MOCON’s reputation as setting the gold standard for packaging testing will now be expanded with the formation of Advanced Packaging Solutions.  Going beyond existing services of barrier analysis, headspace, water vapor, leak detection, burst, creep, hot tack, seal strength, coefficient of friction and vacuum decay, Advanced Packaging Solutions now provides a single-entry point for virtually any type of testing which can impact shelf life.

“Historically, brand owners who needed different types of testing services would have to engage more than one company. For example, if you wanted to study food deterioration and shelf life, you would typically go to two places.  For transportation concerns you would need a third service. This resulted in a longer testing timeline and much less coordination/ integration between testing phases and partners,” said Alan Shema, product manager for consulting/testing services, MOCON.

Advanced Packaging Solutions will include:

•    Food deterioration.  Determine which factors (water, oxygen, temperature, light, molds, etc.) accelerate shelf life degradation.
•    Modeling studies.  Real time and accelerated determination of product shelf life.
•    Microbial studies.  Mold growth impact on shelf life/food safety issues.
•    Accelerating aging studies.  Product/package evaluations to predict shelf life.
•    Chemical and physical analysis.  Food products and packaging are reviewed for components, presence of contaminants and physical properties.
•    Polymer evaluation.  Detailed analysis of polymers used in packaging materials, including structure and physical property attributes.
•    Gas mix optimization.  Determining the optimum gas mixture to meet modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) objectives.
•    MAP system audits.  On-site evaluation of MAP system/equipment.
•    Shelf life optimization.  In-depth study of product, process, package to help extend/maximize shelf life.
•    Sensory panels.  Trained human testers to evaluate taste, color, aroma, texture, etc.
•    Transportation testing.  Vibration, drop and compression testing to simulate shipping conditions.

MOCON’s extensive package testing capability includes broad variety of types, substrates and components—flexible structures, rigid bottles, foil seals, pouches, aseptic boxes, trays and lidstock, etc.  Analysis also includes headspace, oxygen and water vapor permeation, leak rate and hole size determination, burst, creep, seal strength, heal sealing, hot-tack, coefficient of friction, and vacuum decay.