PTI12 0024 Snack Food Case Study Final

Packaging Systems Case Study Snack Food Package Integrity Testing

Maintaining shelf life for packaged snack foods is a continuous challenge. Most snack foods are moisture and oxygen sensitive. Mold, oxidation, flavor degradation, and spoilage are all results of compromised package integrity. Bacteria can contaminate a product with leak sizes smaller than 10 microns, and moisture or O2 ingress occurs at similar leak sizes. Snack foods come in a variety of package formats, but all snack foods have one need in common, package integrity assurance for extended shelf life.

The snack food market is extremely competitive, with consumer brand recognition as a key driver to sales. Taking shortcuts in quality can cut deep into profits in the short term and in the long run. If a consumer encounters a product that exhibits spoilage, an off-taste, visible mold or oxidation, it will likely affect the decision to repurchase. Package appearance on the shelf is important since it is the first connection to the buyer, and many factors play into a consumer’s perceptions of a product.

Popular package formats for snack foods include flexible packaging (sachets, stick packs and pouches), composite cans and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). They serve as ideal package presentation for snack products such as nuts, savory snacks, chips, crackers, cookies, beef jerky, nutrition and granola bars. They provide shelf stability and easy open convenience. While each package provides its own unique benefits and product appeal, each format presents its own unique challenge to insure package and seal integrity.

Composite Cans A cost effective solution for oxygen sensitive snack containers, composite cans have unique package testing needs and a moisture sensitive critical leak size. With the water bath leak test, trapped air in the composite material produces bubbles even from non-leaking containers, making an already subjective test more dependent on the operator. Peelable lidding limits the amount of vacuum that can be drawn on the package, thus limiting the sensitivity of the water bath leak test. Paper board also expands with moisture contact, potentially blocking off critical to quality defects.

Vacuum decay can be applied in ways that mask the effects of trapped air, and test chambers are designed to support peelable lids under higher vacuum conditions which make the test non-destructive and more sensitive. The vacuum decay systems can detect oxygen and moisture sensitive leaks, providing a more reliable and sensitive solution for a packaging format that is designed for moisture and oxygen sensitive products. MAP Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is typically used for perishable products and is also sensitive to leak sizes as small as 10 microns. Package integrity is often tested by measuring residual oxygen in the headspace of the package. The method calls for product to be put up for stability, and headspace measured at various time intervals. For production purposes the six-day test is common, measuring for O2 levels greater than maximum threshold (often 3%). A 50 micron defect greatly reduces the shelf life of a product, but will usually pass a six-day O2 test with flying colors. Should the O2 test detect a quality issue, six days of production are already on a pallet and warehoused. Vacuum decay is capable of detecting leaks as small as 10 microns, detecting oxygen critical defects in real time at the source, and preventing large scale quality issues.

145 Main Street Tuckahoe, NY 10707 © Copyright 2012 Packaging Technologies and Inspection 914.337.2005 800.532.1501 [email protected] www.ptipacktech.com 9/2012 Flexible Packaging (Pouches, Stick Packs and Sachets) Form-Fill-Seal packages are the most common flexible package formats, introducing added risks of systemic defects. The form-fill-seal packaging process increases the complexity of producing quality packaging. The package gussets and fin-seal junctures are common channel defect sites. Flex cracks for aluminum barrier films are common at any fold in the packaging film material. The water bath leak test is the traditional method for assuring integrity of flexible packaging. It is dependent on the amount of air volume inside a package, making the leak test more or less sensitive based on package headspace. The destructive force also limits the level of vacuum that can be applied to the packaging, limiting the sensitivity of the test method. PTI’s FLEX-Chamber technology uses a patented flexible test chamber that limits package expansion, allowing for maximum leak detection sensitivity while also allowing to test multiple package formats with no changeover.

The Cost is Peanuts “Peanuts” is a common metaphor for worthless, but when 90% of a product’s cost is the raw material, peanuts can add up. The cost of destructive testing takes a hidden toll on the cost of production, with costlier products easily breaking $100k in wasted product for a single production line over the course of a year. The cost associated with a destructive test puts a burden on increased package testing, adding cost to a quality team’s continuing operations. A non-destructive method provides more information to the QA department, eliminates the cost associated with wasted product, and ultimately facilitates better quality control.

Consider Better Alternatives • Non-Destructive vs. Destructive • Quantitative vs. Attribute • Non-Subjective vs. Operator Dependent • Calibration Capability • Validation Effectiveness • Simple Methodology (no sample prep)

The PTI VeriPac Vacuum Decay Series of inspection systems have a proven capability of non-destructively testing packaging at the production line, thereby reducing waste and improving testing capabilities. The system reliably detects leaks as small as 10 microns, identifying process issues before they become critical. The VeriPac D-Series features a patented FLEX-Chamber that eliminates the need for changeover when testing different size pouches, and is immune to package variations. It’s also possible to test multiple packages in a single test cycle. VeriPac provides a qualitative result (PASS or FAIL) as well as quantitative data that correlates to leak rate and leak size.

The VeriPac Series is a practical alternative to destructive testing because it eliminates the subjective results. Water bath testing also increases the risk of bacteria and moisture contamination of the product being packaged. Case studies have proven that vacuum decay leak testing technology provides a very rapid return on investment when compared to destructive test methods. Good packages are not discarded, dramatically reducing waste from quality testing. Significant product savings can be created at the plant and retail levels.