A Modular Approach of Different Geometries for Non-invasive Oxygen Measurement inside Moving Food Packages

The importance of a controlled atmosphere in food packages is paramount to maximize shelf life, limit bacterial activity and avoid mould growth. Residual oxygen is one of the most important gases related with ageing of products meant to have a long shelf life. As oxygen is a main component in the atmosphere, it can be present in foods after manufacturing and usually needs to be removed during the packaging process. An experimental set-up for non-invasive gaseous oxygen sensing inside food packages using laser spectroscopy has been studied in order to easily adapt the measurement technique on a wide range of trays with different geometrical and optical properties. Different measurement arrangements have been considered and evaluated in order to provide guidelines to the applicability of this system to samples in a continuously moving production line. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.