NEW EVENT! Cutting-edge Trends for Every Industry at PACK EXPO Southeast
Discover packaging & processing solutions for all industries at the all-new PACK EXPO Southeast in Atlanta, GA, March 10-12, 2025
LAST CHANCE! Register ASAP for $30

MAP packaging hits turbulence

Petition raises questions of safety and approval of new, low-oxygen varieties of case-ready meat packs.

Petitions raise questions of safety and approval of new, low-oxygen varieties of case-ready meat packs.
Petitions raise questions of safety and approval of new, low-oxygen varieties of case-ready meat packs.

Low-oxygen modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is just taking off, but it has already hit some turbulence which could bring it crashing to the ground before it reaches cruising altitude.

Making the waves is Kalsec, Inc., a manufacturer of spices and other food ingredients. Kalsec filed a petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last November asking the agency to ban the use of carbon monoxide in low-oxygen MAP. The complaint landed at the agency just as companies like Tyson Foods, Cargill Meat Solutions, and Hormel Foods Corp. are planning broader use of the relatively new case-ready meat packaging technology.

The FDA is also taking a closer look at MAP used with fresh-cut fruits and produce. But here, there are no allegations that MAP has been improperly approved. Rather, the agency wants to insure via a just-released draft guidance document that produce companies are using MAP properly.

The threat to the use of low-oxygen MAP with case-ready meats is by far the more serious concern. Typically, a petition like the one submitted by Kalsec starts a 180-day period during which the FDA puts together information and ultimately makes a decision. Kalsec made two general points in its petition. First, that carbon monoxide is a color additive and therefore should be approved by the FDA, not used under a GRAS notification.

Second, it said that use of carbon monoxide gas in fresh meat packaging makes meat look fresher than it is and masks spoilage, deceiving consumers and jeopardizing their health. The 180-day clock will undoubtedly continue ticking beyond May because it will be stopped and restarted every time the FDA asks one of the parties to the issue for more information, and waits to receive that data. So there is no telling when the FDA will make a decision on the Kalsec petition.

Not just FDA

But the meat packaging issue has already leaped beyond the FDA’s political boundaries onto the floor of the House, where the issue came up on March 8 during debate over the National Uniformity for Food Act, which would allow the federal government to pre-empt state food labeling laws.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) held up pictures of two packages of meat while making the case for banning use of carbon monoxide in MAP. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, countered by saying the issue was already in the lap of the FDA so there was no need to legislate. Moreover, he said there were no safety problems with the packaging. Stupak lost the vote 170-254. But the issue is likely to come up again in the Senate.

The carbon-monoxide-in-meat-package story began to unfold in 2001 when the FDA did not object to a notification from Pactiv Corp. that it was about to sell a so-called low-oxygen MAP system that included CO at levels below 0.4 percent. High-oxygen MAP has been sold for a decade or more.

Pactiv’s low-oxygen innovation keeps meat fresher longer. Pactiv submitted that notification under an FDA program called Substances Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS), which allows packaging suppliers to sell new systems without getting direct FDA approval as long as the components have already been deemed, in essence, acceptable by the FDA.

INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for All Industries at PACK EXPO Southeast
The exciting new PACK EXPO Southeast 2025 unites all vertical markets in one dynamic hub, generating more innovative answers to your production challenges. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity for your business!
REGISTER FOR $30!
INTRODUCING! The Latest Trends for All Industries at PACK EXPO Southeast
New e-book on Flexible Packaging
In this e-book, you’ll learn key considerations for vertical and horizontal f/f/s and how to choose between premade bags and an f/f/s system. Plus, discover the pitfalls to avoid on bagging machinery projects.
download
New e-book on Flexible Packaging