Vacuum bag detailed introduction

It refers to a packaging method in which the product is placed in an airtight packaging container, the air inside the container is extracted, and the sealed container reaches a predetermined vacuum degree.

Vacuum bags, also known as decompression packaging, are packaging containers that have all the air extracted and sealed to maintain a highly decompressed state. The scarce air is equivalent to a low oxygen effect, which makes it impossible for microorganisms to survive, so as to achieve the purpose of keeping fruits fresh and free of disease and rot. Applications include vacuum packaging in plastic bags, aluminum foil packaging, and glassware packaging. Packaging materials can be selected according to the type of goods. Since fruits are fresh foods and are still breathing, high oxygen deficiency will cause physiological diseases. Therefore, fruits are rarely vacuum packaged.

The mechanism of vacuum packaging

1. It is to reduce the oxygen content in the package, prevent the packaged food from mold and spoilage, maintain the color, aroma and taste of the food, and extend the shelf life.

2. Vacuum packaging certainly plays an important role in food, but it also has extraordinary effects when used in the processing of clothing items.

3. Compared with ordinary packaging methods, vacuum packaging reduces the space occupied by items. It also has the advantages of moisture-proof, dust-proof and bacteria-proof, making the transportation of clothing items more convenient.

4. Greatly reduces the possibility of losses caused by certain accidents.

Vacuum packaging is mainly used for food packaging, such as meat, cereal processed food and food that is easily oxidized and deteriorates. It can also be used for packaging mechanical parts, instruments and fluffy products such as down products and wool products.

With the gradual improvement of people's living standards and the continuous improvement of their requirements for quality of life, vacuum packaging has occupied an indispensable and important position in the lives of contemporary people. It is a typical field of vertical extension of packaging technology and plays an irreplaceable role.

Technical Overview

To put it simply, the most important function of vacuum packaging is to remove oxygen, which helps prevent food from spoiling.

The principle of vacuum packaging is very simple. The main reason for food mold and spoilage is the activity of microorganisms, and microorganisms (such as molds and yeasts) need oxygen to survive. Vacuum packaging uses this principle to extract oxygen from the packaging bag and food cells, making the microorganisms lose their "living environment". At the same time, this also prevents the food from changing taste and deteriorating due to oxidation, thereby achieving the effect of long-term storage and preservation of food.

Main Materials

The performance of food vacuum packaging materials directly affects the storage life of food and the change of taste. When performing vacuum packaging, choosing good packaging materials is the key to the success of packaging.

Since we are talking about vacuum packaging materials, it is essential to classify the materials. The following are the characteristics of various materials suitable for vacuum packaging:

1. PE is suitable for low temperature use, while RCPP is suitable for high temperature cooking;

Second, PA is to increase physical strength and puncture resistance;

3. AL aluminum foil is used to increase barrier properties and block light;

4. PET: increases mechanical strength and has excellent stiffness.

Then according to the needs, combinations, various properties, there are also transparent ones, and water-resistant PVA high barrier coating is used to increase the barrier properties.

Compound Type

Generally:

PA/PE or PA/RCPP

PET/PE or PET/RCPP

There are also three-layer and four-layer ones to increase the material texture performance:

PET/PA/PE

PET/AL/RCPP

PA/AL/RCPP

PET/PA/ AL/RCPP

Characteristic

High temperature cooking bags and vacuum bags are used to pack various cooked meat products. They are easy to use and hygienic.

Material: NY/PE, NY/AL/RCPP, NY/PE

Features: moisture-proof, heat-resistant, light-shielding, fragrance-preserving, strong and tough

Applicable: high temperature sterilized food, ham, curry, grilled eel, grilled fish and meat stewed products.

The most commonly used vacuum packaging materials are film materials, of course, bottles and cans are also used. The film materials used for food vacuum packaging must ensure that they are in the best state in terms of packaging effect, aesthetics, economy, etc. for various foods. At the same time, food vacuum packaging also has high requirements for the light blocking and stability of the materials. When a single material cannot meet these requirements, the packaging is often composed of a combination of multiple different materials.

Vacuum Bags

The main function of the vacuum bag is to remove oxygen to prevent food from spoiling. The principle is relatively simple, because food mold and spoilage are mainly caused by the activities of microorganisms, and most microorganisms (such as molds and yeasts) need oxygen to survive. Vacuum packaging uses this principle to remove the oxygen in the packaging bag and food cells, depriving microorganisms of their "living environment."

Experiments have shown that when the oxygen concentration in the packaging bag is ≤1%, the growth and reproduction rate of microorganisms will drop sharply. When the oxygen concentration is ≤0.5%, most microorganisms will be inhibited and stop reproducing. (Note: Vacuum packaging cannot inhibit the reproduction of anaerobic bacteria and food deterioration and discoloration caused by enzyme reactions. Therefore, it must be combined with other auxiliary methods, such as refrigeration, quick freezing, dehydration, high temperature sterilization, irradiation sterilization, microwave sterilization, salt pickling, etc.)

In addition to inhibiting the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, another important function of vacuum deoxygenation is to prevent food oxidation. Because oily foods contain a large amount of unsaturated fatty acids, they are oxidized by oxygen, causing the food to change taste and deteriorate. In addition, oxidation also causes the loss of vitamins A and C. The unstable substances in food pigments are affected by oxygen, causing the color to darken. Therefore, deoxygenation can effectively prevent food from deteriorating and maintain its color, aroma, taste and nutritional value.

Main Function

The main function of vacuum packaging, in addition to the deoxygenation and shelf life function of vacuum packaging, is also to resist pressure, gas barrier and preserve freshness, which can more effectively maintain the original color, aroma, taste, shape and nutritional value of food for a long time.

In addition, there are many foods that are not suitable for vacuum packaging but must be packed with vacuum inflation, such as crisp and fragile foods, foods that are easy to clump, foods that are easy to deform and leak oil, foods with sharp edges or high hardness that can puncture the packaging bag, etc. After the food is packed with vacuum inflation, the inflation pressure inside the packaging bag is greater than the atmospheric pressure outside the packaging bag, which can effectively prevent the food from being crushed and deformed under pressure without affecting the appearance and printing decoration of the packaging bag.

Vacuum packaging is filled with nitrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, or a mixture of two or three gases after vacuuming. Nitrogen is an inert gas that fills the bag to keep positive pressure inside, preventing air from entering the bag, and protecting the food. Carbon dioxide can dissolve in various fats or water, and form weakly acidic carbonic acid, which inhibits the activity of microorganisms such as mold and spoilage bacteria. Oxygen can inhibit the growth and reproduction of anaerobic bacteria, keep fruits and vegetables fresh and colorful, and high-concentration oxygen can keep fresh meat bright red.

Instructions

1. High barrier: Co-extruded films using the high barrier properties of different plastic materials to achieve high barrier effects against oxygen, water, carbon dioxide, odors, etc.

2. Stable performance: oil-resistant, moisture-resistant, low-temperature resistant, quality-preserving, fresh-keeping, and odor-preserving. It can be used for vacuum packaging, aseptic packaging, and inflatable packaging.

3. Low cost: Compared with glass packaging, aluminum foil packaging and other plastic packaging, co-extruded film has a greater cost advantage to achieve the same barrier effect. Due to the simple process, the cost of the produced film products can be reduced by 10-20% compared with dry composite film and other composite films. 4. Flexible specifications: It can meet your different needs for different products.

5. High strength: The co-extruded film has the characteristic of stretching during the processing. The strength of the plastic can be increased accordingly after stretching. Nylon, polyethylene and other plastic materials can also be added in the middle to make it have a composite strength that exceeds that of general plastic packaging. There is no delamination and peeling phenomenon, good softness and excellent heat sealing performance.

6. Small volume ratio: Co-extruded film can be packaged in vacuum shrink packaging, with a capacity-to-volume ratio of nearly 100%, which is unmatched by glass, iron cans, and paper packaging.

7. No pollution: no adhesive is added, no residual solvent pollution, green and environmentally friendly.

Vacuum packaging bags are moisture-proof + anti-static + explosion-proof + anti-corrosion + heat-insulating + energy-saving + one-way perspective + UV-proof + low cost + small volume ratio + pollution-free + high barrier effect.

Development History

Vacuum packaging technology originated in the 1940s. Since the successful application of plastic film in commodity packaging in the 1950s, vacuum packaging technology has developed rapidly. The level of packaging reflects the level of science and technology and the degree of wealth of a country to a certain extent. The research and application of vacuum packaging technology in my country is still in its infancy.

1. In 1962, Ordal proposed that oxygen-impermeable films can inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and package fresh meat to extend its shelf life.

Second, Baltzer believes that the reasons why vacuum-packed fresh meat has a longer shelf life than oxygen-packed fresh meat are:

(1) Under anaerobic conditions, the total number of microorganisms increases slowly;

(2) Decrease in putrefaction and slime;

(3) After storage, the number of microorganisms in the vacuum packaging is less than that in the aerobic packaging. This shows that when fresh meat is vacuum-packed with an oxygen-impermeable film, after the oxygen in it is converted into carbon dioxide, the oxygen-impermeable film can block the external oxygen from entering the packaging, so vacuum packaging can extend the shelf life of fresh meat.

3. In 1970, Pierson et al. proposed that vacuum packaging created an "ecosystem" that selects the types and levels of microorganisms. In 1974, SCOPA first used MAP (Modified Atmosphere Package, a packaging that is first vacuumed and then filled with a certain proportion of mixed gas) to package meat products.

Fourth, Pesis et al. (1986) proposed that vacuum packaging is the best way to maintain the quality and hardness of persimmons. It can be seen that the development and popularization of storage and preservation technology is increasingly valued by producers, operators and consumers.

Another part of the equipment required for vacuum packaging is the packaging container. There are many types of packaging containers, including plastic, composite materials composed of plastic and paper, aluminum foil, glass bottles, metal containers and hard plastics. The selection of packaging containers should be determined according to the nature of the vacuum-packed food. For example, canned food should use glass bottles or metal cans, and Chinese medicinal materials should use aluminum foil or plastic, etc. Although there are many types of vacuum packaging container materials, the most common one is plastic film.

Reasons for selection

If you ask us, which type of packaging bags should we choose? Here are two of the reasons.

First, it has good "gas barrier properties". We know that objects, especially food, are particularly afraid of oxygen, because oxygen is an important basis for the survival of many organisms. However, bacteria are also organisms. Some bacteria can reproduce in large numbers in the presence of oxygen and never endanger the quality of food and other items. However, vacuum packaging bags, as the name suggests, must be in a vacuum or near-vacuum state, so they can play a good "gas barrier" role. In fact, vacuum packaging bags can not only isolate oxygen, but also isolate gases such as carbon dioxide.

Second, vacuum packaging bags are safe to use. Vacuum packaging bags adopt the "green" production concept, and no adhesives or other chemicals are added during the production process, making them green products.

Daily use

There are many things in our daily life that are easy to spoil, such as meat and grains. This situation makes many food processing companies that are prone to spoilage use a lot of methods to preserve these foods during production and storage.

The vacuum packaging bag is actually to put the product into an airtight packaging bag and use some tools to extract the air inside to make the packaging bag reach a vacuum state. The vacuum bag actually keeps the bag in a highly decompressed state for a long time. The low-oxidation environment with scarce air makes it impossible for many microorganisms to survive.

With the continuous improvement of our living standards, people have also had considerable changes in the quality of various items in life, and aluminum foil packaging bags are an indispensable item in our lives, occupying a considerable amount. Vacuum packaging bags are an extension of packaging technology products that play a key role in our daily lives.