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Test Method for Oxygen Tolerance of Packed Product in Tetra Recart®

Stephansson, Joar LU (2025) KLTM06 20251
Food Technology and Nutrition (M.Sc.)
Abstract (Swedish)
Välgrundade förutsägelser av olika livsmedels kvalitet och säkerhet är mycket viktiga för att förebygga matsvinn. Ofta görs dessa förutsägelser med hjälp av lagringsstudier där produkten lagras i förhållanden som simulerar produktens väg från producent till dagligvaruhandel. Dessa studier kräver mycket resurser och tid, vilket belyser behovet av accelererade hållbarhetsstudier – som är baserade på kvantitativ modellering av kvalitet och säkerhet i förhållanden som accelererar nedbrytning. Det här examensarbetet hade som mål att använda Arrhenius ekvation för att modellera oxidativa färgförändringar med förhöjda temperaturer och headspace-volymer. Med hjälp av dessa modeller kunde sedan potentialen för accelererade hållbarhetsstudier i... (More)
Välgrundade förutsägelser av olika livsmedels kvalitet och säkerhet är mycket viktiga för att förebygga matsvinn. Ofta görs dessa förutsägelser med hjälp av lagringsstudier där produkten lagras i förhållanden som simulerar produktens väg från producent till dagligvaruhandel. Dessa studier kräver mycket resurser och tid, vilket belyser behovet av accelererade hållbarhetsstudier – som är baserade på kvantitativ modellering av kvalitet och säkerhet i förhållanden som accelererar nedbrytning. Det här examensarbetet hade som mål att använda Arrhenius ekvation för att modellera oxidativa färgförändringar med förhöjda temperaturer och headspace-volymer. Med hjälp av dessa modeller kunde sedan potentialen för accelererade hållbarhetsstudier i Tetra Recart®-förpackningar utvärderas. Livsmedlet som valdes för studierna var mangopurée, eftersom det är syrekänsligt.
Färgförändringar i förpackade livsmedel med lång hållbarhet beror till största del på Maillardreaktioner, nedbrytning av askorbinsyra och degradrering av pigment såsom β-karoten. I den här studien fylldes 200 mL Tetra Recart®-förpackningar med 20%, 35% and 50% headspace-volym och placerades därefter i förvaring som höll 25°C, 30°C och 35°C. Varannan vecka togs prover där syrekoncentration mättes i puréen och förpackningens headspace, sedan mättes även puréens färg i CIELAB-systemet.
Efter att ett mätfel togs bort från datasetet så kunde modellerna med hög precision och exakthet förutse färgförändringarna för varje headspace-volym baserat på temperatur. Därför drogs slutsatsen att det finns stor potential för att inkludera temperatur i accelererade hållbarhetsstudier för mangopurée i Tetra Recart®-förpackningar. Dessvärre kunde inte headspace-volym inkluderas direkt i modellerna, men studien fann indikationer på att en mer utförlig studie skulle kunna åstadkomma detta. (Less)
Abstract
Accurate predictions about the quality and safety of food are critical to prevent food waste. Often, food is stored in conditions simulating a product’s way from production to retail, which allows producers to assess quality and safety during the product’s shelf life. These storage trials are costly and time-consuming, meaning that there is incentive to reduce the testing time. Accelerated shelf-life testing is based on quantitative modelling quality and safety deterioration in conditions that accelerate deterioration. This thesis aimed to model oxidative color deterioration in accelerated temperature and headspace conditions using Arrhenius equation – to assess the potential for accelerated shelf-life testing of color in Tetra Recart®... (More)
Accurate predictions about the quality and safety of food are critical to prevent food waste. Often, food is stored in conditions simulating a product’s way from production to retail, which allows producers to assess quality and safety during the product’s shelf life. These storage trials are costly and time-consuming, meaning that there is incentive to reduce the testing time. Accelerated shelf-life testing is based on quantitative modelling quality and safety deterioration in conditions that accelerate deterioration. This thesis aimed to model oxidative color deterioration in accelerated temperature and headspace conditions using Arrhenius equation – to assess the potential for accelerated shelf-life testing of color in Tetra Recart® packages. Mango puree was chosen as the food to study, due to its known oxygen sensitivity.
Color deterioration in shelf-stable products is caused mainly by Maillard reactions, ascorbic acid degradation and degradation of natural pigments like β-carotene. In this study, 200 mL Tetra Recart® packages were filled with 20%, 35% and 50% headspace volume and thereafter placed into 25°C, 30°C and 35°C storage. Bimonthly duplicate samples were tested for dissolved and headspace oxygen concentration and their colors were measured in the CIELAB color system.
Following truncation of a measurement error, the developed models were able to predict the temperature dependence of color deterioration in each headspace category. The models thereby predicted color deterioration with a high degree of precision and accuracy in each headspace variant, though the study failed to incorporate headspace dependence in the models. Temperature was concluded to have high potential as an accelerant for accelerated shelf testing of color in shelf-stable mango puree in Tetra Recart®, and trends pointed to the potential for headspace to be investigated further. (Less)
Popular Abstract
Color change in shelf stable foods – Modelling oxidative browning in mango puree.
Mathematical modelling meets mango puree in Tetra Recart® packaging. The results?
Potential for reduced food waste and faster product launches through accelerated testing!
Over the course of a product’s shelf life, its quality will inevitably decrease. In many shelf-stable products, color is the determining factor for setting shelf life, since it is so noticeable. For example – would you eat pale corn or brown mango? To determine shelf life based on color, companies often store foods and check how their quality deteriorates over time. This approach is accurate, but very time-consuming. Luckily, there are ways to speed up the tests, through so-called... (More)
Color change in shelf stable foods – Modelling oxidative browning in mango puree.
Mathematical modelling meets mango puree in Tetra Recart® packaging. The results?
Potential for reduced food waste and faster product launches through accelerated testing!
Over the course of a product’s shelf life, its quality will inevitably decrease. In many shelf-stable products, color is the determining factor for setting shelf life, since it is so noticeable. For example – would you eat pale corn or brown mango? To determine shelf life based on color, companies often store foods and check how their quality deteriorates over time. This approach is accurate, but very time-consuming. Luckily, there are ways to speed up the tests, through so-called accelerated shelf-life testing (ASLT).
ASLT is based on mathematically modelling quality deterioration in conditions that accelerate deterioration. The conditions that accelerate deterioration are referred to as accelerants, and the modelling is done to verify how much each accelerant speeds up deterioration. If the effect of each accelerant is known, companies can test products in accelerated conditions and then extrapolate those results to normal conditions. Thereby, companies can set the shelf-life of a new product accurately and quickly, reducing both testing costs and food waste!
This report aimed to verify the effectiveness of two accelerants for color testing of mango puree stored in Tetra Recart® packages – temperature and headspace volume. Higher temperature is known to increase the rate of chemical reactions that cause foods to change color. Headspace volume is the portion of the package not filled with food. The oxygen in the headspace of packages is known to also affect color deterioration, and with increased headspace, the amount of oxygen increases. To test these accelerants, mango puree was packaged with three different headspaces in 200 mL Tetra Recart® packages and then stored in three storages with different temperatures. Every other week, the packages were opened, and color deterioration was measured for each headspace and temperature variant. Through mathematical modelling of the color deterioration data using the famous Arrhenius equation, the effect of the accelerants was investigated.
Temperature was found to work well as an accelerant in this study, and its effects were predicted well with the developed mathematical models. The results for headspace volume were less conclusive, and it was not possible to incorporate that accelerant into the models. However, color deterioration was found to increase with increased headspace volumes, so there could be potential for further studies of the use of headspace volume as an accelerant in ASLT. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Stephansson, Joar LU
supervisor
organization
course
KLTM06 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Color Change, Browning, ASLT, Kinetic Modelling, Mango, Tetra Recart®, Food Engineering Nutrition and Food Chemistry
language
English
id
9203401
date added to LUP
2025-07-02 09:59:37
date last changed
2025-07-02 09:59:37
@misc{9203401,
  abstract     = {{Accurate predictions about the quality and safety of food are critical to prevent food waste. Often, food is stored in conditions simulating a product’s way from production to retail, which allows producers to assess quality and safety during the product’s shelf life. These storage trials are costly and time-consuming, meaning that there is incentive to reduce the testing time. Accelerated shelf-life testing is based on quantitative modelling quality and safety deterioration in conditions that accelerate deterioration. This thesis aimed to model oxidative color deterioration in accelerated temperature and headspace conditions using Arrhenius equation – to assess the potential for accelerated shelf-life testing of color in Tetra Recart® packages. Mango puree was chosen as the food to study, due to its known oxygen sensitivity. 
Color deterioration in shelf-stable products is caused mainly by Maillard reactions, ascorbic acid degradation and degradation of natural pigments like β-carotene. In this study, 200 mL Tetra Recart® packages were filled with 20%, 35% and 50% headspace volume and thereafter placed into 25°C, 30°C and 35°C storage. Bimonthly duplicate samples were tested for dissolved and headspace oxygen concentration and their colors were measured in the CIELAB color system. 
Following truncation of a measurement error, the developed models were able to predict the temperature dependence of color deterioration in each headspace category. The models thereby predicted color deterioration with a high degree of precision and accuracy in each headspace variant, though the study failed to incorporate headspace dependence in the models. Temperature was concluded to have high potential as an accelerant for accelerated shelf testing of color in shelf-stable mango puree in Tetra Recart®, and trends pointed to the potential for headspace to be investigated further.}},
  author       = {{Stephansson, Joar}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Test Method for Oxygen Tolerance of Packed Product in Tetra Recart®}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}