen Sensitive Food

Swedish. Tetra Recart® är ett innovativt, kartong-baserat förpackningsalternativ till konserverad mat. Tetra Pak® har sett en ökad efterfrågan på en mindre förpackningsvolym av Tetra Recart®, vilket har gjort att Tetra Recart® utvidgat förpackningsportfolion med en ny, mindre förpackning på 100 mL. Förpackningars dimensioner kan påverka hållbarhetstiden för det förpackade livsmedlet, där mindre förpackningar (med ”headspace”) generellt sett har kortare hållbarhet jämfört med större förpackningar, på grund av större syre-mat förhållande i mindre förpackningar. På grund av detta är det viktigt att verifiera hållbarheten på syrekänslig mat i den nya, mindre Tetra Recart® förpackningen. I denna uppsats fylldes två olika förpackningsstorlekar (100 mL och 200 mL) med tre olika livsmedelsvarianter (majs i lag, naturlig mangopuré och mangopuré berikad med askorbinsyra). Två olika lagringsförhållanden (25°C och 35°C) studerades. För att utvärdera förändringar av livsmedlenas kvalitetsparametrar under förvaringen utfördes experimentella mätningar, samt utvärdering av, askorbinsyranedbrytninen, färgförändringar och syreförändringar. Dessutom utfördes kinetisk modellering av askorbinsyranedbrytningen och färgförändringarna, samt en sensorisk utvärdering. Slutsatsen som drogs var att livsmedelskvaliteten hos syrekänsliga livsmedel bibehölls lika bra under lagring i de olika förpackningsstorlekarna. Detta betyder att det större förhållandet mellan syre och livsmedel inte påverkar hållbarheten negativt. Dock hade lagringstemperaturen stor inverkan på kvaliteten på den förpackade maten. Därför kommer syrekänsliga livsmedel förpackade i Tetra Recart® förpackningar med olika storlekar med största sannolikhet att ha liknande hållbarhetstid vid samma lagringstemperatur. Detta indikerar att mindre förpackningsstorlekar, som är syrekritiska på grund av det stora syre-till-mat förhållandet, fortfarande kan vara lämpliga för syrekänsliga livsmedel.

English. Tetra Recart® is an innovative, carton-based packaging alternative for canned foods. Tetra Pak® has seen an increasing demand of a smaller Tetra Recart® package size. Therefore, the Tetra Recart® package family has been extended with a new, smaller package volume of 100 mL. Package dimensions may impact the shelf life of the packed food, where a smaller package (with headspace) is suspected to have a shorter shelf life compared to larger packages due to larger oxygen-to-food ratio in the smaller sized package. Therefore, verifying shelf life of oxygen sensitive foods in the new, smaller Tetra Recart® package is critical. In this thesis, two different package sizes (100 mL and 200 mL) were filled with three different food variants (corn in brine, natural mango puree and mango pure enriched with ascorbic acid). Two different storage conditions (25°C and 35°C) were investigated. To evaluate the changes of food quality properties during storage, experimental measurements, and evaluation of ascorbic acid degradation, browning and oxygen changes was performed. Additionally, kinetic modelling of ascorbic acid and browning, as well as a sensory evaluation, were performed. It was concluded that food quality properties of oxygen sensitive foods were equally maintained during storage in the different package sizes. This means that the larger oxygen-to-food ratio does not seem to impact the shelf life negatively. Though, it was concluded that storage temperature had a large impact on the quality of the packed food. Therefore, oxygen sensitive foods packed in Tetra Recart® of different sizes will most likely have similar shelf lives at the same storage temperature. This indicates that smaller package sizes, that are oxygen critical due to the large oxygen-to-food ratio, may still be suitable for oxygen sensitive foods.

English. Since the 19th century, canning has been a widely used preservation method for foods. Originally, canned foods were stored in metal cans and glass jars since they have excellent ability to prolong the shelf life and preserve nutrients in the food, but did you know that the only part of these packages that comes from a renewable resource is the paper label*? With increasing interest for sustainability, Tetra Pak® launched the Tetra Recart® solution, which is a modern, carton-based alternative to metal cans and glass jars. With 81%* lower carbon emissions and 40%* less energy requirements, Tetra Recart® is expected to be a more environmentally friendly packaging solution. However, Tetra Recart® has a challenge, which is to effectively protect the food from oxygen. In Europe, more than every fourth household are single households and this number have increased steadily since the 20th century**. This have led to an increased demand of portion sized food packages to avoid food waste in the smaller households. Therefore, Tetra Pak® is now releasing a smaller Tetra Recart® package with a volume of only 100 mL. To make sure that the food, especially food sensitive to oxygen, is safe and attractive to eat after storage in this package, we were asked to investigate this. We choose to focus on the breakdown of vitamin C, colour changes of the product and how the sensory characteristics, such as taste and texture, changed over time. All these factors are affected in a negative way when oxygen is present. Vitamin C is very crucial for the body and health and therefore, it is important to make sure that not all vitamin C is broken down when the food is supposed to be eaten. The colour of food is also very important to control since the food must look appealing. For example, no one wants to eat a brown pineapple. Last but not least, the taste is highly important because everyone wants to eat tasty and delicious food. From our study, we could see that the food kept its quality over time and that the small package did not cause any unwanted or unexpected changes of the food. Though, it was seen that the temperature that the package was stored in had a large impact on the food quality, where storage in room temperature (25°C) was better than warmer storage. However, the storage temperature does also affect the quality of food packed in metal cans and glass jars. Based on the results, it was concluded that the shelf life will not be affected when stored in Tetra Recart at 25°C, independent of the size of the package. Therefore, the new, smaller Tetra Recart package might be suitable even for oxygen sensitive foods.