General dairy - MAP -Milk Powder Packaging in Metal Cans

MAP -Milk Powder Packaging in Metal Cans

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Category: General dairy
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Topic: MAP -Milk Powder Packaging in Metal Cans

Posted By: vipin
Subject: MAP -Milk Powder Packaging in Metal Cans
Date Posted: 30 Jun 2018 at 8:04am

Hi to all,

I'm quite new this forum.

Want to know about Residual Oxygen percent to be maintained in milk powder cans when only Nitrogen is used for flushing.

We are facing can swelling problem once filled with residual oxygen percentage around 2 % and couldnt find a Optimum ratio to avoid can swelling.

Any suggestions and guide lines in this regard is very much appreciated

Thanks

Vipin

Replies:

Posted By: formula123
Date Posted: 29 Jul 2018 at 5:15pm

Sorry for delay in responding. Surely the issue is this case is the pressure in the can and the external atmospheric pressure.

Many years ago I had a MSc student Ivor Evans working in this area. The issue we were concerned with was cans of powder packed in Northern Ireland going to a high altitude location ( reduced atmospheric pressure compared with here) and ends swelling slightly.

We solved this problem by vacuum packaging and using CO2. This also gave low residual O2 results.

Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 6:42am

Thanks for reply.

We are using Gas flushing using a Vacuum chamber.Filled cans are send with half seaming or clinching to chamber.Inside chamber vacuum is used to suck out all air and later its flushed or filled with Nitrogen . Residual oxygen levels are left around 3%

Still we have swelling issues

Thanks

Vipin

Posted By: formula123
Date Posted: 30 Jul 2018 at 9:23am

For this to be a problem there must be an issue with the pressure difference inside the can and the outside environment! There is no other possibility with milk powder.

Check the pressure inside the can and compare with local pressure. The pressure of gas, in your case N2, must not exceed atmospheric pressure. You need to take temperature into account too!

Could you be flushing with N2 at low ambient temperature and then shipping the cans to a higher temperature environment at a slighter lower atmospheric pressure?