Flavor scalping by polyethylene sealants

Abstract

• The degree of scalping of a flavorant is inversely related with its water solubility. • Higher scalping was observed for LLDPE sealants with the lowest density. • Sensorial differentiation between LLDPE sealants based on flavor scalping will not occur. Flavor scalping, i.e. the sorption of food aroma compounds by packaging materials, can lead to a loss of product quality and potential damage to the package. In this study, the flavor scalping performance of 14 different Linear Low Density Polyethylene sealant resins was comparatively evaluated in stand-up pouch applications. In sunflower oil as the matrix, no significant flavor scalping was observed. In aqueous model systems clear indications of flavor scalping were observed for limonene, decanal and 2(E)-nonenal. The degree of scalping of a specific flavorant was found to be inversely related with the water solubility. Comparing the flavor scalping data obtained for the different sealant resins in aqueous model systems showed significantly higher scalping for the sealants with the lowest density. Differences between the tested sealant resins are limited, and are not expected to generate sensorial differentiation between the sealant resins, in the density range (0.902 – 0.919 g/ml) evaluated.