QUALITY CONTROL IMPERATIVES IN MAP PROCESS

 

The hygiene and safety considerations while packaging of ready-to-eat foods is of paramount importance. Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)is a means of ensuring that the safety and hygiene of the ready to eat food is preserved during transit and distribution.

The importance of maintaining food safety throughout the supply chain, including during packaging and distribution is evident. Packaging ready to eat foods helps extend their shelf life and protects them from contamination, vermin attacks, pilferage, rancidity, and many other forms of spoilage and taste loss. 

Packaging of ready to eatfoods also paves the way for protection of the packaged food during transportation. It is an excellent means of communicating to the customer of the goodness of the packaged ready to eat food inside by printing the product information on the outer cover. MAP also provides consumers with valuable information, such as nutritional information, origin, and safe handling instructions. 

Safety Imperatives 

The role of MAP in reducing the risk of foodborne illness and extending the shelf life of ready-to-eat foods is well known across the world. The need to follow food safety regulations and guidelines when using MAP, including labelling requirements and the use of approved packaging materials is an imperative. 

The potential for MAP technology to impact the sensory qualities of ready-to-eat foods, including taste, texture, and appearance, is bespoke. There is a dire need to carefully control the packaging process to preserve these qualities of the packaged food. With MAP technology there is also a reduced need for adding preservatives to the ready to eat food. 

Leak Testing 

Leak testing prevents needless returns, loss of prestige, legal consequences and worst case, loss of business. To optimise quality assurance, the user can choose between solutions for sample or in-line testing – based on CO₂ or a water bubble test. 

Package leak detection systems reliably detect even the smallest leakand are easy to operate. Furthermore, all tests can be digitally logged and documented for customers. 

System Maintenance 

Right from the point of mixing the gases and introducing them into the package, maximum care is required. A faulty mixture or a leaking packet can have serious effects. It can cause loss of nutrients, taste, colour or structure to a bad smell or infestation with micro-organisms. Health risks to the consumer can be eliminated by testing the MAP product.MAP therefore requires modern high-quality equipment and uncompromising standards of hygiene. 

So comprehensive quality assurance activities are essential. These can begin during the packaging process, using inline gas analysis, which constantly monitors the composition of the modified atmosphere. 

Tests 

After packaging, the packages must be tested for the correct gas mixture and for leaks. Only with this level of rigour can it be ensured that the full benefit of MAP is achieved, and that the customer receives a top-quality product. 

The importance of maintaining the cleanliness and sanitation of
modified atmosphere packaging equipment to prevent contamination of the packaged food cannot be undermined. The potential for MAP packaging to cause food waste if not properly handled and stored, and the need to consider this in the packaging process should not be neglected. 

Gas Monitoring 

Gas monitoring systems for ambient air protect employees and make the use of gases such as carbon dioxide safer. This is not toxic but accumulates unnoticed in closed rooms and replaces the oxygen in the air. A concentration of 0.3 percent carbon dioxide in ambient air can be a health hazard. The allowed maximum concentration in the workplace is 0.5 percent. 

At five percent, headaches and dizziness may occur; eight percent and more leads to unconsciousness or even death. The gas level warning unit permanently monitors the concentration of the respective gas in the ambient airand activates an acoustic and visual alarm when individually definable limits are exceeded. For food and vegetables, controlled atmospheres are not just used in packaging but also for the control of ripening control, in special ripening chambers with the help of ethylene. 

Consumer Education 

The role of consumer education in promoting the safe handling and storage of MAP ready-to-eat foods is a must. The consumer needs to be informed of the ingredients that the ready to eat food contains, nutrition facts, expiry date, to make a buying decision. All this information must be printed on the label. The label should also carry information on the possibility of causing allergies by eating the packaged product. 

Nichrome MAP Solutions 

If you are looking for a thali packing machine, tray sealing machine, container sealing machine, nitrogen packing machine, or a food tray sealing machine with MAP technology – a.k.a controlled atmosphere packaging – for your fresh food Nichrome is the ideal choice.Nichrome India is the final word in packaging machines, automatic filling machine manufacturers, filling and sealing machine manufacturers and providers of integrated packaging solutions.

With MAP tech, Nichrome puts India on World Map at WMNC 2022

 

Nichrome India Private Limited is counted among world’s leading makers of integrated & automated packaging solutions for a whole range of use cases including food processing, non-food packaging and pharmaceuticals packing.

At Nichrome, innovation is a part of our DNA. Since our pioneering beginning in 1977, we have been endlessly innovating and upgrading offerings to solve packaging industry challenges and deliver greater business value to our customers with our next gen integrated packaging solutions.

Our innovation is founded on Expertise, Partnership, Forward-thinking and Technology. Supported and strengthened by these four pillars, we are perfectly poised to cross new frontiers in performance, accuracy, and solution development.

Nichrome India leads the pack in the packaging industry with innovative packing, sealing, filling and cartoning systems. Nichrome has a plethora of systems for product handling, primary & secondary packing, end-of-the-line packing, warehousing, and track & trace.

MAP Technology in Action

Nichrome’s modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) for mithai and namkeen and food tray sealing machines are commendable. Nichrome is miles ahead of the competition in producing filling and sealing machines in India.

Thermoforming machines from Nichrome can also produce packaging with vacuum skins. The product is placed in a tray or a preformed packaging mould and is then sealed with skin film. This allows the safety of packaged products in a variety of shapes (as they were given a ‘second skin’). The product is untouched by human hands, and the MAP sealing process ensures longer shelf life.

Whether you use MAP technology for mithai & namkeen packaging or dairy products – the contents are assured of hygiene and freshness. For SMEs in the Indian mithai & namkeen segment, MAP technology from Nichrome is a godsend.

MAP is a pathbreaking packaging solution for convenience and presentation of mithai, dry fruits, namkeen and confectionery. It is highly valued when packed in elegant trays and beautifully decorated outer cartons.

WMNC Expo 2022

World Mithai-Namkeen Convention & Expo 2022 (WMNC-2022) which is being held in Chandigarh from December 19-21, is expected to host over 300+ exhibitors and draw 25000+ visitors and delegates from across the country & overseas.

WMNC is the singular event where one can find all solutions related to the mithai & namkeen industry under one roof. From packaging automation machinery to packing materials, raw materials for ingredients, WMNC-2022 is the hottest place to go this year.

WMNC 2022 is a unique show for the entire traditional sweets and namkeen industry. It represents the Indian sweets & snacks Industry which is worth Rs 100,000 crore. WMNC 2022 will host seminars & workshops and conclude with an award ceremony for different categories.

Mithai & Namkeen Segment

Mithai & namkeen segment is at the nascent stage of branding and its true potential is yet to be explored. Mithai & namkeen manufacturers are slowly but surely realizing the need for better quality packaging that protects their products and offers protection during transportation (secondary packing).

Even smaller mithai-walas with local clientele are considering modern snack packaging machines to ensure the hygiene and shelf-life of their products. As the preference of consumers is shifting from the unorganized sector to the organized, brand and quality consciousness has shot up tremendously.

Accordingly, brands need to focus on ensuring that their primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging authentically reflects the quality of their mithai and namkeen products.

This is more applicable to the food sector, where buying decisions are often impulse based. Food processing giants like ITC and Parle are already giving foreign companies like Pepsi Foods intense competition.

 

 

Nichrome’s MAP for Mithai & Namkeen

Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is a widely used technique for food preservation. MAP in tray sealing machines is gaining popularity as a method of preserving freshness and lengthening shelf life of fresh foods, fruits, vegetables, meat, and dairy products.

It is the preferred manner of preventing spoilage and extending the shelf life of mithai and namkeen products. MAP also helps shops sell Indian mithai and namkeen in stores located on highways where travellers stop for refreshments, and a multitude of other places within cities.

Nichrome’s MAP and food tray packaging solutions are products to reckon with. They are deemed ideal for tray sealing and packaging mithai and namkeen products.

Nichrome’s MAP food tray sealing packaging machine uses technology from Tecnovac, Italy and is the ideal choice for food tray and mithai and namkeen packaging.

This machine can seal, pack in a protective atmosphere (vacuum and gas) or with "skin effect". Due to its strong stainless-steel structure and easy maintenance, it is ideal packaging for SME use.

For marketers of cut fruits & vegetables, meat & fish, namkeen & sweets and even ready-to-eat meals like biryani, Nichrome’s MAP tech ensures that products are hygienic till they reach the consumer's table.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a thali packing machine, tray sealing machine, container sealing machine, nitrogen packing machine, or a food tray sealing machine with MAP technology – a.k.a controlled atmosphere packaging – for your fresh food and mithai and namkeen business, Nichrome is the ideal choice.

Nichrome India is the final word in packaging machines, automatic filling machine manufacturers, filling and sealing machine manufacturers and providers of integrated packaging solutions.