Some useful knowledge about Oxygen Absorbers and its usage

What is Oxygen Absorber?

Oxygen absorbers are small packets that contain iron powder in it. These packets are normally placed over the packaged foods so that oxygen cannot create any damage to the food products. These packets are made in a way so that oxygen and moisture can enter into the packet but in any situation the iron powder doesn’t leak out. The iron powder absorbs the oxygen and helps to maintain the quality of the food.

Why Oxygen Absorbers are needed?

It is a known fact that oxygen is not good for any food product. Oxygen when get in connection with moisture can cause aerobic pathogens and molds over the food. These pathogens can cause damage to the quality, color, odor or taste of the food that is something not desirable at all. By applying oxygen absorbers over the food moisture and oxygen is absorbed completely and thus the natural quality, color and taste of the packaged food is maintained.

The use of Oxygen Absorbers

Oxygen absorbers are vastly used in the food industry for packaging foods for long term basis. Oxygen absorbers are normally used for packaging dry foods like pasta & noodles, rice, salt and almost all kinds of dry foods. These absorbers are not harmful for the products since the iron powder doesn’t leak out and mix with the foods.

What is the correct quantity?

Now, this is an important aspect of using these absorbers. If you don’t use this properly and with proper quantity, the use will be completely useless. If the quantity is more, there is no problem. But if the absorbers are not sufficient compared to the quantity of the food, it may cause damage to the food of the entire container. So users need to follow a proper calculation. Basically the amount of oxygen absorber depends on the quantity of the food and on the void space. And the void space depends on the specific food product. For example a container full of salt will provide less voice than a same size container full of marbles.

Here is the calculation:

Container volume – Food volume = Residual volume. 

 Residual volume X 0.21 (21% oxygen in the air) = absorber size

Let’s see an example. Assume that you are packing 35 pounds of rice in a container sized 5 gallon. Now, 35 pounds of rice is equivalent to 15,875 gm (1pound = 453.59 gm) or 15875 cc. And 5 gallon is equal to 18,942 cc. Now the calculation is:

18,942 (container volume) – 15875 (Food volume) = 3067 cc

3067 (residual air volume) X 0.21 (oxygen in the air) = 644 cc.

644 cc is the size requirement of the oxygen absorber.

Foods that doesn’t suit Oxygen absorber 

Oxygen absorbers are not suitable for all kinds of foods.  Products such as sugar or drink mixes should not be packed with oxygen absorbers or else these will turn into hard bricks or will have clumping. These foods require some amount of moisture in the packaging so that the powder form is maintained.

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Extend the food’s shelf lives with Oxygen Absorber

The key use of oxygen absorber is to protect the shelf life of the food. In case of packaged food, it stays in the retailer shop or malls for many days which may impact the quality of the food. But oxygen absorbers protect the taste and quality of the food along with the color. It also prevents the growth of oxygen-aerobic microorganisms like fungi etc. Plastic foods are not able to keep oxygen away from the food unlike metal or glass container. Oxygen on the other hand helps microorganisms to grow which causes damage to the product. But these oxygen absorbers absorb the oxygen from the packet.

Different kinds of oxygen absorbers are presently available in the market and the application depends on the specific needs. The components of this absorber vary according to the purpose for which it is being used. Basically there are three ingredients iron powder, sodium and activated carbon. Iron is the primary ingredient and sodium acts as an activator and causes the iron particles to rust and effectively reduce the level of oxygen from the surrounding atmosphere. Oxygen absorber is not harmful for the foods, it doesn’t generate any other gas and doesn’t distort the original smell and taste of the product.

Over the last almost 15 years oxygen absorbers have brought a revolution for the food package industry. It has made the job much easier and simpler than before. This has increased the life of foods after the storage process. On an average these absorbers last for around one year. So, you can expect the taste and color of the food to remain unchanged even after a year time period. Is it safe to eatthis absorber? Well, it may not be a good option for your health. This is why it is often mentioned outside the container that there is oxygen absorber inside which should be discarded upon finding.

Now the concern is how many oxygen absorbers are required? Well, the number varies for different things like the size of the packet of the oxygen absorber, area of the container, type of the food that is being canned and the altitude of the place. But it is proved through various tests that a 500cc packet is enough to fulfill most of the jobs.

Some of the key advantages of oxygen absorbers for food are it extends the shelf life of the food. It prevents the growth of aerobic microorganisms. It prevents the quality and nature of the food for many days. It makes sure to avail cost effective packaging process and also money-saving transportation.

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The Utilities of Oxygen Scavengers for Food Storage

Oxygen is the fundamental requirement of every living being. But it is also the main reason for spoiling of food and rusting of metals. This can mainly pose a threat in packaged food. And you cannot use any chemical to remove the oxygen because those chemicals will also react with the food products, making them toxic and unfit to consume. The best solution to avoid food spoilage from oxygen is by using oxygen absorbers. Oxygen packets are substances that remove unwanted products when added in to a particular package. They are USFDA approved Food Grade and Pharma Grade products to help protect the packed food items. Due to their oxygen killing characteristic they are also called as O-Busters.

Oxygen scavengers are basically small porous sachets containing a mixture of powdered irons and sodium chloride. Iron is the active ingredient responsible for the process of oxidation. The iron in the packet absorbs 99.9% of the oxygen in the container and begins to rust. It gives out nitrogen which is helpful in keeping insects and pests at bay. Oxygen scavengers react rapidly with oxygen, passivate steel surfaces, have volatility and can be safely handled. Because they do not discharge any harmful gases or toxic elements, it is safe to use them in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Oxygen scavengers are designed to remove or decrease oxygen level from inside packaged products, especially vacuum packing. They help to prevent the growth of fungus mold, mildew and bacteria. In this way they increase the shelf life of a product. Usually each package is about 20cc to 3000cc in size. Sometimes, even Zeolite and water are also used in absorbers. Water based oxygen scavengers are generally used in seawater injection and production separation systems as a tool to prevent oxygen induced corrosion.

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Oxygen Absorbers – a need for oxygen free packaging!

Oxygen is the reason for the sustenance of life on earth. But its presence at irrelevant places can often prove to be fetal. So, in order to remove oxygen from unnecessary places, oxygen scavengers or oxygen absorbers are used. With the revolution of these oxygen absorbers the life of the products has increased, especially in case of stored food material. Now, food can be stored for a longer period of time. Oxygen absorbers are basically small packets of iron powder. These packets are made up of such a material which allows oxygen and moisture to enter but powdered iron cannot leak out. The iron powder absorbs moisture and traps it inside. As these packets are not toxic it is absolutely safe to place it on the top of the food item. They will not cause any harm to the food item as the powder is safely packed inside the packet.

With animals and humans it is the key for the survival of micro-organisms as well. These organisms are fetal, if they found any way for growth in the edible items. So, by stopping oxygen to enter any food item it becomes easy to stop the growth of microorganism. The effect of growth of these microbes can be easily seen on the food items as food item immediately starts to lose its originality. Smell, taste and texture starts to change. Not only in edible but in non-edible items as well we can see the change. For example, metal if left unpolished its direct contact with oxygen will corrode the metal. 

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Oxygen Absorbers during Packaging..

Oxygen absorber used in the packaging of various food items meat, fruits, vegetables and chips packets. Apart from being used in the food items it is also used in metal industry, pharmaceutical, packaging and refrigeration industry. You must have seen small packets in even leather dresses and bottles; this is all to reduce the chances of any microbial activity and odor. The biggest threat to all the items is during transportation as most of the goods come in contact with moist air at the time of transportation. So, it would be better if maximum precaution is taken at that time. There are a lot of companies available which deal with best quality oxygen absorber packets. They can be easily discovered on-line too! 

Its application does not limits at this place, oxygen scavengers have different other applications. Several other electronics products also require safety from oxygen and moisture. Electronics products are more sensitive to moisture air and oxygen. Even if a small amount of oxygen is trapped inside an electronic packet it may corrode the product causing a heavy loss. Many companies face heavy loss from these type of corrosion activities. So, just by placing an absorbent packet can solve big problems. These absorbent packets increase the shelf life of the products by reducing any type of microbial activities. They not only protect pharmaceutical goods and food items but they are also used to protect diagnostic kits. Oxygen absorbers are quite affordable goods which can help you protect your costly goods and also they are safe any do not release any toxins. 

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Oxygen Absorber Packets for Pharma Packaging

Oxygen absorber packets have these days occupied the markets with amazing features. It is now in market with more effective features and is now more powerful, as it has the capacity to absorb 95% of moisture. This not only increases the life of food items but it also helps it to retain it to its original form by preserving its color and odor. We know oxygen as the life sustaining element on earth, but sometimes its presence at unnecessary places can prove to be fatal. For example presence of oxygen in air tight containers can encourage the growth of micro-organisms. You can trust these oxygen absorber packets as they are FDA approved. The best things about these packets are that they are absolutely safe to use it with food items as it is non-toxic.

Its highly porous graduals absorb almost 80% moisture of its weight. By absorbing moisture from sealed food packets it helps to retain the original crispness and taste of food items. These contents of these packets are made up of iron powder, zeolite powder, salt and water. Among all, iron powder is considered to be the most influential one, as without this element the absorption activity would not have been possible. The paper in which all these contents are packed is tyvek and it is absolutely safe to use it with any food item as it qualifies its quality statement under USFDA norms. By using good quality oxygen absorbing packets it is possible it reduce the oxygen level to 0.1%. 

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Oxygen Scavengers

From the moment of its removal from original vacuum packing, oxygen scavenger will start to react with atmospheric oxygen. Hence, it is vital that care must be taken during the handling process. Once out of the original packing, oxygen scavengers should be inserted and the target product that needs protection should be sealed. In general cases, heat sealing or induction sealing are preferable choice of packaging industry for containment of packaging. Oxygen scavengers are 100% compatible with such process. As long as, a complete seal of a packaged product is maintained oxygen gas from the outside environment can be kept out while, o-busters arid the inside of packing from oxygen.

O-Busters

The material of construction of packaging substrate will allow oxygen gas to ingress into the packaged product over-time. This is a simple process of diffusion of gas over a long period of time also known as, OTR, Oxygen Transmission Rate. Plastic and poly based packing suffer from a higher rate of OTR compared to metalized packing. A higher OTR is directly proportional to lower shelf-life. This is why Oxygen absorbers can be a nifty way to fight rotting of packaged food in poly or plastic substrate.

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