Oxygen analyzer and sensor solutions for a wide range of food and beverage applications including modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), beverage carbonation, inert gas blanketing, and large-scale food processing. In environments where atmosphere purity is critical, our sensors provide the precise oxygen control required to prevent food spoilage, maximize shelf life, ensure product consistency, and maintain stringent safety standards across all food and beverage production processes.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) preserves the quality of fresh produce, prolongs shelf life, and enables perishable products to be shipped further by replacing ambient air in packaging with an inert gas or specialized gas mixture. This process is essential for maintaining the integrity of various products, including meats, dairy, bread, fruits, vegetables, and snack foods. Oxygen management is critical in this environment; while it is often excluded to prevent oxidation and inhibit microbial growth, controlled levels are sometimes utilized to prevent discoloration in red meat and to discourage the growth of anaerobic organisms.
Beyond packaging, beverage production—such as the brewing process—relies on inert gas “blanketing” to protect products from oxidation and spoilage. Utilizing an inert gas, such as $CO_2$, to provide pressure above the surface of a liquid not only prevents spoilage but also stops dissolved gases from coming out of the solution, ensuring beverages maintain their intended carbonation and quality. To support these operations, onsite gas generation via PSA/VPSA systems is commonly employed, requiring reliable, continuous monitoring to ensure that generated gases meet the necessary purity specifications.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) Maintaining the correct gas composition within food packaging is critical to extending shelf life and preserving product quality. Our analyzers monitor oxygen levels in real-time during the gas flushing and sealing process to ensure the inert environment is correctly established, preventing oxidation and microbial spoilage for meats, dairy, produce, and baked goods.
Beverage Processing & Brewing Oxidation is a primary cause of spoilage in beverages like beer, wine, and juices. We provide continuous oxygen monitoring for inert gas blanketing applications, ensuring that head-space gas maintains the necessary purity and pressure to prevent gas breakout and protect the flavor profile from atmospheric degradation.
On-Site Gas Generation (PSA/VPSA) Many food and beverage facilities use PSA or VPSA generators to produce nitrogen or other gases on-site for packaging and blanketing. Continuous, high-accuracy monitoring at the outlet of the generator is essential to verify that the gas purity meets the stringent requirements of the production line before it is used in the packaging or storage process.
Gas Mixing & Blending Systems Precise gas mixtures are often required for specific MAP applications, such as adjusting oxygen levels for red meat color preservation or specific fruit ripening control. Our analyzers are used to verify the accuracy of gas mixing skids, ensuring that the final gas blend delivered to the packaging machine consistently matches the target specifications.
Storage & Facility Safety In environments where inert gases like nitrogen or carbon dioxide are used extensively for blanketing and storage, safety is paramount. We support the integration of area monitoring solutions that track oxygen levels in confined spaces, storage areas, and production rooms to prevent asphyxiation risks and ensure compliance with workplace safety standards.
In food and beverage manufacturing, atmospheric control is a fundamental process parameter. Uncontrolled oxygen contamination or improper gas mixtures lead to significant losses, including:
Inconsistent Quality: Small variations in gas purity directly affect the shelf life, freshness, and chemical properties of your end products.
Safety Risks: In environments using nitrogen or carbon dioxide for blanketing, improper monitoring can lead to dangerous oxygen-deficient zones, posing a severe risk to personnel.
Our analyzers provide the real-time feedback required to detect process upsets antes de they become failures, ensuring your production line remains productive and safe.
OMD-150
Provides constant online monitoring to ensure that nitrogen generated via PSA/VPSA systems meets the required purity standards for food packaging.
OMD-640
Ideal for spot-checking $CO_2$ blanketing environments, offering unique features such as USB data logging to record oxygen levels in an Excel-compatible (.csv) format.
OMD-650
A robust, battery-operated analyzer ideal for quick spot-checking on packaging lines. This analyzer helps verify MAP seal integrity and the accuracy of gas flushing processes.
OMD-480
A wall-mount transmitter designed for continuous process control. It is perfect for gas blending skids or beverage carbonation lines where long-term stability and remote monitoring are required.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) & Fresh Produce
In MAP applications, the internal packaging atmosphere is the most critical quality parameter. Precise oxygen control directly dictates the shelf life of fresh produce, the prevention of spoilage, and the maintenance of product freshness. Whether you are excluding oxygen to prevent oxidation or maintaining specific levels to inhibit microbial growth and prevent discoloration in products like red meat, accurate, continuous oxygen measurement is essential to ensure consistent product quality and meet consumer safety standards. Our trace oxygen analyzers provide the sensitivity and rapid response times needed to monitor packaging atmosphere conditions in real time, detect gas flushing fluctuations, and confirm that the atmosphere meets quality specifications throughout the production cycle.
Beverage Processing & Inert Gas Blanketing
Inert gas blanketing (using $CO_2$ or Nitrogen) is a standard industrial practice in brewing and beverage production to prevent the oxidation of liquids and maintain flavor integrity. The effectiveness of this protective blanket depends entirely on keeping oxygen levels below the threshold required to prevent spoilage and keeping pressure high enough to prevent gas breakout, which renders beverages flat. Continuous online monitoring at critical process points provides real-time confirmation that the inert blanket is maintained. It alerts operators immediately if oxygen levels rise above the setpoint due to supply interruptions or process changes, ensuring that product quality remains high and consistent.
On-Site Gas Generation & Feed Verification
Food and beverage facilities utilizing on-site PSA/VPSA nitrogen generation require ultra-high purity atmospheres to ensure process safety and product consistency. Oxygen contamination in process gas feeds can lead to batch degradation and spoilage. Point-of-use oxygen monitoring at the gas feed inlet provides the earliest possible detection of gas purity degradation. This allows operators to identify issues before contaminated gases reach the packaging or bottling lines, effectively protecting the batch integrity and preventing process upsets.
General Industrial Installation Considerations
Sample system design is vital in food and beverage applications, where gases may be at varying pressures or used in specialized environments. All sample system wetted materials—tubing, fittings, and valves—must be specified for industrial service to minimize leaks and outgassing. For high-pressure supply lines, appropriate pressure reduction must be installed upstream of the analyzer to ensure accurate, repeatable measurements within the specified flow range. Southland Sensing provides expert application support to assist with sample system design, material selection, and installation guidance tailored to your facility’s unique gas composition, pressure, and flow requirements.
Refer to our O₂ Sensor Compatibility Guide to confirm the correct sensor for your specific analyzer model and food or beverage application.
Our application engineers assist with sensor selection, installation, and hazardous area questions.
Our application engineers are available to assist with sensor selection, installation guidance, and hazardous area classification questions for your hydrogen production system.
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