A new instrument is being launched which will provide produce marketers and their material suppliers with oxygen permeation data quickly and more easily to assist in meeting shelf-life goals.

MOCON, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOCO), a leading international provider of instruments and services for testing, measuring and analyzing invisible gases, is announcing the global launch of its OX-TRAN® 2/12 oxygen permeation instrument.

“Unlike many other food products which require higher barrier films to extend shelf life, produce has a much shorter shelf life and it requires higher transmitter materials that can breathe in order to prevent premature spoilage. Not having a good handle on your material transmission rates can result in shelf life of a couple of days vs. a couple of weeks that is necessary for the packer-to- consumer lifecycle. For example, a film batch that is off by 10% could have a devastating impact on an already narrow shelf life window,” explains Ryan Holland, product manager, permeation, MOCON.

At the core of the new OX-TRAN 2/12 is simplified set up. Typically, a significant number of labor hours are spent setting up tests or waiting for results, creating a bottleneck. The new instrument was specifically designed to produce results quickly, with minimal effort, to increase efficiency. A new user interface, coupled with increased automation makes testing easier than ever before, with less skill required.

The OX-TRAN® 2/12 is ideally suited for brand owners as well as film manufacturers and converters who either use or sell flexible materials for produce applications. Using the instrument across the supply chain helps insure that quality standards are being met at every stage of the process.