USE OF POLYMER PACKAGING FOR VARIOUS FOOD PRODUCTS WITH LONG-TERM STORAGE

Abstract

In the food industry, for thermal preservation of food products, various types of consumer polymer packaging can be used: rigid, semi-rigid, soft, and others. In order for plastic (polymer) packaging to be used for heat sterilization and guarantee long shelf life of food products, it must contain the necessary heat-resistant barrier layer, which will ensure the resistance of the container to high temperatures. Each polymeric material has certain indicators of heat resistance. In the work, we used such types of consumer packaging for food packaging, such as a combined metal can with a polymer lid, С-PET containers. The purpose of the study is to develop the conditions for canning, sterilization modes of food products in the range for new types of consumer polymer for specific thermal equipment. When using various types of containers for thermal sterilization and prevention of physical defects of canned food, it is necessary to take into account such technological features as the sealing strength or depressurization pressure, the sealing method, the presence or absence of a stiffness relief on the lid, the product packaging temperature and other factors. The standard membrane-compensation method was used to measure the sealing strength or the pressure of depressurization of the container, which occurs during sterilization due to thermal expansion of the product. The development of sterilization modes for canned food was carried out in accordance with the approved regulations, which includes an analytical calculation of the mode that ensures the production of industrially sterile canned food, laboratory testing of the selected mode and its production verification. The mode calculation method is based on the data on the heat resistance of the microorganism strain of the test culture, which should guarantee the industrial sterility of canned food. In the work, studies were carried out, as a result of which data were obtained on an important technological parameter of the packaging strength of sealing, without the values of which it is impossible to carry out high-quality thermal sterilization of the product. Scientifically based parameters, hightemperature sterilization regimes for meat, fish, and vegetable products in modern polymer types of consumer packaging have also been developed, which will allow enterprises to produce canned high-quality food products that are safe to use, with high nutritional value.