Packaging-flavour interactions 153 influence on flavour absorption by plastic packaging materials in different food matrices has been unclear for a long time. Van Willige et al(2000a, b) showed that food components can affect the quantity of absorbed flavour compounds by LLDPE in the following order: oil or fat > polysaccharides and proteins disaccharides. Because of the lipophilic character of many flavour compounds food products with a high oil or fat content will lose less flavour by absorption into LLDPE packaging than food products containing no or a small quantity of 8.4 The role of differing packaging materials An important requirement in selecting food-packaging systems is the barrier properties of the packaging material. Barrier properties include permeability of gases(such as O2, CO2, N2 and ethylene), water vapour, aroma compounds and light. These are vital factors for maintaining the quality of foods. a good barrier to moisture and oxygen keeps a product crisp and fresh, and reduces oxidation of food constituents. Plastics are widely used for food packaging due to their flexibility, variability in size and shape, thermal stability, and barrier properties PE and PP have been used for many years because of their good heat sealability low costs and low water vapour permeability. However, poor gas permeability makes laminating of PE with aluminium foil and paper necessary. During the last decades, PET and, to a lesser extent, PC have found increased use for food packaging. PET has good mechanical properties, excellent transparency and relatively low permeability to gases. PC is tough, stiff, hard and transparent, but has poor gas permeability properties and is still quite expensive &s Unlike glass, plastics are not inert allowing mass transport of compounds such water, gases, flavours, monomers and fatty acids between a food product, package and the environment due to permeation, migration and absorption. The quality and shelf-life of plastic-packaged food depend strongly on physical and chemical properties of the polymeric film and the interactions between food components and package during storage. Several investigations showed that considerable amounts of aroma compounds can be absorbed by plastic packaging materials, resulting in loss of aroma intensity or an unbalanced flavour profile(van Willige et al., 2000a, b, Arora et al., 1991; Lebosse et al, 1997, Linssen et al. 1991b, Nielsen et al., 1992; Paik, 1992) Absorption may also indirectly affect the food quality by causing delamination of multilayer packages (Olafsson and Hildingsson, 1995: Olafsson et al., 1995)or by altering the barrier and mechanical properties of plastic packaging materials (Tawfik et al., 1998). Oxygen permeability through the packaging is an important factor for the shelf-life of many packed foods. Little information is available in literature about the influence of absorbed compounds on the oxygen permeability of packaging materials. Hirose et al.(1988)reported that the oxygen permeability of LDPE and two types of ionomer increased due to the presence of absorbed d-limonene. Johansson and Leufven(1994) studied the effect of rapeseed oil on the oxygen barrier propertiesinfluence on flavour absorption by plastic packaging materials in different food matrices has been unclear for a long time. Van Willige et al. (2000a,b) showed that food components can affect the quantity of absorbed flavour compounds by LLDPE in the following order: oil or fat >> polysaccharides and proteins > disaccharides. Because of the lipophilic character of many flavour compounds, food products with a high oil or fat content will lose less flavour by absorption into LLDPE packaging than food products containing no or a small quantity of oil. 8.4 The role of differing packaging materials An important requirement in selecting food-packaging systems is the barrier properties of the packaging material. Barrier properties include permeability of gases (such as O2, CO2, N2 and ethylene), water vapour, aroma compounds and light. These are vital factors for maintaining the quality of foods. A good barrier to moisture and oxygen keeps a product crisp and fresh, and reduces oxidation of food constituents. Plastics are widely used for food packaging due to their flexibility, variability in size and shape, thermal stability, and barrier properties. PE and PP have been used for many years because of their good heat sealability, low costs and low water vapour permeability. However, poor gas permeability makes laminating of PE with aluminium foil and paper necessary. During the last decades, PET and, to a lesser extent, PC have found increased use for food packaging. PET has good mechanical properties, excellent transparency and relatively low permeability to gases. PC is tough, stiff, hard and transparent, but has poor gas permeability properties and is still quite expensive. Unlike glass, plastics are not inert allowing mass transport of compounds such as water, gases, flavours, monomers and fatty acids between a food product, package and the environment due to permeation, migration and absorption. The quality and shelf-life of plastic-packaged food depend strongly on physical and chemical properties of the polymeric film and the interactions between food components and package during storage. Several investigations showed that considerable amounts of aroma compounds can be absorbed by plastic packaging materials, resulting in loss of aroma intensity or an unbalanced flavour profile (Van Willige et al., 2000a,b; Arora et al., 1991; Lebosse´ et al., 1997; Linssen et al., 1991b; Nielsen et al., 1992; Paik, 1992) Absorption may also indirectly affect the food quality by causing delamination of multilayer packages (Olafsson and Hildingsson, 1995; Olafsson et al., 1995) or by altering the barrier and mechanical properties of plastic packaging materials (Tawfik et al., 1998). Oxygen permeability through the packaging is an important factor for the shelf-life of many packed foods. Little information is available in literature about the influence of absorbed compounds on the oxygen permeability of packaging materials. Hirose et al. (1988) reported that the oxygen permeability of LDPE and two types of ionomer increased due to the presence of absorbed d-limonene. Johansson and Leufve´n (1994) studied the effect of rapeseed oil on the oxygen barrier properties Packaging-flavour interactions 153