MAP packaging for bread, pizza and bakery products

MAP gas for bakery products: N₂ and CO₂

Nitrogen (N₂) is the primary gas for bakery products. Inert, odourless and with excellent antioxidant effect, it prevents fat rancidity and mould growth. For fresh soft bread, the N₂ 80% + CO₂ 20% mixture is most common: CO₂ adds fungistatic effect without collapsing the pack.

Note: excess CO₂ is absorbed by bread dough (which has high porosity) and can collapse the pack with negative aesthetic effect. For this reason CO₂ does not exceed 20-30% for soft products, while for dry products (breadsticks, crackers) pure N₂ at 100% can be used.

• Fresh soft bread: N₂ 80% + CO₂ 20%
• Fresh pizza: N₂ 60-70% + CO₂ 30-40%
• Breadsticks and crackers: N₂ 100% (dry product, Aw < 0.65)
• Cakes and filled products: N₂ 60% + CO₂ 40%
• Rusks and dry products: N₂ 100% or N₂ flush packaging

Shelf life of bakery products in MAP

Shelf life depends on the product's water activity (Aw). High-Aw products (fresh bread, Aw ≥ 0.92) benefit greatly from MAP: from 3-5 days in air to 30-90 days in MAP with correct barrier. Dry products (Aw < 0.65) already have naturally long shelf life and MAP extends it beyond 12 months.

• Fresh bread (Aw 0.92-0.96): 3-5 days → 30-90 days in MAP
• Fresh pizza (Aw 0.90-0.95): 5-7 days → 30-60 days in MAP
• Snacks and biscuits (Aw < 0.65): 60-90 days → 12+ months in MAP
• Filled bakery products: variable, test with challenge test

Bakery packaging machines: which to choose

For sliced bread and loaves, horizontal flow wrappers are used to wrap the product in polypropylene or PE film without compression. For round pizzas in trays, tray sealers with heat-seal film are used. For snacks and breadsticks, horizontal thermoformers create the pack around the product.

High-fragility products (breadsticks, dry biscuits) require gentle feeders with low-speed belts and controlled drop to prevent breakage. EMA Pack MTF/STF machines integrate MAP with gas injection directly into the forming chamber.

• Flow wrapper: sliced bread, loaves, long products
• Tray sealer: pizza in tray, cakes, tall products
• Thermoformer: snacks, breadsticks, fixed-dimension products
• Gentle feeders for fragile products

Packaging materials for bakery

Bakery film must have low oxygen (OTR) and moisture (WVTR) permeability. For fresh bread, PA/PE or PP/PE coextruded films with medium barrier are used. For premium dry products, EVOH films with OTR < 1 cm³/m²·24h·atm are used. Pizza trays can be PP, PET or paperboard with inner PE barrier.

• Bioriented PA/PE: good barrier, flexible, for fresh bread
• PP/PE: economical, for products with 30-60 day shelf life
• EVOH coex: maximum barrier for shelf life > 6 months
• PP trays + peelable film: pizza and tray products