Permeation of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide Through Food Packaging Materials

Barrier properties of packaging materials are important requirements when selecting and developing optimal packaging systems. The determination of the barrier properties of a polymer film is crucial to estimating and predicting the product-packaging shelf-life. The specific barrier requirements of the package are related to the product characteristics and the intended end-use application. Much of the design of barrier packaging involves controlling the exchange of gaseous components (e.g., O2, CO2) between the external and internal package environments. Thus, this chapter intends to give an overview of the methods and equipment used for the evaluation of the permeation of oxygen and carbon dioxide through polymer-based packaging films.