Taiyo Nippon Sanso (TNSC) is planning to promote gas applications for the food business focusing newly on food packaging with gas and liquid nitrogen freezers by branding with “Bistranza.”
Gas packaging technologies bring to us such effects as anti-oxidization, germ control or retaining of fresh colors by filling gases to package a variety of food like ready-made dish, meat and cut vegetables.

The main gases used are nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and helium. Mixing equipment and premixed gases are also used depending upon the food.

Hisao Shibutani manager in charge of special sales promotion of TNSC’s Industrial Gas Business Planning Division said, “The main customers like convenience store vendors or supermarkets are keeping an eye on the improvement and efficiency of packaging with gas packaging technologies and the cost reduction by prolonging of best-before dates in the midst of the recent shortage of workers and the automated production. The demand for this gas packaging technology has been on the increase during these years.”

The company will tackle the standardization of new pre-mixed gases and the development of gas mixing equipment, so that the lineup may be enriched for those users who are considering to introduce gas packaging technologies. At the same time the company intends to build up a firm foundation of support systems with dedicated staff-members having gas packaging technology at each business base.
In addition, from the viewpoint that the sense of security causing no discontinuation of gas supply leads to differentiation, the company aims to enhance further the supply system mainly in the metropolitan area where there are many vendors serving convenience stores.

On the other hand, referring to the background of shifting trend from mechanical freezers in use of fluorocarbons under the recent severe restrictions, the manager said, “More users are considering to introduce LIN type freezers fearing future discontinuation of using the current mechanical freezers.” The LIN-type freezers are characteristic in their high- speed freezing which controls cell breakage of foods. It is a subject for the future to realize differentiation from the mechanical freezers by improving uneven freezing with special spraying of LIN and seeking more efficiency such as equalizing of the internal temperature.

Furthermore, TNSC is continuing to improve in a similar way the granular freezing of liquid raw materials with LIN which was developed originally for biological manufacturers, in order to appeal for application in the food field.

The manager is enthusiastic to say, “In the food area people will pay more attention to the booming needs of safe and tasty food. Our branding at this time has been intended to catch hold of this opportunity. We take the opportunity to ensure reliability on our products and appeal it positively.”