ASSIGNMENT: MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING

Your task as a food technologist is to design an MAP for fish and mango fruit.
Please choose what would be the suitable gas (or gases) and formulate the
composition of the gas (or gases) inside the MAP. Give the brief explanations! Hint:
option of gases available are CO2, O2, and N2.
Fresh Fish
Characteristic of fresh fish
fish is a perishable food ingredient. Fish body tissue contains protein, fat, water,
carbohydrates, minerals, and nucleic acids at different levels. After the fish die, the
fish tissue can undergo biochemical reactions and enzymatic changes so that spoilage
can occur. The damage that occurs in fish tissue is damage to protein, fat and others.
Protein degradation in fish tissue is caused by the presence of protease enzymes such
as calpain and cathepsin D, B and L. Protein damage is caused by the presence of
microorganisms such as Pseudomonas sp and Shewanella putrefaciens, while fat
damage in fish tissue is caused by lipolysis, fat oxidation and the interaction of fat
with nonfat tissue such as protein. Fat oxidation can occur due to the presence of
many saturated fatty acids, heme pigments and metal ions in fish tissue. When
entering the fat oxidation stage, hydroperoxide damage occurs which can produce
carbonyl molecules and alcohol compounds which can affect the quality of fish such
as color, texture, taste and smell. In addition, there are several factors that can cause
protein damage, namely pH, light, oxygen temperature and aw. Food spoilage by
microbes is indicated by the presence of chemical indicators such as trimethylamine
(TMA), total volatile nitrogen, hypoxanthine and biogenic amines.
Solution
To extend the shelf life of fish, Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) can be used.
MAP can inhibit the growth of bacteria and pathogenic bacteria. Gases that can be
used in MAP are inert gases that are odorless and tasteless such as CO2, O2 and
N¬¬2. In addition, these three gases have low solubility in water and fat.There are
many factors that influence the success of MAP in extending shelf life, namely the
initial quality of food, cleanliness during slaughter, correct packaging materials,
packaging equipment, supporting gas mixtures, volume ratio ( g / p) and temperature
during processing.
MAP design for fresh fish
Each inert gas used in MAP has its own properties and functions depending on the
pagan material used. Fresh fish which has high fat content is not suitable if O2 is
added in MAP packaging because it can cause fat oxidation, but it is effective in
inhibiting the growth of anaerobic bacteria. CO2 gas is effective as a microbial agent
because of its bacteriostatic and fungistatic properties. N2 does not support aerobic
microbial growth, but it cannot prevent anaerobic microbial growth.
For make a MAP can used Chamber machine. A preformed high barrier bags are
manually placed within the chamber before evacuation, back-flushing with the desired
gas mixture, and heat sealing. This machine is widely used in indoneisa because it’s
cheap, laborintensve and can be used for big packs MAP and the weakness is need
more time to operate if use for big pack MAP.
Table1. MAP design for fresh fish high fat and frsh fish low fat
 Fresh Fish Low Fat Fresh Fish High Fat
MAP is made from flexible and semi- MAP is made from flexible and semi-
rigit Laminated plastic like polyethylene, rigit Laminated plastic like
polypropylene, polyamide, polyethylene polyethylene, polypropylene,
terephthalate and polyvinyl chloride polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate
and polyvinyl chloride
Using hygenic sealing material like Using hygenic sealing material like
ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM),
acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR),
silicone rubber (VMQ), fluoroelastomer silicone rubber (VMQ), fluoroelastomer
(FKM), hydrogenated nitrile rubber (FKM), hydrogenated nitrile rubber
(HNBR) and perfluoroelastomer (HNBR) and perfluoroelastomer
(FFKM) (FFKM)
Concentration of N2 (50%), O2 (50%)
Concentration of N2 (50), CO2 (40%),
O2 (10%). Use O2 absorber if needed
Storage temperature from 0-3°C Storage temperature from 0-3°C
Can increase shelf life up to 20 days Can increase shelf life up to 20 days
without perservatives without perservatives

Fresh
fish

Gas infeed
Gas
chamber and heat
flow
sealing unit
Picture 1. Chamber machine from inside look.

Mango
Characteristic of mango
Mango is one of the most popular seasonal tropical fruits in Indonesia. Mangoes do
not last long when stored at room temperature. Ripe mangoes can only last a
maximum of 3 days at room temperature. In general, packaged mangoes are stored at
10 ° C, while a good ripening temperature for mangoes is 21-24 ° C, which is the
temperature used to store fruit and vegetables in supermarkets. During the fruit
ripening process, the toughness of the cell walls decreased. This is due to insoluble
protopectin into soluble pectin. This overhaul is the result of the work of enzymes
such as pectin methyl esterase, pectin transetiminase and polygalacturonase. In
general, fruits including mango can experience a decrease in hardness during the
storage process. This can happen because of the respiration and transpiration
processes. The process of respiration can cause the breakdown of carbohydrates into
simpler compounds that can result in the breakdown of tissue in the fruit and
eventually the fruit becomes soft. After respiration there is a degradation of
hemicellulose and pectin from the cell walls which results in changes in the hardness
of the mango fruit. In the process of respiration it can cause water feeding which
causes the fruits to wilt and shrink so that the texture of the fruit becomes softer.

Solution
One way to slow down respiration of mangoes is to use MAP. Packaging using MAP
can add antioxidant compounds to the map. The temperature used must be adjusted to
the packaging conditions and the characteristics of the mango fruit. A higher
temperature can result in a greater decrease in hardness, whereas a lower storage
temperature results in a smaller decrease in hardness. This is because high
temperatures can result in a higher respiration rate and can increase enzyme activity
faster. The more active the enzymes that work, the softer the fruit texture will be, so
lower temperatures can slow the softening of the fruit. In addition to the texture of the
treatment, mangoes can also affect color. Mangoes stored at room temperature
without packaging generally change color more rapidly than mangoes stored in
packaging. Mangoes that are stored at a lower temperature without using packaging
are more able to retain their green color, but experience more brown spots than
mangoes stored in packaging. This can occur because the increase in temperature can
increase the formation of pigments. The higher the storage temperature of the mango
fruit, the faster it will experience a color change from light green to yellowish green.
This is due to the loss of green chlorophyll and the appearance of carotenoids. To
reduce hardness changes and suppress discoloration of mango peels should involve a
combination of MAP packaging and temperature regulation as well as additional
antioxidants. Additional antioxidants function to prevent the growth of fungi such as
the fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz) Sacc which can cause anthracnose
disease. In the MAP for mango, the gas used is 75% CO2 and 25% O2. Respiration is
a biological process in which oxygen from the air is absorbed and then used for the
combustion process that produces energy followed by the excretion of combustion
waste in the form of CO2 and water. To carry out metabolism, O2 is needed so that it
can run normally. The amount of O2 must be limited because an excessive amount of
O2 can accelerate the metabolic process which results in lower quality in mangoes
and reduced shelf life.
MAP design for mangoes fruit
- MAP is made from flexible and semi-rigit Laminated plastic like polyethylene,
polypropylene, polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate and polyvinyl chloride
- Using hygenic sealing material like ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM),
acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), silicone rubber (VMQ), fluoroelastomer
(FKM), hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) and perfluoroelastomer (FFKM)
- Concentration of CO2 (75%) and O2 (25%)
- Storage temperature 5-10°C
- Antioksidan like ascrobic acid or SO2 or vit E