Vacuum for packaging lines

Vacuum packaging and reduced oxygen packaging

The 2022 FDA Food Code, the FDA model code for the safety of food offered at retail and in food service, defines vacuum packaging as a process in which air is removed from a package of food and the package is hermetically sealed so that a vacuum remains inside. It is one form of reduced oxygen packaging, which brings the oxygen content of a package below the level normally found in the atmosphere (approximately 21% at sea level); modified atmosphere packaging instead changes the atmosphere of the package so that its composition differs from air.

The Food Code annex notes that, in food establishments, reduced oxygen packaging gives many foods an extended shelf life because it inhibits spoilage organisms that are typically aerobic, but that it can also increase the potential for growth of certain pathogens: if certain controls are not in place, C. botulinum toxin may form before spoilage renders the product unacceptable. The 2019 EU reference document for the food, drink and milk industries lists vacuum packaging among the techniques used to preserve fish that are based on decreasing the oxygen level.

Vacuum on a thermoforming line

In its background, US patent 10,633,133 (granted 2020) notes that on thermoform packaging machines, especially in food packaging, it is common practice to evacuate the atmospheric air from the filled package and to supply a protective gas before sealing. In its background, US patent 11,111,040 (granted 2021) notes that such packaging machines can create a vacuum within the packaging or fill it with a suitable gas, for example to increase shelf life.

Pumps and blowers

In its background, US patent 11,815,105 (2023), on regenerative blowers, also referred to as side channel blowers, lists vacuum packaging and packing equipment among their applications; see side channel blowers.

Ultra Controlo distributes and services Elmo Rietschle and Thomas, two of its five partner brands. Its Industrial 2026 catalogue lists Elmo Rietschle rotary vane vacuum pumps in dry or lubricated versions, dry-running screw vacuum pumps, non-contact oil-free claw vacuum pumps, oil-free air- or water-cooled vacuum pumps, liquid-ring vacuum pumps in stainless steel and ceramic, and side-channel blowers, and Thomas rotary vane pumps for vacuum and gas sampling.