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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/modified-atmosphere-packaging-patent-landscape-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-08-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Packaging & Food PreservationModified Atmosphere Packaging Patents: Who Holds the Claims and Where Filing Is Headed
A data-backed look at modified atmosphere packaging patents: who holds the most families, how filing volume has moved since 2017, and where the technology classes concentrate.
1,818
Published Records
18%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-43%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
CN
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth = 2021 (75 records) → 2024 (43); 2024 is the last year we treat as complete. Top-5 share = the 5 largest assignees ÷ all 1,818 records in scope (CR5), not the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··6 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What the modified atmosphere packaging patent record shows
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) sits at the intersection of container engineering and food preservation: claims typically combine a physical structure — a film, tray, or gas-permeable membrane — with a defined gas mixture intended to slow respiration or spoilage. The dataset behind this page covers 1,818 published records filed or published between 2015 and the 2026 cut-off, drawn from filings that reference modified or controlled atmosphere packaging in either the title/abstract or the claims, and that are classified under container, packaging, or food-preservation IPC codes.
The representative record in this set, US4943440A from General Mills, dates back to 1990 and already shows the pattern that recurs across the field: a sealed container, a defined headspace gas composition, and a permeable portion to manage exchange. Recent filings build on the same structural logic with different materials, sensors, or gas-management mechanisms rather than replacing it outright.
Filing volume and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Modified Atmosphere Packaging Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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The Numbers
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,818-record dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
Filing volume, 2017-2026
Filings ran at 81 in 2017, climbed to a peak of 85 in 2020, and had fallen to 8 by 2026 — though the last one to two years are always undercounted because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months. The more reliable read is 2021 to 2024, where volume dropped from 75 to 43, a 43% decline over that three-year span. That is a real cooling in new filing activity, not a data artefact, but it should not be read as the field emptying out: it more likely reflects consolidation around established structural approaches rather than a collapse in commercial interest.
Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in. Growth rates on this page therefore end at 2024; running them to the last bar would understate the field.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
B65D (containers and packaging) appears on 61.1% of all 1,818 records, making it the single most common classification in the set, ahead of A23B food preservation at 40.8% and B65B packaging and wrapping at 34.5%. Because a record can carry more than one IPC code, these figures sum to well over 100%; the pattern still shows that most MAP claims are built as packaging-structure inventions with a food-preservation function attached, rather than the reverse. Smaller classes such as C08J and C08L (polymer processing and compositions, 4.4% and 3.2% respectively) and G01N (material analysis and testing, 2.6%) mark where materials science and monitoring intersect the core packaging claims, but at much lower density.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,818 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Modified Atmosphere Packaging Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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The most-cited patents in modified atmosphere packaging
Representative Filing
US4943440A — Controlled atmosphere cut vegetable produce package and method
GENERAL MILLS, INC.
Filed by General Mills and granted in 1990, this patent discloses a sealed, imperforate container holding cut vegetable produce in a bed depth of about 1 to 6 inches, with an equilibrium headspace of 1.5 to 8% oxygen, 8 to 12% carbon dioxide and balance nitrogen, plus a gas-permeable portion to sustain that equilibrium without added absorbents or anti-oxidants.Notable for defining a specific equilibrium gas composition as the operative claim element, a structure later filings still reference or design around.
View full patent record →Most-cited records in scope
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6050412A | Method and apparatus for packaging and shipping horticultural products including cut flowers | 167 |
| 2 | US6085930A | Controlled atmosphere package | 154 |
| 3 | US7585528B2 | Package having an inflated frame | 148 |
| 4 | US5730311A | Controlled atmosphere package | 144 |
| 5 | US5575418A | Corrugated paperboard package systems with gas-permeable plastic membranes for modified atmosphere packaging … | 137 |
| 6 | US4910032A | Water-permeable controlled atmosphere packaging device from cellophane and microporous film | 137 |
| 7 | US4515266A | Modified atmosphere package and process | 121 |
| 8 | US5698250A | Modifield atmosphere package for cut of raw meat | 115 |
| 9 | US4923703A | Container comprising uniaxial polyolefin/filler films for controlled atmosphere packaging | 106 |
| 10 | US5160768A | Curable silicone-coated microporous films for controlled atmosphere packaging | 99 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older filings; a low-citation recent filing is not necessarily a weak one.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Modified Atmosphere Packaging Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the concentration and geography data tell you
Ownership, geography and co-filing patterns each point to a field that is active but not tightly locked up by any one player.
Ownership
105 records
leading assignee
No single company controls the field
The leading assignee holds 105 of 1,818 records, and the top 5 combined account for 17.7% of all records in scope. That leaves a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants, which means freedom-to-operate analysis has to look well past the household names.
Top 10 combined reach 24.5% of the 1,818 records in scope.
Geography
China 375
leading receiving office
Filing is spread across offices, not concentrated in one
China leads receiving offices with 375 filings, followed by the United States at 284 and the EPO at 252. WIPO PCT filings (149) sit below several national offices, suggesting a good share of applicants file directly in target markets rather than routing everything through a single international application.
Australia (140) and Canada (126) round out the top six receiving offices.
Technology mix
61.1%
of records touch B65D
Container structure claims outweigh gas-chemistry claims
B65D container and packaging claims appear on 61.1% of the 1,818 records, well ahead of A23B food preservation at 40.8%. Materials-focused classes like C08J and C08L sit at 4.4% and 3.2% respectively, indicating that most inventive effort still goes into container and film structure rather than novel polymer chemistry.
A record can carry multiple IPC codes, so these shares are not mutually exclusive.
Collaboration
10 pairs
co-assignee pairs identified
Co-filing is limited and mostly regional
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, the strongest linking a Chinese university with an equipment maker at 6 shared records. Most filers in this field patent independently rather than through joint ventures, which limits how much can be inferred about supply-chain partnerships from co-assignment data alone.
Strongest pairs involve one university-industry link and two packaging-company pairings.
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Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Modified Atmosphere Packaging Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Next Steps
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with room at the edges even where the core structural claims are dense.
Map freedom-to-operate against the long tail
With the top 10 assignees holding only 24.5% of 1,818 records, a freedom-to-operate check needs to cover single-filing entrants, not just the familiar packaging majors.
Explore assignees in Eureka →Track the materials-science edge of the field
C08J and C08L filings sit at 4.4% and 3.2% of records respectively, well below the core packaging classes, suggesting materials innovation is less claimed and worth watching for new entrants.
Run a white space search in Eureka →Watch the post-2024 filings as they publish
Because publication lags filing by around 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures will keep rising; re-check the trend once those years settle before drawing conclusions about a slowdown.
Set up a filing alert in Eureka →Source: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Modified Atmosphere Packaging Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Common questions about modified atmosphere packaging patents
The leading assignee in this dataset holds 105 of the 1,818 records in scope, with the top 5 assignees combined accounting for 17.7% of all records. That leaves the majority of filings spread across a long tail of smaller filers, including universities and regional packaging companies. Anyone assessing competitive position should look beyond the top names, since concentration at the top is lower than in many mature packaging fields.
Filing volume peaked at 85 in 2020 and declined to 43 by 2024, a 43% drop from the 2021 level of 75 over that three-year span. That is the most reliable recent trend, because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months and the 2025-2026 figures are still filling in. The decline likely reflects consolidation around established packaging structures rather than a drop in commercial relevance.
B65D, the container and packaging classification, appears on 61.1% of the 1,818 records in scope, ahead of A23B food preservation at 40.8% and B65B packaging and wrapping at 34.5%. Because records often carry multiple IPC codes, these percentages overlap rather than sum to 100%. The pattern shows that most inventive activity centres on packaging structure, with food-preservation function layered on top.
China leads receiving offices with 375 filings, ahead of the United States at 284 and the European Patent Office at 252. WIPO's PCT route accounts for 149 filings, lower than several national offices, which suggests many applicants file directly in target jurisdictions. Australia and Canada follow at 140 and 126 respectively, rounding out a geographically spread filing pattern.
US4943440A, filed by General Mills and granted in 1990, claims a sealed container holding cut vegetable produce with a specific equilibrium headspace gas composition of 1.5 to 8% oxygen, 8 to 12% carbon dioxide and balance nitrogen, achieved without added absorbents. It remains one of the most-cited records in this dataset and establishes a claim pattern — container plus defined gas equilibrium plus permeable portion — that recurs across later filings. Its direct claims are likely expired given the 1990 grant date, but the structural approach it codified still shapes how newer patents are drafted around it.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Modified Atmosphere Packaging Patent Landscape covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-08-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company's registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.