Tulip Food Company is a leading Danish processed food producer. At its Svenstrup plant in the northern part of the country, the company produces about 90 tons of sausages each day. Approximately two-thirds (20) of its production lines uses modified-atmosphere packaging (MAP) of carbon dioxide and nitrogen to keep the product fresh and improve its shelf life.
Because its prior MAP gas-flushing system did not have automatic adjustment capability, it was brought to Tulip’s attention that significant quantities of gas were being wasted. In addition, manual samples were being taken at frequent intervals to ensure the correct mixture was being introduced into the packages. This required more time, resulted in destructive package testing and incurred labor costs.