Trends in Food Science & Technology 13 (2002) 319–324
Review
Production and
packaging of
bakery products
using MAP
technology
I.S. Kotsianis, V. Giannou
and C. Tzia*
Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology,
School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical
University of Athens, 5 Iroon Polytechniou St.,
Polytechnioupoli, Zografou, 15780, Athens, Greece
(tel: +30-1077-23165; fax: +30-1077-23163; e-mail:
tzia@chemeng.ntua.gr)
This work represents a review of MAP technology applica-
tion in the bakery products. MAP offers a significant exten-
sion to the shelf life of bakery products and provides
acceptable quality during distribution to consumers. The
recommended proportion of gases for bakery products
ranges from 20 to 50% CO2 (against mold growth) and 80
to 50% N2 (great stagnancy) respectively. The available
equipment for MAP, the packaging materials, the advan-
tages of this technology to the bakery products and the
requirements for MAP use are discussed.
# 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction
Consumers demand foodstuffs with superior quality
or nutritional value as well as minimally processed food
retaining the fresh products’ features. Food products
during storage are subject to changes, resulting in
adverse effects on quality, ranging from minor sensory
defects to total spoilage. The shelf life of food, defined
* Corresponding author.
0924-2244/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 92 4 - 2 24 4 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 16 2 - 0
as the period of time during which quality losses do not
exceed a tolerated level, can be decisively influenced by
its packaging (Pfeiffer, D’Aujourd’hui, Walter, Nuessli,
& Escher, 1999; Risch, 1999).
Bakery products are widely consumed and therefore
particular requirements for their quality characteristics
have been established. Especially for bread, shape,
color, and texture are important for consumers. Bread is
characterized by such water activity (aw) values, which
allow its marketability for a short period of time. Its
shelf life is mainly limited by microbial spoilage and
staling. Bread after baking is free of viable moulds and
bacteria, but some bacterial spores can survive the bak-
ing process or contamination can occur before packa-
ging is completed. At bread aw levels, growth of yeasts
and moulds may be observed. Bread staling is a process
of chemical and physical changes including moisture
redistribution, drying, starch retrogradation, increased
firmness and fragility, as well as loss of aroma and
flavor (He & Hoseney, 1990). Bread moulding and
staling result in the decrease of consumer acceptance for
bakery products and in great economic losses.
Recently, in order to achieve longer shelf life for
bakery products, refrigerating conditions are employed
to prebaked or not doughs, as well as new technologies
in packaging are investigated.
As bakery products are becoming a major part of the
international food market, the baking industry is
undergoing a period of rapid change. Baking industry
must try to satisfy the healthy eating trends and the
consumer demands for fresh products (Byrne, 2000;
Kohn, 2000). Therefore, modernization of bakery plants
with improved technology and new products develop-
ment should be conducted. Food technologists have to
select the suitable type of packaging that will ensure the
necessary shelf life for bakery products. The success of
the product in the market must be based on the design
and the production both with the very best raw materials
and advanced technology.
One of the newer packaging methods available today
used widely in many types of food products is known as
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) (Davies,
1999). MAP of foods is capable of significantly extend-
ing the shelf life of various products by altering the
relative proportions of the surrounding atmospheric
gases. The gases normally used for MAP include CO2,
O2 and N2. Generally, O2 concentrations must be below
320 I.S. Kotsianis et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 13 (2002) 319–324

atmospheric levels (i.e. < 21% v/v) (Farber, 1991;

O’Connor, Skarfhewski & Phrower, 1992). Nitrogen is
used as an inert filler gas to make up the remaining gas
volume. The most important gas from a microbiological
stand point is CO2, which effectively inhibits the growth
of spoilage bacteria and molds. To be effective, CO2
must be applied at relatively high concentrations (20%
or greater).
MAP can preserve the freshness of many food pro-
ducts, and can improve food safety under certain con-
ditions (Farber, Warburton, Gour & Milling, 1990;
Hotchkiss, 1989). Compared to traditional product
packaging methods, MAP offers many key benefits—the
most important of which is extending shelf life (Farber,
1991). MAP technology has been particularly effective
in chilled, short shelf life low-acid foods, especially
minimally processed and highly perishable or semiper-
ishable foods. It is applied to fresh produce and pre-
pared foods such as vegetables, meat products and
bakery products for an improved shelf life and better
quality retention (Fabiano, Perego, Pastorino, & Del
Borghi, 2000).
The present work focuses on the use of MAP tech-
nology in packaging of bakery products, which has an
increasing interest during last years, due to many
advantages provided for such products. MAP applica-
tions in the bakery industry, the proper packaging
equipment and materials, the advantages as well as the
requirements for the use of this new method of packa-
ging are reviewed. Fig. 1. Flowsheet diagram of production processes for bakery
products.
Typical processing in bakery production
Traditional bakery products are produced from sui- and with specially formulated materials in order to
table raw materials, following the classic procedure and permeate the inert gases (Fig. 1).
using the proper equipment. The most common raw
materials are flour, water, yeasts (basically Sacchar- Applications of MAP technology
omyces cerevisiae), sugar and glucose, vegetable fats and In case that a bakery industry intends to introduce
oils, eggs, starch, milk and milk products, gluten, emul- MAP technology for products packaging, it must study
sifiers, improvers, conditioners etc (Matz, 1989,1992). all involved parameters. Initially, a review of the up to
For all raw materials specifications should be estab- date applications of MAP in the bakery industry must
lished, according to bakery products that are going to be done and their specific characteristics in relation to
be produced; for used water standards must be in the products must be examined. At the present work,
accordance to EC Directive 98/83 for potable water. the selection of packaging equipment according to spe-
A typical flowsheet of bakery processing is presented cifications, the needed gases for the modified atmo-
in Fig. 1. Baking process includes many steps, such as sphere production, as well as the requirements for the
mixing, molding, proofing and baking, which are similar introduction of this new packaging method and the
almost for all bakery products (Bennion & Bamford, provided advantages for the products were considered.
1997; Faridi, 1994; Matz, 1989, 1992; Mermelstein, The above information and specifications are needed for
1999). The basic equipment used is mixers, dividers, a detailed technical study in order to invest in this
moulders, sheeting machines, cutters/knives, dough alternative method of packaging.
conditioners/provers and ovens (Nordmark, 1994). Several researchers have experimented with bakery
Packaging is the last step in the bakery production. products under MAP, generally with positive results
The conventional packaging procedure, applied in a (Black, Quail, Reyes, Kuzyk, & Ruddick, 1993; Oor-
typical baking industry, uses atmospheric air and aikul, 1991; Piergiovanni & Fava, 1997; Rodriguez,
approved lidding materials for foods. However, modern Medina, & Jordano, 2000; Seiler, 1998). Many studies
packaging is performed under modified atmospheres have been conducted to extend the shelf life of bakery
 I.S. Kotsianis et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 13 (2002) 319–324
products by optimizing modified atmosphere packaging.
Several storage conditions for bakery products are
available in literature. Also, in order to predict gas
composition inside the polymeric package (CO2 con-
centration) mathematical models have been developed.
However, for each specific bakery product the optimum
combination of CO2 and O2 that give the greatest
microbiological inhibition without affecting the sensory
properties of the food must be determined (Smith and
Simpson, 1996). In addition, packaging materials are
known to have a crucial role in preserving quality and
extending shelf life. Consequently, a suitable film struc-
ture, widely called ‘‘sandwich’’ of plastic films, should
be selected in order to meet preservation and quality
requirements of bakery products (Pfeiffer et al., 1999).
MAP techniques and machinery
There are available three main categories of MAP
machinery for bakery products distinguished according
to the applied technique; these are thermoforming sys-
tems, pre-formed container machines and horizontal or
vertical form-fill-seal machine systems. The choice of
packaging machine will be dependent upon many fac-
tors, determined by the characteristics of the bakery
product and the food market requirements (Hastings,
1998).
Thermoforming systems
The thermoforming technique involves the use of a
flexible or semi-rigid base material that is fed from a reel
into grippers or clamps held on chains running on the
one side of the web of the material along the machine.
The material is drawn from the reel into a heating sta-
tion where it is softened and thence to a forming station
where, by use of vacuum, air pressure or a combination
of both, the plasticized material is formed in a mould to
the required shape of container (Hastings, 1998). Ther-
moforming machines for MAP are provided by several
companies such as: Multivac, Tetra Laval Tiromat,
Dixie Union, Mahaffey & Harder and Columatic, etc.
Pre-formed container machines
Similar to thermoforming machines are pre-formed
trays, which are often referred to as tray sealers. Instead
of employing reel-fed material and heating and forming
it into the required shape, the automatic tray sealer
accepts a pre-formed tray, either by manual means or
automatically from a magazine, into one of a series of
carriers held on chains that convey the trays throughout
the length of the machine. The product is loaded into a
tray, which then passes into a chamber together with the
top lidding material. The chamber closes, air is with-
drawn and the flushing gas is allowed in. Then the
lidding material is sealed to the top flange of the tray
and the chamber is vented and opened to allow the
machine to index forward another cycle (Hastings,
321
1998; Ooraikul, 1991). Pre-formed container machines
are supplied by: Gemella Seal, Rexam, etc.
Horizontal or Vertical form-fill-seal machine systems
These systems are by far the most popular MAP
machinery for bakery products because of their flex-
ibility and speed (Ooraikul, 1991). These machines can
form their own flexible or semi-rigid containers from a
base film in the forming station. Heat is applied to
soften the film before it is drawn by vacuum into
moulds of the required shape and size. The formed
containers are then sent to the filling station where they
are loaded with the product either manually or auto-
matically. The filled containers pass to the vacuum/gas
chamber where they are covered with lidstock web.
They are evacuated, flushed and heat-sealed and after-
wards they are forwarded to the cutting section where
stamping or additional labeling can be done as well. In
fully automated systems packaging operation can be
highly productive, cost-effective and labor-efficient
(Ooraikul, 1991). GEI Autowrappers, PFM Packaging
Machinery Spa., Ilapack, Fuji, Hayssen, Klockner
Haensel, Coster, Rose Forgrove, Rovem, Sandia-cre
Packaging are some of the supplying companies for
these systems.
The continuous motion horizontal form-fill-seal type
of machine is used throughout many bakery industries
to pack a wide variety of products in the familiar pillow-
pack style (Hastings, 1998). The method of operation is
depicted in Fig. 2. An example of a state of the art MAP
system for a bakery plant that uses the technique of
horizontal form-fill-seal is Falcon, a model of PFM
Packaging Machinery Spa (Fig. 3).
Packaging materials
Packaging films commonly used in bakery products
MAP are laminated or flexible films as lidding materials
and semi-rigid plastics as containers (Crosby, 1981;
Hastings, 1998; Ooraikul, 1991). The most important
characteristic of the materials is the prevention of inert
gases to escape from the package (Hastings, 1998).
The basic criteria of selection for such materials are
the following (Crosby, 1981; Hastings, 1998; Ooraikul,
1991):
 Permeability to fixed gases
 Water vapor and oxygen permeability
 Sealability characteristics
 Ability to thermoform
 Clarity and antifog properties.
Advantages and possible problems with MAP
The use of MAP technology for bakery products
experiences the following advantages (Davies, 1999;
Farber, 1991):
322 I.S. Kotsianis et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 13 (2002) 319–324

Fig. 2. Conventional horizontal form-fill-seal machine with orbital motion sealing head (adapted from Hastings, 1998)

Fig. 3. Falcon (# PFM Packaging Machinery Spa., Italy).

 The potential shelf life of bakery product is
increased from 50 to 400% by using MAP. The
minimum average shelf life for bakery products
with MAP is 21 days;
 The economic loss of the production is
reduced;
 Bakery products can be distributed over longer
distances and with fewer deliveries, leading to
decreased distribution cost;
 It provides a high quality bakery product with
no need for chemical preservatives; and finally,
 It comprises a new and very hopeful scientific
development.
On the other hand, considering a new packaging
technology as MAP it is evident that it has additional
cost to the industry. Furthermore, when using MAP a
consideration should be given to the following points
(Davies, 1999; Farber, 1991):
 The temperature must necessarily be controlled;
 Benefits are lost once the pack is opened or leak
occurs;
 Gas formulations must be differentiated accord-
ing to product type;
 Special equipment and trained personnel is
required.
 I.S. Kotsianis et al. / Trends in Food Science & Technology 13 (2002) 319–324
Alternative MAP techniques for bakery products
Other new packaging techniques alternatively used
are oxygen scavengers and ethanol. When an oxygen
scavenger is used inside the packaging, oxygen is not
completely removed, but the growth of moulds is effec-
tively reduced. Ethanol in combinations with gas
packaging has been shown to increase the shelf life of
bread due to its antimicrobial effect on yeast growth.
(Powers & Berkowitz, 1990; Seiler, 1998).
Oxygen scavengers
A novel approach to MAP originated from Japan is
the inclusion within the food pack of a sachet con-
taining a substance that absorbs the oxygen from the
headspace by chemical reaction. The anaerobic con-
ditions created retard the growth of aerobic micro-
organisms. In addition, they prevent oxidative
changes that can deteriorate the sensory quality of
bakery or other products during storage. In Japan,
such sachets containing oxygen scavengers are inclu-
ded in packs used for many food commodities. A
range of oxygen-scavenging substances are used,
which can act rapidly or slowly, with moist or dry
foods, or can have a dual effect such as oxygen
absorption and carbon dioxide production (Harima,
1990; Seiler, 1998).
The use of oxygen scavengers has the advantage over
gas-packaging methods providing that more scavenger
than normally required can be included, to allow for
any ingress of oxygen through faulty seals. Indicator
tablets, which change color according to the amount of
oxygen present, may be introduced into the pack to show
whether any leakage has occurred. The major dis-
advantage of this system is the cost and the possible con-
sumer objection to the presence of a sachet inside the
pack. Even if separated from the food and firmly attached
to prevent it from falling out and being eaten by a child or
pet, its presence is likely to be noted (Seiler, 1998).
Ethanol
Modifying the headspace atmosphere with ethanol
vapor is an efficient technique of preserving bakery
products. The growth of moulds, yeasts, lactobacilli and
other microbial contaminants will be retarded and the
rate of staling will also be reduced. Powdered alcohol in
sachets is likely to be duty free and hence should be
economical to use. Like oxygen scavengers, mentioned
above, a major difficulty may be to persuade the con-
sumer to accept the presence of a sachet in the pack. In
some products, at ethanol concentrations increasing
shelf life, there may be off-odor/flavor problems inspite
the inclusion of flavoring agents to them (Seiler, 1998).
Microbiological safety
The increase in shelf life of bakery products using
MAP can be attributed to its residual effect on molds,
323
such as Penicillium and Aspergillus and on the yeasts. It
is referred that in bread samples in CO2:N2 (50:50),
without addition of calcium propionate as preservative,
the increase in shelf life was 117 and 158% at 22–25 and
15–20  C, respectively (Rodriguez et al., 2000).
Bakery products are considered in general micro-
biologically safe foods. More specifically the growth and
potential toxin production of Clostridium botulinum or
other relevant species has not been reported (Farber,
1991; Farber et al., 1990).
Prerequisites for the introduction of MAP in a bakery
industry – requirements for a feasibility study
A bakery industry in order to introduce MAP, must
conduct a feasibility study for the packaging step. Sev-
eral parameters that are differentiated from the typical
process to MAP should be considered. Selection of
MAP equipment and packaging materials for the cer-
tain bakery products must be conducted. Total cost
along with the provided advantages should be taken
into account. The requirements for connecting pipe-
lines, storage tanks for the gases, and other technical
parameters, utilities and facilities must be examined.
Also, MA Packaging step should be efficiently intro-
duced to the existing baking process so that the arising
process satisfies the hygiene and HACCP principles
requirements (Hennlich, 1996; Tzia & Tsiapouris,
1996).
Conclusion
Considering the recent applications of MAP in the
bakery industry it can be concluded that this method of
packaging provides many advantages for bakery pro-
ducts extending their shelf life. So, for a bakery industry
that intents to use MAP for the products packaging
MAP equipment as well as packaging materials are
available commercially, while the relevant gases ratio in
relation to product must be selected.
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