What Are WVTR And OTR? Understanding Technical Terms In Food Packaging
High-barrier films are the go-to packaging material if you are looking for unbeatable preservative quality for a wide range of products. However, barrier films differ in performance and strength. Therefore prospective buyers need a system to judge the quality and properties of barrier films.
Food packaging companies use terms like Water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and oxygen transmission rate (OTR) to denote how good their barrier films perform. To this average person, these sound like jargon. However, you need to keep an eye out for these terms if you want to use the best packaging films in the market.
In this short article, we will take a look at both terms.
WVTR refers to how much water vapor is escaping an inch square of a material per time. This value is often expressed in g/100 in2/24hr or g/m2/24 hr (SI unit). For instance, a film with a WTVR of 1 g/m2/24 hr will lose one gram of water per square meter of film barrier in one day.
As you might have deduced, this value represents how much oxygen leaves the film barrier. The oxygen transmission rate has a similar unit of measurement to the vapor transmission rate: cc/100 in2/24hr.
Also Read: Types Of Cosmetic Packaging Materials
The transmission rate for oxygen and water vapor in its film gives you an idea of how well it can preserve food and other products such as cosmetics goods and medical products.
High-grade film packaging should preserve the state of its content. Two factors that affect food preservation are moisture and oxidation. Excessive moisture can accelerate food decomposition or affect its taste and quality.
Oxidation, on the other hand, can cause food molecules to break down, discolor food and fruits, and affect their properties (e.g rancidification).
Final thoughts
When choosing film barriers, we recommend that you select one with low WVTR, and OTR values to extend shelf life and the quality of your products.
Also Read: Why OTR is the key to transparent barrier packaging film for healthcare products
Food packaging companies use terms like Water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and oxygen transmission rate (OTR) to denote how good their barrier films perform. To this average person, these sound like jargon. However, you need to keep an eye out for these terms if you want to use the best packaging films in the market.
In this short article, we will take a look at both terms.
What is transmission rate?
The transmission rate, flux, or permeability of a substance is the rate of change or movement of a substance (in this case, water vapor and oxygen) through a barrier (film), per unit area, per unit time. We know; it sounds like a mouthful, but bear with us.What is the water vapor transmission packaging rate?
WVTR refers to how much water vapor is escaping an inch square of a material per time. This value is often expressed in g/100 in2/24hr or g/m2/24 hr (SI unit). For instance, a film with a WTVR of 1 g/m2/24 hr will lose one gram of water per square meter of film barrier in one day.
What is the oxygen transmission rate?
As you might have deduced, this value represents how much oxygen leaves the film barrier. The oxygen transmission rate has a similar unit of measurement to the vapor transmission rate: cc/100 in2/24hr.
Also Read: Types Of Cosmetic Packaging Materials
Why should you care about these terms?
As we mentioned above, WVTR and OTR will tell you about the quality of the film. Other things that affect the quality and durability of packaging films include tear resistance, strength, thermal properties, resilience, etc.The transmission rate for oxygen and water vapor in its film gives you an idea of how well it can preserve food and other products such as cosmetics goods and medical products.
High-grade film packaging should preserve the state of its content. Two factors that affect food preservation are moisture and oxidation. Excessive moisture can accelerate food decomposition or affect its taste and quality.
Oxidation, on the other hand, can cause food molecules to break down, discolor food and fruits, and affect their properties (e.g rancidification).
Final thoughts
When choosing film barriers, we recommend that you select one with low WVTR, and OTR values to extend shelf life and the quality of your products.
Also Read: Why OTR is the key to transparent barrier packaging film for healthcare products
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