Rapid assessment of food/package interactions by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).

Food components migrating through organic layers are able to influence the adhesive properties of multilayer materials. In the case of coated metal substrates the interaction stability may be reduced by delamination and subsequent corrosion processes during storage. Impedance spectroscopy can be used to give a very early indication of a reduced interaction stability of a packaging material by measuring the delamination tendency. Applications are presented for laminated aluminium foil material. The delamination is induced by a cathodic treatment of samples prepared from the package. A comparison is made of material with no contact and with only a few days contact with the filled product. Main applications are foreseen as the replacement of long-term storage tests to establish the compatibility of food and package material and to work out the specific influence of individual food components.