Food producers know that today’s consumers want fresh products that are minimally processed but also have long shelf life. To achieve this, the industry is increasingly relying on modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), which uses gases to control and slow oxidation of fresh food.
Covid-19 has driven even more use of this type of packaging, for a number of reasons. First, wrapped fresh foods appear safer to many consumers than unpackaged raw fruits and vegetables, as the food is protected from contamination by grocery employees and other shoppers. There is no report to date that the virus can spread through the consumption of food, particularly meats and poultry, but the uncertainty can weigh on the minds of some consumers.
Secondly, before vaccines were available, people were shopping less frequently, buying more food per trip and needing fresh foods to last longer. Seeing these trends, food producers continued turning to MAP to meet consumer needs.
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