The gas permeance of coated MA boxes: From the material properties of the components to the performance of the boxes under realistic conditions
(Proceedings 11th IPRI World Conference on Packaging 'Challenges of Packaging in the 21st Century', July 1999, Singapore: pages 342-350)

New packaging techniques such as gas packaging, equilibrium modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), and active packaging have been developed and successfully applied in order to minimise the quality decay of packed perishable products. MAP has found widespread use in consumer packaging of fruits and vegetables. It uses the natural respiration of the product in order to create a micro-climate within the packaging which increases the shelf-life of the product. The product will consume oxygen and produce carbon dioxide which will lead to increased CO₂ levels and decreased O₂ levels compared to the natural composition of the atmosphere. For each type of product, there exist optimal CO₂ and O₂ levels, where the metabolic rate (and thus, the ageing process) of the product is slowed down, and the shelf-life prolonged. For most consumer packages, polymeric films have found widespread use; they are in some cases micro-perforated in order to increase thei permeance. 

This paper investigates the possibilities of applying the MAP technique for coated solid board boxes which are used as transport packaging for fruits and vegetables.