Condensation in food packaging

[ShoeBox Oven]

I am a small farmer's market baker. I package my pastries in plastic bags and plastic containers. My packaging fits well with my pastries and they give a clear view for my customers to see the product inside. The pastries are packaged after they have been cooled for at least 4 hours. I package them inside, but once I transport them to the outside market most of the packaging develops perpetual condensation. Even if I wipe the condensation off and close the bag or container, the condensation returns. This of course obscures the view and it wrecks havoc with my product.

Any ideas on how to prevent this with my existing plastic bags and containers?

Edited June 12, 2006 by ShoeBox Oven (log)

[highchef]

what sort of bags, what area of the country are you in?

There is a reason for presevatives, but I know what you're talking about...you want to deliver fresh stuff.

the humidity and time of day could be the problem. I know when I take photo's, I cannot leave a cool house and go outside and expect to take pic's until the condensation on the lens cools off. Maybe you should pack outside. Where the heat is the same as the packing???

That's if it's really, like fresh baked stuff.

[chef koo]

i'm thinking that you're packaging stuff before it's completely cooled and rested

[BarbaraY]

Or it could be that your product warms up in the warm out doors causing it to have condensation.

[tryska]

I was thinking that perhaps you are packaging before it's fully cool as well, but you may also need packaging that has ventilation holes in it.

I know the bakery at my local uses bags that have tiny holes all over it, which allows the bread to breathe.

[ShoeBox Oven]

Hi. Thank you so much for your suggestions.

Everything is completely cooled. As mentioned, inside in a controlled environment the bags are fine, no condensation. But once taken outside condensation abounds. Here is the type of bags I'm using:

http://www.glerup.com/cart/detail.cfm?&id=...ItemNumber=B168

Would poking holes in the bag affect the quality of the product? I'm putting pastries such as cookies inside the bags.

[ShoeBox Oven]

what sort of bags, what area of the country are you in?

There is a reason for presevatives, but I know what you're talking about...you want to deliver fresh stuff.

the humidity and time of day could be the problem.  I know when I take photo's, I cannot leave a cool house and go outside and expect to take pic's until the condensation on the lens cools off. Maybe you should pack outside. Where the heat is the same as the packing???

That's if it's really, like fresh baked stuff.

←

Everything is baked on Thursday and Friday for the Saturday market. So it is all rather fresh. I think I wont pack until I get to the market or maybe I wont close up the bags until I get to the market. I'm not sure. It is a real puzzler.

[tryska]

i think this is the type of packaging the bread around me comes in:

PERFORATED POLYPROPYLENE AND POLYESTER FILMS FOR BREAD PACKAGING

Corapack offers packaging films with several densities of perforation in order to optimise the shelf-life of the product, according to the kind of bread and the final market.

Fresh crusty breads usually require polypropylene film in 15my, 20my or 25my with a density of perforation of 4, 6, 9 or 25 holes per cm².

Sliced breads, in order to avoid excessive transpiration, require a lower density of perforation (0.25 or 1 holes per cm²).

For frozen breads to be warmed in traditional or microwaves ovens, Corapack offers a range of polyester films that can resist to 220°C. This application is the most common one in small supermarkets and aerial catering service.

from: http://www.packaging-technology.com/contra...rials/corapack/

[Tweety69bird]

Can you leave the packages unsealed until you reach outside, and let them acclimate to the change in temperature before you close them?

[eatrustic]

Make sure that your indoor temperature is not a lot higher than the outdoor one or your goodies will still cause condensation once packaged. Try using a fan on them for an hour or so to cool them even more.

If the sun is hitting the bagged items it's game over as they will definitely "condense" and later mold.