Micro-ovenable Packages and
Retortable Packages
Dynamic lifestyle along with availability of
sophisticated appliances such as microwave
oven has created demand for ready-to-eat food
along with appropriate packaging media
(micro-ovenable packaging).
The advent of modern urban dynamic
lifestyle has created a
demand for ready-to-eat food
to be met by food product manufacturers.
The urban middle and upper
middle class consumers have little time
to do their cooking in a conventional manner and welcome ready to eat food
products.
The market for domestic appliances
has also witnessed tremendous
growth with respect to the availability
of sophisticated appliances such as
the microwave-oven, which has now been accepted as a modern domestic
appliance for food cooking.
In view of the above developments,
the market needs innovative
packages, which can be micro-waved
and hence can be used for the packaging
of ready-to-eat food products.
Microwave Packaging
Microwave package is a package,
which can be used for cooking or heating
the product in a microwave oven.
Thermal conductivity of the package
can affect the heat transfer between
food and oven. The package alters the
heating pattern of the contained food,
by releasing or tapping the water
vapour inside the package, thereby
cooking the product under controlled
pressure and temperature. Two types
of microwave packages are available.
One of them allows microwaves to
pass through the material, they are
called microwave transparent materials.
Most of the conventional packaging
materials are transparent to microwave.
Paper, glass and all plastic
materials such as polyethylene,
polypropylene, polyester, nylon, polystyrene,
poly vinyl chloride are all microwave
transparent materials. Microwaves
heat the product without interfering
with these packaging materials.
Their application in microwave package
development depends upon their
thermal stability and compatibility with
the product under high temperature
and pressure.
The other type called microwave
active package, involves use of packaging
material that directly affects the
cooking of the product inside the pack.
In these types of packages, the microwaves
are modified by use of
susceptors, reflectors or a guidance
system. The size, shape, location and
composition of microwave active package
can alter the environment both
inside the package and in the oven
cavity. The food that are unsuitable
for re-heating in the microwave oven
use these packaging materials.
A microwavable package should
perform all the functions of a conventional
package plus microwavability.
The packaging requirements for microovenable
products are as follows
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