SPOTLIGHT: Technology

Sterling Foods Uses MultiSorb FreshPax® To Enhance Military Snacks Abroad and Big Softy Pretzels at Home

Cookies with fresh-baked taste and texture boost the morale of U.S. troops, thanks to Multisorb’s oxygen scavenging FreshPax®.

There’s no doubt that tasty food has a positive impact on morale in any environment. Today, U.S. troop morale gets a boost from a variety of shelf-stable foods with desirable taste and texture even under the most grueling conditions in the field. A military food supplier for 20 years, Sterling Foods relies on Multisorb Technologies, Buffalo, NY, and its proprietary FreshPax® oxygen sorbents to produce packaged foods with long term stability that are still appealing and appetizing.

The military currently requires packaged rations to have a shelf life of either 36 or 18 months, depending on the application. Packaging for this long shelf life often necessitates loss of moisture, quality, shape, or texture of the original product, especially when talking about baked goods such as cookies or cakes. For these products, Sterling uses FreshPax to remove residual oxygen from packaged rations, thereby achieving a long shelf life for more products that benefit greatly from retaining the moisture or texture of the original product.

All remaining oxygen

After modifying the atmosphere in a packaged ration to reduce oxygen levels during the packaging process, FreshPax effectively removes all remaining oxygen, including trapped pockets of atmosphere inside the baked items themselves, within 24-48 hours after packing. “Multisorb’s oxygen sorbents are absolutely critical for maintaining the shelf stability in the rations. This is the most efficient method to create a zero oxygen environment with bakery items,” remarks Nick Davis, chief operating officer at Sterling Foods.

There are two films used for the military meals. The first, called the “flexible can,” is a tri-laminate film with polyester, aluminum foil, and nylon layers with a virtual 100% percent barrier against oxygen and moisture transmission. The other film is an EVOH structure film that has a slightly higher transmission rate.

The FreshPax packets are made with FDA grade components and have a low profile design that takes up little space in packaging. There are two types of oxygen sorbents available, oxygen-activated and moisture-activated, and the size, shape, and absorbing capacity of the packets are customizable.

Sterling even taps the brand familiarity of other food manufacturers—like Hershey’s, Nestlé, and Sunkist—for extra flavor and appeal. “We continually receive letters from troops complimenting us on the quality of the products. It really makes us feel good that we’re putting products out there that our troops appreciate,” comments Davis.

Softer soft pretzels

Sterling Foods also uses FreshPax in their ACT II™ Big Softy Soft Pretzel packages to protect the product against oxidation and extend shelf life. The FreshPax packets help Sterling guarantee a Big Softy shelf life of up to five months. The FreshPax packets reduce residual package oxygen below 0.01% in the Big Softy package to eliminate aerobic microbial growth and oxidative chemical reactions in packaging. Another popular application for FreshPax is with dairy processors and cheese manufacturers to naturally maintain the shelf life and quality of packaged cheese and cheese products without additives or preservatives.