KR20220128182A - After-ripening packaging material containing ethylene pockets - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a packaging material for after-ripening including an ethylene pocket, in which an agricultural product requiring after-ripening and an ethylene pocket are inserted into the packaging material, and the expiration date can be flexibly adjusted by after-ripening to a desired degree. According to the present invention, the packaging material for after-ripening including an ethylene pocket comprises: a food packaging material; and an ethylene pocket inserted into the packaging material and filled with ethylene gas. The food packaging material is perforated to allow gas to pass through.

Description

After-ripening packaging material containing ethylene pockets

The present invention relates to a packaging material for post-ripening, and to a packaging material for post-ripening in which an agricultural product requiring post-ripening and an ethylene pocket are simultaneously inserted.

Bananas, mangoes, kiwis, melons, and figs are typical ripening fruits that are consumed after harvesting. Vegetables such as sweet potatoes and pumpkins also have a higher sugar content with ripening, so post-ripening is not a technique used only for fruits.

In general, post-ripening uses ethylene, a kind of plant hormone. Ethylene is a hydrocarbon having a structure in which two carbon atoms are double bonded, and exists in a gaseous state at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Ethylene is known to mature and age horticultural products, and accordingly, it prevents the generation and action of ethylene, and on the other hand, softens the tissue after harvesting, improves taste by increasing sugar content, etc. also use it For example, by treating raw green bananas with ethylene before shipping, they can ripen into yellow bananas and increase sugar content at the same time. This can increase product value.

On the other hand, bananas are distributed after green banana fruits are placed in an airtight storage, ethylene gas is injected, and ripened uniformly. It was found that the proportion of loss was high because it was not ingested in a timely manner. There is also a known misconception that people are reluctant to eat as black spots are formed on the banana and the peel of the banana gradually turns black. appear.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0114717 (published on October 13, 2015) discloses an ethylene gas release agent and a method for accelerating the ripening of horticultural products using the same. Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1376261 (registered on March 13, 2014) describes an ethylene generator for promoting the ripening of horticultural crops in a sealed tea bag type.

The present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of short shelf life and easily deteriorated by improving the packaging method of fruits or vegetables consumed after ripening.

The present invention is a food packaging material; It is inserted into the packaging material, and is composed of an ethylene pocket filled with ethylene gas, and the packaging material is perforated to allow gas to pass therethrough.

In the present invention, the perforation is preferably 15 to 25 cc/day of gas permeation per perforation.

In the present invention, the ethylene pocket preferably has a volume of 15 to 25 ml.

In the present invention, the ethylene pocket may be preferably provided in plurality.

In the present invention, by perforating the packaging material for fruits and vegetables, it is possible to prevent the packaging material from bursting due to carbon dioxide generated due to long-term storage of fruits and vegetables through respiration, and the size and amount of the perforations are carefully and appropriately controlled to ethylene gas present inside can be maintained at a constant concentration, thereby selectively controlling the ripening of fruits and vegetables.

That is, according to the present invention, fruits and vegetables requiring post-ripening can be distributed in a pre-ripe state, stored fresh for a long time without the packaging material burst, and then ripened at a time desired by the consumer so that they can be consumed fresh.

1 is a view showing an example of inserting an ethylene pocket in the OPP anti-fogging film.
2 is a view showing an example of inserting an ethylene pocket and green banana fruit in the OPP anti-fogging film.
3 is a view showing an example of a banana in the process of ripening.
4 is a view showing the specific volume of ethylene gas according to each gas permeation rate condition.
5 is a view showing the Hunter b (Hunter b) value according to each gas permeation rate condition and the presence or absence of ethylene pocket invasion.
6 is a view showing the hardness according to each gas permeation rate condition and the presence or absence of ethylene pocket invasion.
7 is a view showing the sugar content according to each gas permeation rate condition and the presence or absence of ethylene pocket invasion.
8 is a view showing the degree of ripening progress of the banana according to the hardness, sugar content, and Hunter b values of the banana.

The present invention is for packaging agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables that require post-ripening. Fruits and vegetables that require ripening include bananas, mangoes, kiwis, melons, figs, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins. It is preferable to consume these after aging because the color becomes darker or the sugar content increases and the texture is improved depending on the ripening.

On the other hand, since agricultural products such as bananas that require import are distributed after ripening uniformly after harvest, consumers purchase bananas in consideration of the apparent degree of ripening and consumption plan. However, compared with the living and consumption patterns of modern people, the weight of a banana is approximately 2.0-2.4 kg, which increases the consumption period, and there is a problem in that the quality of the banana is lowered as the ripening continues.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a packaging material for post-ripening that can be ingested in an optimal state since the consumer can directly control the degree of post-ripening by packaging green bananas after harvest. Accordingly, since the consumption period of agricultural products can be flexibly adjusted, the amount of discarded agricultural products can be effectively reduced.

Specifically, the present invention is a food packaging material; It is inserted into the packaging material, and is composed of an ethylene pocket filled with ethylene gas, and the packaging material is perforated to allow gas to pass therethrough.

In the present invention, the food packaging material, as long as it is commonly used, any one can be used, for example, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, such as plastic material or paper etc. Preferably, a polypropylene film is used. More preferably, it is good to use an oriented polypropylene anti-fogging film to prevent fogging caused by moisture, etc. generated from agricultural products.

In addition, the food packaging material of the present invention preferably has a thickness of 20 to 40 μm, preferably 25 to 35 μm. If the thickness of the food packaging material is thicker than this, there is a problem that it is not desirable to make a perforation, and if the thickness of the food packaging material is thinner than this, there is a problem in that it is difficult to protect the agricultural products and the ethylene pocket inside.

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable that the perforation has a gas permeation amount of about 15 to 25 cc/day. More preferably, it is preferable that the amount of gas permeation per perforation is about 18 to 20 cc/day, and the perforations are preferably provided in the packaging material as much as the number of perforations can allow gas to permeate 1,800 to 8,000 cc/day. good night.

Agricultural products such as fruits and vegetables generate carbon dioxide by respiration even after harvest. Therefore, in order to preserve agricultural products for a long time, it is necessary to prevent the packaging paper from bursting. In the present invention, the wrapping paper is provided with a perforation, and the gas (carbon dioxide) generated inside is discharged through the perforation to prevent the wrapping paper from bursting.

On the other hand, the present invention is provided with an ethylene pocket containing ethylene gas so that the fruits and vegetables present therein (for example, 'banana' will be described as an example) can be quickly ripened and consumed by the consumer at a desired time.

When a consumer bursts the ethylene pocket at a specific point in time, the ethylene gas in it comes out and exists inside the packaging material. In this state, the banana inside the packaging material is stimulated by ethylene and ripens rapidly. Through this, the consumer can select the desired ripening time, and by controlling the concentration of ethylene gas (burst several ethylene pockets), the aging time can also be quickly controlled.

However, if the packaging material is perforated, ethylene gas may leak out of the packaging material. However, according to the experiment of the present invention, the number of perforations having a size of about 18 to 20 cc/day of gas permeation per perforation can be provided in the packaging material as many as 1,800 to 8,000 cc/day of gas can permeate. In this case, it was confirmed that the ethylene gas inside the packaging material is not discharged to the outside and the packaging material does not burst, and the present invention has been completed.

More specifically, in the case of the following experiment of the present invention (FIG. 4 - Comparison of the degree of ethylene gas flowing to the outside in the absence of fruits and vegetables in the packaging), the gas permeation rate is 5,400 to 6,000 cc/day. It was confirmed that the ethylene present inside was maintained the same as the first until this time. However, it was confirmed that when the drilling was performed at more than 6,000cc/day, ethylene gas was partially discharged. Therefore, it is good that the perforation is preferably about 1,800 to 6,000cc/day.

To explain the operation in the present invention, the present invention has an ethylene pocket inside the packaging material (Fig. 1). is placed in a state blocked from the outside (FIG. 2). Bananas present inside the packaging will naturally breathe and produce carbon dioxide over time. When carbon dioxide is generated, the atmospheric pressure inside the packaging material increases. By that force, an air flow from the inside to the outside is generated, carbon dioxide is discharged to the outside, and the inflow of air from the outside is blocked. In this state, the oxygen concentration inside the packaging material is lowered. Oxygen is the stimulus that causes the release of ethylene gas from the plant, and as the oxygen concentration inside the packaging material decreases, the plant can better maintain its original state (green banana). This allows bananas to remain unripe for a longer period of time.

On the other hand, when the ethylene pocket existing inside the packaging material is burst, the concentration of ethylene gas inside the packaging material increases, and through this, the banana is quickly overripe (FIG. 3). As overripe progresses, the respiration rate of the banana increases and the amount of carbon dioxide produced increases. In addition, as overripening progresses, the amount of ethylene gas generated from the banana itself also increases.

As the amount of carbon dioxide generated increases, the pressure inside the packaging material increases. Through this, the ethylene gas well maintained inside is released together with carbon dioxide to the outside. In this case, it is expected that the concentration of the ethylene gas present inside will be lowered, but in the present invention, the ethylene gas generated by the banana itself is replaced by the amount discharged to the outside, so that the ethylene gas inside the packaging material is maintained the same. That is, according to the size of the perforations and the amount of perforations formed in the present invention, the amount of ethylene gas present in the packaging material can be continuously maintained at a certain concentration.

In the present invention, the perforations are preferably made at intervals of 0.1 to 0.5 cm, more preferably at intervals of 0.3 cm.

In the present invention, the ethylene pocket preferably has a volume of 15 to 25 ml, and preferably contains 0.005 to 0.01 % (v/v) of ethylene therein. In order to insert the ethylene pocket and the banana together in the packaging material, it is recommended that the ethylene pocket be configured with an appropriate size.

According to the present invention, post-ripening can be performed as the ethylene gas charged inside is released by invading or pressing the ethylene pocket by hand. ) can be consumed quickly.

In the present invention, the ethylene pocket may be used as long as it is commonly used, and an example is a plastic material or paper such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene terephthalate, etc. etc. Preferably, it is a high density polyethylene (HDPE) film. In addition, it is preferable that the ethylene pocket of the present invention has a thickness that can be popped by pressing it by hand. More preferably, a cutout may be formed to make it pop well.

In the present invention, the ethylene pocket is preferably one or a plurality of inserts. A plurality of ethylene pockets can be used for the degree of after-ripening desired by the consumer, and as many ethylene pockets are popped according to the degree of over-ripening desired by the consumer. Through this, the amount of ethylene emitted can be increased or decreased.

Meanwhile, consumers can quickly consume fruits and vegetables in the most optimal state by performing post-ripening as much as they want according to an analysis table (chromaticity comparison table) indicating the degree of post-ripening progress ( FIG. 8 ).

Hereinafter, the content of the present invention will be described in more detail in the following Examples and Experimental Examples. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following examples and experimental examples, and includes modifications of the technical idea equivalent thereto.

[Example 1: Packaging of green bananas]

Micro-perforations (18-20 cc/day per piece) were made at intervals of 0.3 cm so that the gas could permeate the OPP (oriented polypropylene) anti-fogging film with a thickness of 30 µm. The gas permeation amount is shown in Table 1 below. An ethylene pocket and green banana fruit were inserted into the micro-perforated OPP anti-fogging film. The ethylene pocket is made of HDPE material and has a volume of 20 ml.

perforation conditions control Example
1-1 Example
1-2 Example
1-3 Example
1-4 gas permeation no perforation 1,800~2,000 cc/day 3,600~4,000 cc/day 5,400~6,000 cc/day 7,200~8,000 cc/day

[Experimental Example 1: Ethylene gas retention effect according to gas permeation amount]

In this experiment, the effect of maintaining the ethylene gas concentration according to the drilling conditions of Example 1 was confirmed. According to each condition, an ethylene pocket was inserted into an OPP anti-fogging film with a thickness of 30 μm perforated, and the ethylene gas concentration was measured over time after each infiltration was shown in FIG. 4 . (0N: control, 1N: Example 1- 1 (1,800 to 2,000 cc/day), 2N: Example 1-2 (3,600 to 4,000 cc/day), 3N: Example 1-3 (5,400 to 6,000 cc/day), 4N: Example 1-4 ( 7,200~8,000cc/day))

The ethylene bag of FIG. 4 represents the volume (about 4500 μl) of ethylene gas contained in the ethylene pocket. If the ethylene pocket is not invaded, the volume of ethylene gas can be maintained.

On the other hand, it was confirmed that even when the ethylene pocket was invaded, the concentration of the ethylene gas was maintained constant depending on the gas permeation rate condition. That is, the perforation for gas permeation serves to increase the internal air pressure as carbon dioxide is generated by respiration of the fruits and vegetables packaged inside, and the carbon dioxide is discharged to the outside of the packaging material through the perforations. In this case, it was found that the concentration of ethylene gas was maintained inside the packaging material.

That is, when fruits and vegetables and the ethylene pocket are inserted together (after the ethylene pocket is invaded), the atmospheric pressure inside the packaging material increases due to the respiration of fruits and vegetables, and when carbon dioxide is discharged to the outside of the packaging material, some ethylene gas may be discharged. It was determined that the concentration of ethylene gas inside the packaging material could be kept constant by the ethylene gas.

On the other hand, when the gas permeation rate was about 1,800 to 6,000 cc/day (Examples 1-1 to 1-3), the concentration of ethylene gas present in the packaging material was kept constant, but the gas permeation rate was 7,200 cc/day or more It was confirmed that, in the case of being perforated so that the ethylene gas inside the packaging material may be partially leaked to the outside. Accordingly, it was determined that the perforation of the present invention is preferably used so that the gas permeation rate is 1,800 to 6,000 cc/day when the internal storage or storage of fruits and vegetables exceeds 4 days.

[Experimental Example 2: Hunter b value, hardness, sugar content analysis according to gas permeation amount]

In this experiment, the Hunter b (Hunter b) value according to the drilling conditions of Example 1, the hardness and sugar content of the banana were analyzed. According to each condition, an ethylene pocket and a banana were inserted as in Example 1 into an OPP anti-fogging film with a thickness of 30 μm perforated according to each condition, and after each invasion of the ethylene pocket, the Hunter b value over time, the hardness and sugar content of the banana were analyzed. . The ethylene pocket is made of HDPE material and has a volume of 20 ml, and contains 0.005~0.01% (v/v) of ethylene gas. H gas permeation amount conditions are the same as in Example 1 (0N: control, 1N: Example 1-1 (1,800 ~ 2,000cc/day), 2N: Example 1-2 (3,600 ~ 4,000cc/day), 3N : Example 1-3 (5,400-6,000 cc/day), 4N: Example 1-4 (7,200-8,000 cc/day)).

(1) Hunter b value measurement

Hunter b value refers to the degree of blue to yellow, and is displayed as a value from -40 to +40. A large - value means blue, and a large + value means yellow. The Hunter b value of the product surface was measured using a CR-400 manufactured by KONICA MINOLTA. Figure 5 shows the Hunter b value in the case of invasion of the ethylene pocket and the control group that did not invade the ethylene pocket.

The experiment used a green banana having a Hunter b value of about 28 (see FIG. 8). The recommended Hunter b value for bananas is 34 or higher. If the ethylene pocket was not invaded, the hunter b value of each banana appeared at a level of 30 to 33 on the second day, and it was confirmed that the banana of Example 1-2 increased the hunter b value to the level of 35 from the third day. did. On the 5th day, the Hunter b values of all bananas were 35 or higher, confirming that the yellow color became darker, but the Hunter b values did not increase in proportion to the gas permeation condition.

On the other hand, when the ethylene pocket was invaded, it was confirmed that the Hunter b value remained at the level of 32 even on the 4th day, and thus it was confirmed that the degree of turning yellow of the banana could be delayed. In addition, it was confirmed that the Hunter b value increased in proportion to the gas permeation condition compared to the case where the ethylene pocket was not invaded.

(2) Measurement of hardness of banana

The hardness of the fruit skin was measured with a 3mm (ø) stainless steel probe with a flat tip using a Sun Rheo Meter Compac-100II manufactured by Sun Scientific. 6 shows the banana hardness in the case of invasion of the ethylene pocket and the control that did not invade the ethylene pocket.

The experiment used a green banana having a hardness of about 21N (see FIG. 8). The recommended hardness of bananas for consumption is 14 or less. As shown in FIG. 6 , in the case where the ethylene pocket was not invaded, the hardness value exceeded 20 in most cases even on the 5th day of observation. A decrease in the hardness of some bananas below 16 was observed, but not proportional to the gas permeation condition.

On the other hand, when the ethylene pocket was invaded, the hardness started to decrease from the 3rd day, and the hardness of the bananas of Examples 1-4 was 14 or less. In addition, it was confirmed that the hardness decreased rapidly compared to the case where the ethylene pocket was not invaded.

(3) Measurement of sugar content in bananas

The fruit was extracted and the sugar content was measured using Atago's DR-A1 digital refractometer. 7 shows the sugar content of the banana in the case of invasion of the ethylene pocket and the control group that did not invade the ethylene pocket.

For the experiment, a green banana having a sugar content of about 5 Brix was used (see FIG. 8). The recommended sugar content for bananas is 15 Brix or higher. When the ethylene pocket was not invaded, it was confirmed that most of the bananas did not increase the sugar content. On the other hand, it was observed that the sugar content of the banana of Example 1-2 rapidly increased on the 4th day, and the sugar content of the banana of Examples 1-3 increased rapidly on the 5th day, but it was not proportional to the gas permeation rate condition.

On the other hand, when the ethylene pocket was invaded, the sugar content started to increase significantly from the second day, and on the third day, it was observed that the sugar content was about 15 Brix or more than 15 Brix. On the 4th day, it was observed that the sugar content of the bananas in the non-perforated condition decreased, while the bananas of Examples 1-1 to 1-4 maintained high sugar content. In addition, it was confirmed that the sugar content increased in proportion to the gas permeation rate condition, compared to the case where the ethylene pocket was not invaded.

Claims (4)

food packaging; It is inserted into the packaging material, and consists of an ethylene pocket filled with ethylene gas,
The packaging material is a packaging material for after-ripening of fruits and vegetables, characterized in that perforated to allow gas to pass therethrough.
According to claim 1,
The perforation is
A packaging material for after-ripening of fruits and vegetables, characterized in that the gas permeation rate per perforation is 15-25 cc/day.
According to claim 1,
The ethylene pocket is
Packaging material for after-ripening of fruits and vegetables, characterized in that the volume is 15 to 25 ml.
According to claim 1,
The ethylene pocket is
A packaging material for after-ripening of fruits and vegetables, characterized in that a plurality of them are provided.

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