Gas remover and its use in vacuum packaging of agricultural products

Abstract

The present invention relates to the preservation and packaging of the agricultural products and discloses a gas remover and a method for packaging agricultural products. The gas remover provided herein is capable of effectively removing gas released in a vacuum sealer bag. The gas remover includes calcium hydroxide, which can effectively removes gas released by the plant-based agricultural products in the vacuum sealer bag, avoiding the expansion of the vacuum sealer bag.

Claims

1. A gas remover for removing gas produced by kiwifruit vacuum-packaged in a vacuum sealer bag, the gas remover consisting of: 65% by weight of calcium hydroxide, 5% by weight of aluminum oxide, and 30% by weight of water; wherein the gas remover is obtained by: mixing the calcium hydroxide, the aluminum oxide, and the water to produce a mixture, granulating the mixture by a granulator to obtain particles of the mixture, and packaging the particles of the mixture with wrapping paper to obtain the gas remover; wherein the particles of the mixture have a spherical structure with a diameter of 3 mm; and wherein the wrapping paper is prepared from two layers of film by thermal sealing, the two layers of film consisting of an inner layer and an outer layer, the inner layer being a composite plastic film with air pores and not being in contact with kiwifruit, and the outer layer being a gas permeable polyethylene (PE) membrane and not being in contact with the mixture.

2. A method for packaging kiwifruit, the method comprising: placing the kiwifruit together with the gas remover of claim 1 in a vacuum sealer bag for vacuum packaging.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 shows the anti-expansion effect of a gas remover according to Example 1 on vacuum-packaged garlic.

(2) FIG. 2 shows the anti-expansion effect of a gas remover according to Example 2 on vacuum-packaged jackfruit pulp.

(3) FIG. 3 shows the anti-expansion effect of a gas remover according to Example 3 on vacuum-packaged kiwifruit.

(4) FIG. 4 shows the anti-expansion effect of a gas remover according to Example 4 on vacuum-packaged kumquat and longan.

(5) FIG. 5 shows the anti-expansion effect of a gas remover according to Example 5 on vacuum-packaged edamane.

(6) FIG. 6 shows the anti-expansion effect of a gas remover according to Example 6 on vacuum-packaged fresh mushroom.

(7) FIG. 7 shows the anti-expansion effect of a gas remover according to Example 7 on vacuum-packaged seaweed knot.

(8) FIG. 8 shows the anti-expansion effect of a gas remover according to Example 8 on vacuum-packaged durian pulp.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(9) This invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the embodiments so that the technical solutions of the present invention are more understandable. It should be understood that these embodiments are not intended to limit the invention, but for the full and clear illustration of the present invention.

(10) It should be noted that any changes, replacements and modifications made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention should fall within the scope of the invention. For example, the gas remover containing calcium hydroxide and other materials, or the gas remover formed by producing calcium hydroxide in the package through some other means also fall within the scope of the present invention. The gas remover may further used for the removal of gas generated in the vacuum packaging of other products in addition to agricultural products.

Example 1 Removal of Gas Produced by Vacuum-Packaged Garlic

(11) (1) Preparation of Gas Removers

(12) Calcium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and water were mixed to produce a mixture, where a mass ratio of the calcium hydroxide to aluminium oxide to water was 65:5:30. Then the mixture was granulated by a granulator to obtain columnar particles with a diameter of 4 mm and a height of 5 mm. The columnar particles were packaged with wrapping paper to prepare a 5 g gas remover and a 10 g gas remover, respectively, where the wrapping paper was prepared from two layers of films by thermal sealing, and an inner layer of the wrapping paper was a composite plastic film with air pores and an outer layer of the wrapping paper was a permeable PE membrane.

(13) (2) Vacuum Packaging

(14) Commercially available fresh garlic was peeled mechanically or manually. 100 g of the peeled garlic was placed together with the 5 g gas remover or the 10 g gas remover in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum packaged. 100 g of the garlic free of the gas remover was vacuum packaged in a bag as a control. The three bags with the garlics were then observed under light at 25° C.

(15) As shown in FIG. 1, the expansion occurred in the control bag on day 1, in the bag with the 5 g gas remover on day 6 and in the bag with the 10 g gas remover on day 9. After 9 days, the garlic vacuum-packaged with the gas remover still had good quality, indicating that the gas remover did not affect the quality of the garlic in the vacuum sealer bag. Moreover, the garlic in the control bag was observed to begin to sprout and grow root on day 4, while the phenomenon of sprouting and root growing did not occur in the garlic vacuum-packaged with the gas remover. These results fully demonstrated that the gas remover provided herein could not only effectively avoid the expansion in the vacuum sealer bag, but also significantly extend the storage period and shelf life of the vacuum-packaged garlic.

Example 2 Removal of Gas Produced by Vacuum-Packaged Jackfruit Pulp

(16) (1) Preparation of Gas Removers

(17) Calcium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and water were mixed in a mass ratio of 75:5:20 to produce a mixture. Then the mixture was granulated by a granulator to obtain columnar particles with a diameter of 5 mm and a height of 7 mm. The columnar particles were packaged with wrapping paper to prepare a 10 g gas remover, where the wrapping paper was prepared from two layers of films by thermal sealing, and an inner layer of the wrapping paper was a composite plastic film with air pores and an outer layer of the wrapping paper was a permeable PE membrane.

(18) (2) Vacuum Packaging

(19) Commercially available fresh jackfruit was peeled manually to obtain jackfruit pulp containing seeds. 200 g of the jackfruit pulp was placed together with the 10 g gas remover in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum packaged. 200 g of the jackfruit pulp free of the gas remover was vacuum packaged in a bag as a control. The two bags with the jackfruit pulps were observed under light at 25° C.

(20) As shown in FIG. 2, the expansion occurred in the control bag on day 2 and in the bag with the 10 g gas remover on day 6, indicating that the gas remover can effectively remove gas generated from the vacuum-packaged jackfruit pulp to avoid the expansion. After 5 days, it was found that there were a large amount of mold on the surface of the jackfruit pulp in the control bag, while the jackfruit pulp vacuum-packaged with the gas remover still had good quality without microbial growth, indicating that the gas remover can significantly prolong the storage period and shelf life of the vacuum-packaged jackfruit pulp.

Example 3 Removal of Gas Produced by Vacuum-Packaged Kiwifruit

(21) (1) Preparation of Gas Removers

(22) Calcium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and water were mixed in a mass ratio of 65:5:30 to produce a mixture. Then the mixture was granulated by a granulator to obtain spherical particles with a diameter of 3 mm. The spherical particles were packaged with wrapping paper to prepare a 7 g gas remover, where the wrapping paper was prepared from two layers of films by thermal sealing, and an inner layer of the wrapping paper was a composite plastic film with air pores and an outer layer of the wrapping paper was a permeable PE membrane.

(23) (2) Vacuum Packaging

(24) 150 g of commercially available fresh kiwifruit was obtained, placed together with the 7 g gas remover in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum packaged. 150 g of the kiwifruit free of the gas remover was vacuum packaged in a bag as a control. The two bags with the kiwifruits were observed under light at 25° C.

(25) As shown in FIG. 3, the expansion occurred in the control bag on day 3 and in the bag with the 7 g gas remover on day 9, indicating that the gas remover can effectively remove gas generated from the vacuum-packaged kiwifruit to prevent the expansion in the vacuum sealer bag. After 9 days, the vacuum-packaged kiwifruit in the control bag was observed to suffer from significant reduction in the hardness and quality, while the kiwifruits in the bag with the 7 g gas remover still had good hardness and quality, indicating that the gas remover can significantly prolong the storage period and shelf life of the vacuum-packaged kiwifruits.

Example 4 Removal of Gas Produced by Vacuum-Packaged Kumquats and Longans

(26) (1) Preparation of Gas Removers

(27) Calcium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and water were mixed in a mass ratio of 70:5:25 to produce a mixture. Then the mixture was granulated by a granulator to obtain spherical particles with a diameter of 3 mm. The spherical particles were packaged with wrapping paper to prepare a 5 g gas remover, where the wrapping paper was prepared from two layers of films by thermal sealing, and an inner layer of the wrapping paper was a composite plastic film with air pores and an outer layer of the wrapping paper was a permeable PE membrane.

(28) (2) Vacuum Packaging

(29) 120 g of commercially available fresh kumquats and 120 g of commercially available fresh longans were obtained, respectively placed together with the 5 g gas remover in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum packaged. 120 g of kumquats free of the gas remover and 120 g of the longans free of the gas remover were respectively vacuum packaged in a bag as a control. The four bags were observed under light at 25° C.

(30) As shown in FIG. 4, the expansion occurred in the two control bags on day 3 and in the two bags with the 5 g gas remover on day 7, indicating that the gas remover can effectively remove gas generated from the vacuum-packaged kumquats and longans to prevent the expansion in the vacuum sealer bag. After 7 days, the vacuum-packaged kumquats and longans in the two control bags were observed to suffer from a significant reduction in the quality, while the kumquats and longans vacuum-packaged with the gas remover still had good quality, indicating that the gas remover can significantly prolong the storage period and shelf life of the vacuum-packaged kumquats and longans.

Example 5 Removal of Gas Produced by Vacuum-Packaged Edamames

(31) (1) Preparation of Gas Removers

(32) Calcium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and water were mixed in a mass ratio of 65:5:30 to produce a mixture. Then the mixture was granulated by a granulator to obtain columnar particles with a diameter of 3 mm and a height of 6 mm. The columnar particles were packaged with wrapping paper to prepare a 10 g gas remover, where the wrapping paper was prepared from two layers of films by thermal sealing, and an inner layer of the wrapping paper was a composite plastic film with air pores and an outer layer of the wrapping paper was a permeable PE membrane.

(33) (2) Vacuum Packaging

(34) 120 g of commercially available fresh edamames were placed together with the 10 g gas remover in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum packaged. 120 g of the edamames free of the gas remover were vacuum packaged in a bag as a control. The two bags with the edamames were observed under light at 25° C.

(35) As shown in FIG. 5, the expansion occurred in the control bag on day 3 and in the bag with the 10 g gas remover on day 8, indicating that the gas remover can effectively remove gas generated from the vacuum-packaged edamames to prevent the expansion in the vacuum sealer bag. After 8 days, the edamames in the two bags both were found to have good quality, indicating that the gas remover did not affect the quality of the edamames in the vacuum sealer bag.

Example 6 Removal of Gas Produced by Vacuum-Packaged Fresh Mushrooms

(36) (1) Preparation of Gas Removers

(37) Calcium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and water were mixed in a ratio of 75:5:20 to produce a mixture. Then the mixture was granulated by a granulator to obtain spherical particles with a diameter of 5 mm. The spherical particles were packaged with wrapping paper to prepare a 5 g gas remover, where the wrapping paper was prepared from two layers of films by thermal sealing, and an inner layer of the wrapping paper was a composite plastic film with air pores and an outer layer of the wrapping paper was a permeable PE membrane.

(38) (2) Vacuum Packaging

(39) 65 g of commercially available fresh mushrooms were placed together with the 5 g gas remover in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum-packaged. 65 g of the fresh mushrooms free of the gas remover were vacuum packaged in a bag as a control. The two bags were observed under light at 25° C.

(40) As shown in FIG. 6, the expansion occurred in the control bag on day 3 and in the bag with the 5 g gas remover on day 7, indicating that the gas remover can effectively remove gas generated from the vacuum-packaged fresh mushrooms to prevent the expansion in the vacuum sealer bag. After 7 days, the fresh mushrooms in the two bags were both found to have good quality, indicating that the gas remover did not affect the quality of the fresh mushrooms in the vacuum sealer bag.

Example 7 Removal of Gas Produced by Vacuum-Packaged Seaweed Knots in a Sealed Bag

(41) (1) Preparation of a Gas Remover

(42) Calcium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and water were mixed in a mass ratio of 75:5:20 to produce a mixture. Then the mixture was granulated by a granulator to obtain columnar particles with a diameter of 5 mm and a height of 7 mm. The columnar particles were packaged with wrapping paper to prepare a 10 g gas remover, where the wrapping paper was prepared from two layers of films by thermal sealing, and an inner layer of the wrapping paper was a composite plastic film with air pores and an outer layer of the wrapping paper was a permeable PE membrane.

(43) (2) Vacuum Packaging

(44) 100 g of commercially available fresh seaweed knots were placed together with the 10 g gas remover in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum-packaged. 100 g of the seaweed knots free of the gas remover were vacuum packaged in a bag as a control. The two bags were observed under light at 25° C.

(45) As shown in FIG. 7, the expansion occurred in the control bag on day 3 an in the bag with the 10 g group on day 6, indicating that the gas remover can effectively remove gas generated from the vacuum-packaged seaweed knots to prevent the expansion in the vacuum sealer bag. After 5 days, the vacuum-packaged seaweed knots in the control bag were found to suffer from significant reduction in quality, such as dehydration and decay, while the seaweed knots vacuum-packaged with the gas remover still had good quality on day 10, indicating that the gas remover can significantly prolong the storage period and shelf life of the seaweed knots in the vacuum sealer bag.

Example 8 Removal of Gas Produced by Vacuum-Packaged Durian Pulp

(46) (1) Preparation of gas removers

(47) Calcium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and water were mixed in a mass ratio of 75:5:20 to produce a mixture. Then the mixture was granulated by a granulator to obtain columnar particles with a diameter of 5 mm and a height of 7 mm. The columnar particles were packaged with wrapping paper to prepare a 10 g gas remover, where the wrapping paper was prepared from two layers of films by thermal sealing, and an inner layer of the wrapping paper was a composite plastic film with air pores and an outer layer of the wrapping paper was a permeable PE membrane.

(48) (2) Vacuum Packaging

(49) Commercially available fresh durian was peeled manually to obtain durian pulp containing seeds. 80 g of the durian pulp together with the 10 g gas remover was placed in a vacuum sealer bag and vacuum packaged. 80 g of the durian pulp free of the gas remover was vacuum packaged in a bag as a control. The two bags were observed under light at 25° C.

(50) As shown in FIG. 8, the expansion occurred in the control bag on day 3 and in the bag with the 10 g gas remover on day 8, indicating that the gas remover can effectively remove gas generated from the vacuum-packaged durian pulp to prevent the expansion in the vacuum sealer bag. After 8 days, the durian pulps in the two bags were both found to have good quality, indicating that the gas remover did not affect the quality of the durian pulp in the vacuum sealer bag.

(51) In summary, the gas remover provided herein can effectively remove gas generated from the vacuum-packaged plant-based agricultural products to avoid the expansion in the vacuum sealer bag, extending the storage period and shelf life of the plant-based agricultural products. Moreover, the gas remover has low cost, and is free of toxicity and environmental pollution and complies with the standards for food additives.

(52) As used herein, terms “an embodiment”, “embodiments”, “an example”, “specific examples” and “examples” all refer to at least one embodiment or example including specific features, structures and materials of the invention. These terms are illustrative and are not limited to the same embodiment. The specific features, structures, materials or features of the invention disclosed herein can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. In addition, those skilled in the art can obtain other embodiments by combining the embodiments or examples disclosed herein.

(53) It should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Any changes, modifications, transformations and replacements made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention shall fall within the scope of the invention.