Removal of oxygen in food packaging by disodium ascorbic acid / PVC coated cap

In order to remove oxygen from food packaging, disodium ascorbic acid/polyvinyl chloride (AsN/PVC) was coated onto its cap. When a container with a AsN/PVC cap containing 100 mg of AsN was used for a storage experiment, the oxygen in it was effectively removed more than 50% from the headspace during 30 days' storage at 35°C. The consumption behavior of oxygen was found to depend on the headspace volume of the container; for the container with 31 ml of headspace volume the O₂ consumption ratio per volume was 1.4-fold higher than that for the container with 77.5 ml of the volume. Also, the O₂ consumption lowered with lower storage temperature. By using the AsN/PVC cap, flavors in the container were successfully preserved from the oxidative deterioration; the residual ratios for n-hexanal, n-heptanal, d-limonene, and α-pinene with the AsN/PVC cap were 65.0%, 48.9%. 39.1% and 41.0%, respectively after 42 days' storage. In addition, when the cap was used for a liquid food container with 46.5 ml of headspace volume, more than 85% of dissolved oxygen was found to be removed from 0.1% arabic gum solution within 25 days' storage.