How to Ensure Quality and Stability of Food Products in MAP Packaging

The package test system Dansensor® Lippke 4000 came to Omnibar’s rescue

Omnibar is a small, innovative company based in Missoula, Montana, US that produces a unique high-nutrition food bar in which the protein content is provided by top-quality beef. Other ingredients include sweet potatoes, organic oats, fl ax seed, almond butter and plums. Since they first appeared on the market in 2013, Omnibars have proved a popular hit with endurance athletes, seeking a calorie-dense food that also has a substantial protein component.

The packaging process required serious consideration. The company was founded by Cooper Burchenal, who was seeking new markets for the high-grade, grass-fed cattle reared on the family ranch in Montana’s Blackfoot River Valley. “We came up with the idea for a calorie-dense food bar that could use beef as the protein in 2010,” says Cooper.

Packaging was an issue that required serious consideration. ”There had been nothing like this, so we were facing some complex scientific questions about shelf life and product stability that would ensure that the product remained fresh and stable, while keeping the regulatory authorities happy,” Cooper says. Vacuum packaging was not feasible as this draws the product’s natural oils to the surface. In addition, oxygen would need to be excluded to prevent oxidation of the oils. The company opted for horizontal fl ow wrapping under a nitrogen fl ush. “We commenced production and everything was going swimmingly, but then we discovered that packaging was failing,” says Cooper. “Over a period of weeks the residual oxygen levels in the packaging were slowly climbing up to regular atmospheric levels. This was a disaster.