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Food packaging

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File:No-carb pork.jpg
A sealed pack of diced pork from Tesco. It shows the cooking time, number of servings, 'display until' date, 'use by' date, weight in kg, price, price to weight ratio in both £/kg and £/lb, freezing and storage instructions. It says 'Less than 3% Fat' and 'No Carbs per serving' and includes a barcode. The Union Flag, British Farm Standard tractor logo, and British Meat Quality Standard logo imply that it is British pork.

Food packaging is packaging for food. It requires protection, tampering resistance, and special physical, chemical, or biological needs. It also shows the product that is labeled to show any nutrition information on the food being consumed.

Principles of food packaging

The main general principle of food packaging is better containment, protection against physical, chemical, biological and environmental factors. To aid consumers in using products, communicate, educate about the ingredients, nutritional contents and the materials used to provide the protection.

Functions of food packaging

Packaging has several objectives:[1]

  • Physical protection - The food enclosed in the package may require protection from, among other things, shock, vibration, compression, temperature, etc.
  • Barrier protection - A barrier from oxygen, water vapor, dust, etc., is often required. Permeation is a critical factor in design. Some packages contain desiccants or Oxygen absorbers to help extend shelf life. Modified atmospheres or controlled atmospheres are also maintained in some food packages. Keeping the contents clean, fresh, and safe for the intended shelf life is a primary function.
  • Containment or agglomeration - Small items are typically grouped together in one package for reasons of efficiency. powders, and granular materials need containment.
  • Information transmission - Packages and labels communicate how to use, transport, recycle, or dispose of the package or product. Some types of information are required by governments.
  • Marketing - The packaging and labels can be used by marketers to encourage potential buyers to purchase the product. Package design has been an important and constantly evolving phenomenon for several decades. Marketing communications and graphic design are applied to the surface of the package and (in many cases) the point of sale display.
  • Security - Packaging can play an important role in reducing the security risks of shipment. Packages can be made with improved tamper resistance to deter tampering and also can have tamper-evident features to help indicate tampering. Packages can be engineered to help reduce the risks of package pilferage: Some package constructions are more resistant to pilferage and some have pilfer indicating seals. Packages may include authentication seals to help indicate that the package and contents are not counterfeit. Packages also can include anti-theft devices, such as dye-packs, RFID tags, or electronic article surveillance tags, that can be activated or detected by devices at exit points and require specialized tools to deactivate. Using packaging in this way is a means of retail loss prevention.
  • Convenience - Packages can have features which add convenience in distribution, handling, stacking, display, sale, opening, reclosing, use, and reuse.
  • Portion control - Single serving packaging has a precise amount of contents to control usage. Bulk commodities (such as salt) can be divided into packages that are a more suitable size for individual households. It also aids the control of inventory: selling sealed one-liter-bottles of milk, rather than having people bring their own bottles to fill themselves.

Food packaging types

The above materials are fashioned into different types of food packages and containers such as:

Packaging type Type of container Food examples
Aseptic processings Primary Liquid whole eggs
Plastic trays Primary Portion of fish
Bags Primary Potato chips
Boxes Secondary Box of Coca-Cola
Cans Primary Can of Campbell's Tomato soup.
Cartons Primary Carton of eggs
Flexible packaging Primary Bagged salad
Pallets Tertiary A series of boxes on a single pallet used to transport from the manufacturing plant to a distribution center.
Wrappers Tertiary Used to wrap the boxes on the pallet for transport.

Primary packaging is the main package that holds the food that is being processed. Secondary packaging combines the primary packages into one box being made. Tertiary packaging combines all of the secondary packages into one pallet.

There are also special containers that combine different technologies for maximum durability:

Packaging machines

A choice of packaging machinery includes technical capabilities, labor requirements, worker safety, maintainability, serviceability, reliability, ability to integrate into the packaging line, capital cost, floorspace, flexibility (change-over, materials, etc.), energy usage, quality of outgoing packages, qualifications (for food, phamaceuticals, etc.), throughput, efficiency, productivity, ergonomics, etc.

Packaging machines may be of the following general types:

  • Blister, Skin and Vacuum Packaging Machines
  • Capping, Over-Capping, Lidding, Closing, Seaming and Sealing Machines
  • Cartoning machines
  • Case and Tray Forming, Packing, Unpacking, Closing and Sealing Machines
  • Check weighing machines
  • Cleaning, Sterilizing, Cooling and Drying Machines
  • Conveying, Accumulating and Related Machines
  • Feeding, Orienting, Placing and Related Machines
  • Filling Machines: handling liquid and powdered products
  • Package Filling and Closing Machines
  • Form, Fill and Seal Machines
  • Inspecting, Detecting and Checkweighing Machines
  • Palletizing, Depalletizing, Pallet Unitizing and Related Machines
  • Product Identification: labelling, marking, etc.
  • Wrapping Machines
  • Converting Machines
  • Other speciality machinery

Reducing Food Packaging

Reduced packaging and sustainable packaging are becoming more frequent. The motivations can be government regulations, consumer pressure, retailer pressure, and cost control. (Reduced packaging often saves packaging costs.)[2]

In the UK, A Local Government Association survey produced by the British Market Research Bureau, compared a range of outlets to buy 29 common food items, found that small local retailers and market traders "produced less packaging and more that could be recycled than the larger supermarkets."[3]

Main article: Active packaging

Numerous reports industry associations agree that use of smart indicators will increase. There are a number of different indicators with different benefits for food producers, consumers and retailers.[4]

Temperature Recorders

Temperature recorders are used to monitor products shipped in a cold chain and to help validate the cold chain. Digital temperature data loggers measure and record the temperature history of food shipments. They sometimes have temperatures displayed on the indicator or have other output (lights, etc): The data from a shipment can be downloaded (cable, RFID, etc) to a computer for further analysis. These help identify if there has been temperature abuse of products and can help determine the remaining shelf life.[5] They can also help determine the time of temperature extremes during shipment so corrective measures can be taken.

Time-Temperature Indicators

Time-Temperature Indicators integrate the time and temperature experienced by the indicator and adjacent foods. Some use chemical reactions that result in a color change while others use the migration of a dye through a filter media. To the degree that these physical changes in the indicator match the degradation rate of the food, the indicator can help indicate probable food degradation.[6]

RFID

Radio Frequency Identification is applied to food packages for supply chain control and have shown a significant benefit in allowing food producers and retailers create full real time visibility of their supply chain.

Biodegradable Packaging

Plastic packaging being used is non biodegradable as it causes ecological imbalance and aesthetic deterioration of nature. There is, therefore, great need to develop environment friendly biodegradable packaging materials which do not cause environmental pollution. Biodegradable packaging materials neither promote any waste disposal problems nor affect the trade and safety of the food product.

Biodegradable packaging includes biodegradable films and coatings synthesized from organic materials and microbial polymers. A biodegradable product has a unique characteristic in which microbes such as bacteria, fungi and algae can decompose the rugged polymer structure.[7] American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) declared that any product claiming to be biodegradable must completely decompose into CO2 and water with in a 180 day period[citation needed].

Considering numerous advantages that biodegradable packaging offer over synthetic films[opinion], it can be anticipated that it has a great future in the area of food packaging. Research and Development efforts are required to develop biodegradable packaging having good packaging performance besides being economical.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Bix, L (2003). The Packaging Matrix (PDF). IDS Packaging. Retrieved 2008-12-11. {{cite conference}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |booktitle= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Food Packaging
  3. ^ Farmer markets better at reducing waste
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ Meyers, T (2007). "RFID Shelf-life Monitoring Helps Resolve Disputes". RFID Journal. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Riva, Marco; Piergiovanni, Schiraldi, Luciano; Schiraldi, Alberto (January 2001). "Performances of time-temperature indicators in the study of temperature exposure of packaged fresh foods". Packaging Technology and Science. 14 (1): 1–39. doi:10.1002/pts.521.
  7. ^ Saurabh Sharma, Biodegradable Packaging: Potentialities and Prospects, 'Processed Food Industry' monthly magazine, New Delhi, India

References

  • Brody, A. L., and Marsh, K, S., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 1997, ISBN 0-471-06397-5
  • Hanlon, J.F., R.J. Kelsey, and H.E. Forcinio. (1998). Handbook of Package engineering, Third Edition. Lancaster, PA: Technomic Publishing.
  • Heldman, D.R ed (2003) Encyclopedia of Agricultural, Food, and Biological Engineering. New York: Marcel Dekker
  • Potter, N.N. and J.H. Hotchkiss. (1995). Food Science, Fifth Edition. New York: Chapman & Hall. pp. 478–513.
  • Robertson, G. L. (2002). Food Packaging. ISBN 0849337755
  • Selke, S, (1994). Packaging and the Environment. ISBN 1566761042
  • Selke, S, (2004) "Plastics Packaging", ISBN 1569903727
  • Soroka, W. (2002). Fundamentals of Packaging Technology. Institute of Packagin Professionals. ISBN 1-930268-25-4
  • Stillwell, E. J, (1991) "Packaging for the Environment", A. D. Little, 1991, ISBN 0814450741
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