7. Oxidation of food liquids

7.1 Oxygen intake, oxidation and inerting

This new criterion concerns the vast majority of liquid foods, and should be taken very seriously when packaging them. All food products, whether liquid or solid, are sensitive to oxidation, and with the exception of very rare cases such as still waters, which require at least 5 mg/L of dissolved oxygen to be digestible, and the maderization of well-known regional wines (which is the result of oxidation of certain components), it can be said that oxygen is a dangerous element for all liquid foods.

• This gas is responsible for the oxidative aging of foodstuffs, and is at the root of a number of defects ranging from a stewed taste (found in fruit juices), to the baked bread or cardboard taste of...