The Industrievereinigung für Lebensmitteltechnologie und Verpackung e.V. (IVLV) has published a standard entitled “Testing plastic materials - optical method for
determination of the oxygen permeability of packaging systems (films and molded parts)”. The Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV was involved in
the development of the testing method and prepared the technical bulletin.
The oxygen permeability of a packaging system is one of the most important criteria determining whether that packaging system can be used for foods and pharmaceuticals. Up until now the oxygen permeability has most commonly been measured using
the manometric method or the oxygen-specific carrier gas method with an electrochemical sensor. In recent years there has been further advancement of this sensor technology for oxygen.
There are now oxygen sensors which can be read optically. These are based on fluorescing, oxygen-sensitive layers. The sensors are suitable for use in the gas phase and in liquids. They have become established in biotechnology and beverage technology. They are being increasingly used for permeation measurements, and are currently primarily used for barrier measurements on filled beverage bottles. Key benefits are their efficiency and wide range of applications.
Despite this growing importance, there was a lack of accredited standards and measurement procedures for these new methods. The Fraunhofer IVV has therefore developed and validated a permeation test procedure in collaboration with an industrial
partner. The determination of the oxygen permeability is now described in a standard of the Industrievereinigung für Lebensmitteltechnologie und Verpackung e.V. (IVLV). The IVLV standard can be downloaded free of charge as Technical Bulletin no. 108/2011 in either English or German from the IVLV website (http://ivlv.de/de/Veroeffent.html). The standard will serve as the basis for DIN, CEN, and ISO standards which will be drawn up in collaboration with analytical equipment manufacturers, research institutes, and users starting in 2012 or 2013.
For more information, visit www.ivv.fraunhofer.de