45D-25 |
Removal of off-odors from Military Ration Pouches |
H. J. OLIVER, Dept. of Food Science & Technology, Univ. of Georgia, Food Science Bldg., Athens, GA 30602-7610 and A. L. Brody, Packaging/Brody, Inc., PO Box 956187, Duluth, GA 30095-9504. The Department of Defense uses Meals, Ready-to-Eat (MRE’s) for their military personnel in field operations. The food product must maintain a high standard of quality for one year at room temperature. MRE’s are considered microbiologically safe products. However, there are quality issues to be addressed. Over a year’s time, a product high in oils and fats, such as the Hooah! Bar, undergoes oxidation; therefore, off-odors build up within the package. The following four materials were known to have surface binding capabilities for volatile compounds: Activated Carbon, Molecular Sieve, Polyethylene Imine and Cyclodextrin. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of four odor absorbing materials then to incorporate the most effective material into the package. Descriptive tests were conducted with trained panelists. There were five sets of samples. The control was the Hooah! Bar without an odor-removing material. The other sets contained one of the following materials: Activated Carbon, Molecular Sieve, Polyethylene Imine, or Cyclodextrin. Each set was exposed to accelarated storage conditions. Our descriptive test results showed that the odor levels within the control samples continued to increase. Each odor-absorbing material demonstrated the ability to reduce the off-odor levels. All four materials greatly reduced the off-odors as well as the characteristic odors of the Hooah Bar. However, the Activated Carbon was most effective in reducing the off-odor levels. Activated Carbon was able to reduce the off-odor by 89.3%; whereas, the Molecular Sieve, Polyethylene Imine and Cyclodextrin reduced the off-odor by 77.3%, 78.8%, and 84.0%, respectively. Overall, Activated Carbon proved to be the most effective. The results suggest that the Activated Carbon was able to remove the off-odors from the MRE package, which was previously decreasing the level of acceptability by military personnel. This overall reduction in odor levels significantly increased the product’s quality and overall acceptability.
Session 45D, Food Packaging: General
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