CFSO
Subject: Food Packaging
Aman Shukla
Packaging is used in industry and marketing to contain, protect, identify, and help sell and
distribute products.
The Packaging Institute International defines packaging as enclosing products in various
forms like bags, boxes, or bottles, serving functions like containment, protection,
communication, and utility.
Basic Functions of Packaging:
1. Containment
Packaging keeps the product intact during filling, sealing, transport, and sale.
2. Protection
Packaging prevents contamination from bacteria, insects, and rodents, and protects
against oxidation, moisture changes, aroma loss, and physical damage. It also ensures
food safety and quality.
3. Communication
Packages must meet legal and marketing needs. Labels show processor info,
ingredients, allergens, net content, nutrients, and origin. Graphics promote quality, while
barcodes aid checkout and inventory tracking.
4. Preservation
Protection is crucial to keep the product safe from environmental factors.
5. Convenience
Packaging should be user-friendly, offering various sizes, easy handling, resealability,
and cooking options.
6. Unitization
This involves grouping individual items into a single unit for easier distribution and sale.
7. Presentation
The type, shape, size, and color of packaging enhance product display.
8. Brand Communication
The packaging uses design elements to create a visual impact and convey brand
identity.
9. Promotion
Packaging promotes the product by highlighting offers like freebies, new items, or
discounts
Paper Packaging Material
Pulp is the main ingredient for making paper, paperboard, and corrugated board. It comes from
plant fibers, making it a renewable resource. The wood cell wall has three main parts:
1. Cellulose
Cellulose resists mild chlorine and sodium hydroxide but can dissolve under stronger
conditions. It's also resistant to oxidation, allowing for some bleaching without losing pulp
strength.
2. Hemicelluloses
These are usually soluble in weak alkalis.
3. Lignin
Lignin does not form fibers and breaks down with chlorine and sodium hydroxide,
forming soluble brown substances. It softens at around 160°C.
Differences Between Paper, Paperboard, and Fiberboard:
● Paper is thin and flexible, used for bags and wraps.
● Paperboard is thicker and more rigid, used for single-layer cartons.
● Fiberboard combines layers of strong paper for secondary shipping cartons.
Pulp is often bleached and coated with materials like wax or plastics to enhance strength,
especially in humid conditions, such as near food.
● Kraft Paper is the strongest, often unbleached for grocery bags. Bleached kraft is used
for butcher wrap. The term "Kraft" means strong in German.
● Acid-treated pulp produces greaseproof or glassine papers, which are strong and
resistant to moisture.
Barrier Properties:
Paper and paperboard can gain barrier qualities through coatings and laminations with plastics
(like PE, PP, PET, and EVOH) and aluminum foil, improving their performance for liquid
packaging.
Properties of Paper and Paperboard:
1. Appearance
The look of the packaging involves color, smoothness, and gloss level (matte or shiny).
Color is affected by the fiber choice, which can be white, brown, or gray. Other colors
can be achieved by dyeing fibers or using colored coatings.
2. Performance
○ Performance is linked to how efficiently the packaging is made and processed
(printing, cutting, gluing).
○ It also relates to strength during storage and transport, including measurable
properties like stiffness, compression strength, tensile strength, wet strength, tear
strength, and puncture resistance.
○ Other factors include moisture content, air permeability, absorbency, and surface
friction.
○ Chemical properties like pH and residue from chlorides and sulfates are
important for aluminum foil lamination.
Types of Paper
Paper is mainly divided into two categories:
● Fine Papers: Made from bleached pulp, used for writing, bond, book, and cover papers.
● Coarse Papers: Made from unbleached Kraft softwood pulps, used for packaging.
Main Types of Packaging Papers:
1. Kraft Paper
A strong, coarse paper made on a fourdrinier machine, often glazed for smoothness.
2. Bleached Paper
Made from white, bright pulp, it is more expensive and weaker than unbleached paper.
Often coated for better appearance.
3. Greaseproof Paper
A translucent paper is treated to resist oil and grease. It is processed to break down
cellulose fibers, making it sticky.
4. Glassine Paper
Has a smooth, glossy surface and high density. It is treated with greaseproof paper.
5. Vegetable Parchment
Similar to animal parchment, it is grease-resistant and strong, making it ideal for
wrapping fatty foods.
6. Tissue Paper
Can be semi-transparent or opaque, and may be waxed. Comes in machine-finished
(MF) or machine-glazed (MG) types.
7. Waxed Paper
Provides a liquid and vapor barrier. The wet waxed paper has a smooth, glossy surface,
while the dry waxed paper does not. The wax-laminated paper has a continuous wax film
for moisture protection.
Types of Paperboards
Paperboards are made from the same materials as paper and usually have multiple layers.
Common types of food packaging include:
1. Chipboard
Made from repulped waste and chemical pulp, it is dull gray and weak. Often used for
outer cartons.
2. Duplex Board
Made from chemical and mechanical pulp, lined on both sides with chemical pulp. Used
for frozen foods and biscuits.
3. Solid White Board
Made entirely from bleached chemical pulp. Used for frozen foods and liquids needing
extra protection.
Glass Packaging Material
● Glass is defined as an inorganic product that has cooled to a rigid state without
crystallizing.
● It has a random atomic structure, remaining liquid-like at all temperatures. It is usually
transparent but can be modified for different properties.
Glass Composition
● Silica (SiO2): The main ingredient, forms the backbone of glass.
● Soda (Na2O): Lowers melting temperature by modifying the silica network.
● Lime (CaO): Stabilizes the network, increasing durability but also crystallization risk.
● Alumina (Al2O3): Helps resist crystallization.
● Colorants: Added in small amounts for color, such as chromium for green and cobalt for
blue.
● Amber Glass: Offers excellent protection for light-sensitive products, blocking light
under 450 nm.
Plastic is made from large organic compounds through processes like polymerization, using
smaller molecules, or altering natural materials.
Types of Plastic Used in Packaging
Polyethylene (PE)
● Structure: The simplest plastic, made from ethylene gas under heat and pressure.
● Types: Includes low-density (LDPE), medium-density (MDPE), and high-density (HDPE)
resins.
● Properties:
○ Heat sealable and creates strong, tough films.
○ Good moisture barrier, but not as effective against oils and gases.
○ The melting point is around 120°C, which increases with density.
● Uses:
○ LDPE and MDPE blend improve strength.
○ HDPE is tough and used for boil-in-the-bag products.
○ Coextruding LDPE with HDPE allows for easy peel seals.
Polypropylene (PP)
● Structure: Made from propylene using Ziegler-Natta catalysts, resulting in a hard, dense
resin.
● Properties:
○ High melting point (160°C), making it heat-resistant.
○ Smooth surfaces and good sealing characteristics.
○ Chemically inert and resistant to many substances.
○ Barrier to water vapor, but can swell with certain hydrocarbons.
● Uses:
○ Often laminated with other films for better appearance and printing.
Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
● Properties:
○ Melts at around 260°C, suitable for high-temperature applications.
○ Flexible in extreme cold (down to -100°C).
○ The medium barrier to oxygen; becomes a high barrier when metalized with
aluminum.
● Uses:
○ Common in beverage bottles and flexible food packaging.
○ Provides strength and puncture resistance in retort pouches.
○ Can be coated for improved transparency and barrier properties.
Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA)
● Structure: A copolymer of ethylene and vinyl acetate.
● Properties:
○ Similar to PE, but blends vary in sealing temperature and strength.
○ Used in hot melt adhesives for packaging machinery.
● Uses:
○ Can be blow-molded into clear, lightweight bottles.
○ Effective in reportable packaging structures.
Summary
These plastics are versatile and widely used in packaging due to their unique properties, making
them suitable for various applications in food and other industries.
METAL
9.0 Introduction
There are two main types of metals used in food packaging: steel and aluminum. Steel is mainly
for rigid cans, while aluminum is used for cans, foils, and coatings. Most steel cans are coated
with a thin layer of tin to prevent corrosion, leading to the term "tin can." Tin protects the steel
from food-related corrosion, though it is not completely resistant.
The strength of steel is crucial, especially in larger cans that must endure pressure during
processes like retorting. Can strength depends on the steel's temper, thickness, size, and
features like ribbing, known as beading. Users should frequently consult manufacturers because
metal packaging is always changing.
Aluminum is lightweight, resistant to corrosion, and easy to shape. However, it is not as strong
as steel, limiting its use in certain cans. Aluminum is effective for thin beverage cans that hold
internal pressure, like soda. When exposed to air, aluminum forms an oxide layer that protects
against corrosion, but this layer can weaken in low-oxygen environments, like inside most food
cans.
9.1 Metals Used in Packaging
The metals commonly used in food packaging are aluminum, tinplate, and electrolytic
chromium-coated steel (ECCS). Aluminum can be in the form of foil or rigid metal.
9.1.1 Aluminum Foil
● Made from aluminum ingots through rolling, resulting in thicknesses of 0.15–0.008 mm.
● Contains at least 99.0% aluminum, with small amounts of other metals.
● After rolling, it is annealed to control flexibility.
● Foil is shiny, tasteless, and inert with most foods. It can be coated for acidic or salty
products.
● While it is easily punctured, foil is used in laminates for packaging items like soups and
sauces.
9.1.2 Tin
9.1.2.1 Tinplate
● The most common metal for food cans, made from mild steel coated with tin.
● The tin coating is usually less than 1% of the total thickness and enhances corrosion
resistance.
9.1.2.2 Tin Coating
● Tin protects the steel from food corrosion, preventing discoloration and off-flavors.
● It helps maintain a chemically reducing environment in the can, reducing oxidation.
9.1.2.3 Tin Toxicity
● High tin levels in food can irritate the stomach and cause nausea, diarrhea, and other
symptoms.
● Tin corrosion can occur, so measures are needed to slow it down, such as maintaining
low vacuum levels.
9.2 Electrolytic Chromium-Coated Steel (ECCS)
ECCS, or tin-free steel, is increasingly used for food cans. It has a chromium coating that is less
resistant to corrosion than tinplate but more resistant to weak acids.
9.3 Aluminum Alloy
Hard-temper aluminum alloy, containing 1.5–5.0% magnesium, is lighter but weaker than
tinplate. It needs to be lacquered for most applications.
9.4 Lead
Lead was a concern in older soldered cans, but levels are now low. Some tinplate may still have
minimal lead contamination.
9.5 Lacquers
Lacquers effectively limit tin dissolution into food. Common types include epoxy phenolic for
meat and fish, and vinyl resins for dry packs like biscuits. White vinyl lacquers prevent staining
and improve appearance.
Modern Packaging System Introduction
New packaging methods are referred to as active, smart, or intelligent packaging.
● Active Packaging: Changes the food's condition to extend shelf life or improve quality,
beyond just being a barrier.
● Intelligent Packaging: Monitors the condition of packaged foods, providing information
on quality during transport.
Active Packaging
● Involves adding substances to packaging to extend product shelf life.
● It performs roles in food preservation beyond just protection from the outside.
● Includes additives that scavenge oxygen, absorb gases, and release preservatives.
● Techniques can be divided into three categories: absorbers, scavengers, and releasing
systems.
Active Packaging Systems
● Absorbing Systems: Remove unwanted compounds like oxygen, carbon dioxide,
excessive moisture, and taints.
● Releasing Systems: Add compounds to food or the package's air space, such as
carbon dioxide, antioxidants, and preservatives.
● Other Systems: Include functions like self-heating, self-cooling, and preservation.
Major Active Packaging Systems
Oxygen Scavenger
● Commonly uses small sachets with iron-based powders and catalysts.
● Reacts with moisture from food to create a substance that removes oxygen and converts
it to a stable oxide.
● Iron powder is kept in a sachet to prevent contact with food.
Carbon Dioxide Scavengers/Emitters
● Commercial sachets can either remove or release carbon dioxide.
● Useful for fresh roasted or ground coffee, which produces a lot of carbon dioxide and
needs to be packaged quickly to maintain flavor.
Ethylene Scavengers
● Ethylene is a plant hormone that speeds up the ripening of fruits and vegetables.
● Systems use potassium permanganate (KMnO4) to oxidize ethylene, changing color to
indicate its effectiveness.
● KMnO4 sachets can be placed inside produce packages or storage areas.
Ethanol Emitters
● Ethanol is an effective antimicrobial that can inhibit mold, yeast, and bacteria.
● It can be sprayed onto food before packaging.
● The size of the ethanol-emitting sachet depends on the food's weight and required shelf
life.
Preservative Releasers
● Silver zeolite is often used to slowly release antimicrobial silver ions into food.
● Other potential preservatives include organic acids, bacteriocins, and various plant
extracts.
● These films can be used for meats, fish, and other perishable items.
Moisture Absorbers
● Excess moisture can spoil food, so absorbers help maintain quality and extend shelf life.
● Sachets control humidity in dried foods, and pads or sheets absorb liquids in
high-moisture foods like meats and vegetables.
Flavor/Odor Adsorbers
● Packaging can interact with food flavors, sometimes leading to unwanted tastes.
● Active packaging can remove taints like amines and aldehydes.
● Some bags use ferrous salts and organic acids to neutralize these compounds.
Intelligent Packaging
Intelligent packaging includes indicators for monitoring food quality. They can be external (like
time-temperature indicators) or internal (inside the package).
Time Temperature Indicator (TTI)
● A simple device that shows temperature changes affecting food quality.
● Operates on irreversible changes based on mechanical, chemical, or biological
reactions.
Freshness Indicators
● Detect changes in food quality due to microbial growth and oxidation.
● Ideally, they show spoilage and detect temperature abuse or package leaks.
Pathogen Indicators
● Toxin Guard™ is a system that detects harmful bacteria using immobilized antibodies in
packaging.
● It binds toxins or microorganisms to specific antibodies, allowing for the detection of
contaminants like pesticides or GMOs.
Other Packaging Materials
Edible films:
● Protection: Edible materials can protect food from losing flavors or reacting with other
ingredients.
● Encapsulation: This is done by spray drying flavorings mixed with gelatin or gum Arabic
to form a protective coating.
● Examples: Coating raisins with starch to keep cereal dry, and coating nuts with
monoglycerides to prevent rancidity.
● Edible Films: Solubilized starch and proteins can be dried to create edible films, which
can hold other food ingredients.
● Baking Packets: These films can package baking ingredients that dissolve in water
when added to a mixing bowl.
● Fruit Coatings: Edible films can also coat fruits and vegetables to reduce moisture loss
and mold growth.
● Wax Coating: The oldest edible film is wax, commonly used on apples for better
appearance and preservation.
Laminates
● Packaging: Polymer films are not perfect barriers against water and oxygen but work
well against microorganisms and dirt.
● Flexible Materials: Various materials can be combined to create multilayer laminates for
better strength and barrier properties.
● Co-extrusion: This technique forces multiple plastics through a die to create a multilayer
film.
Retortable Pouches and Trays
● Alternatives: Flexible pouches and trays serve as alternatives to metal cans for heat
processing.
● Multilayer Structures: These packages use different polymers for strength, heat
resistance, and barrier properties.
● Advantages: They are lighter, allow for faster cooking, and maintain food quality better
than metal or glass containers.
● Easy to Use: Pouches and trays are easy to transport and open, and some are
microwaveable.
● Disadvantages: They are harder to recycle compared to traditional containers.
Cloth Materials
● Natural Fabrics: Jute and cotton have been used for food packaging, like sacks for
fruits and grains.
● Replacement: Paper and plastic sacks have largely replaced these materials.
Wooden Containers
● Mechanical Protection: Wooden crates and barrels are used for storing and
transporting food.
● Limited Use: Their role has decreased with the rise of plastic containers.
Composite Containers
● Materials: Composite containers are made of paperboard with metal or plastic ends.
● Variety: They are used for foods like spices and milk powder.
Regenerated Cellulose
● Cellophane: Made from wood pulp, it provides dust protection and is greaseproof but
becomes permeable when wet.
● Coatings: Often coated with materials to enhance functionality.
Cellulose Acetate
● Production: Made from waste cotton, it has high permeability to gases and is mainly
used for packaging windows.
Food Packaging Systems
Aseptic Packaging
● Method: Food is sterilized outside the can and placed in sterilized containers.
● Advantages: It allows for cost-effective packaging in various materials.
● Sterilization: Uses heat, chemicals, or irradiation to ensure safety.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)
● Procedure: Air in the package is replaced with a gas mixture before sealing.
● Effects: Carbon dioxide inhibits microbial growth, while nitrogen prevents oxidation.
● Risks: Some bacteria may thrive in low-oxygen environments.
Active Packaging
● Definition: Incorporates additives into packaging to extend shelf life.
● Functions: Includes scavenging oxygen, absorbing gases, and releasing preservatives.
● Benefits: Helps maintain food quality and freshness.
Shelf Life Factors
● Influencing Factors: The shelf life of packaged food depends on:
○ Intrinsic factors: pH, water activity, nutrients, antimicrobial compounds,
respiration rate, and biological structure.
○ Extrinsic factors: storage temperature, humidity, and surrounding gases.
● Impact: These factors affect spoilage processes and the food's shelf life.
● Active Packaging: Considering these factors helps evaluate and apply active packaging
technologies to maintain quality and extend shelf life.
Modern Packaging System
● Terminology: New packaging methods are called active, smart, interactive, clever, or
intelligent.
● Definitions:
● Active packaging: Changes the food's condition to improve safety and extend shelf life.
● Intelligent packaging: Monitors food conditions to provide quality information during
transport and storage.
Active Packaging
● Purpose: Incorporates additives to maintain and extend shelf life.
● Function: Active packaging goes beyond being a simple barrier; it helps preserve food.
● Additives: Includes freshness enhancers that scavenge oxygen, absorb gases, release
preservatives, and control temperature.
● Categories:
○ Absorbers: Remove unwanted compounds like oxygen and moisture.
○ Releasing systems: Emit beneficial compounds like carbon dioxide and
preservatives.
○ Other systems: Include self-heating and cooling features.
Major Active Packaging Systems
● Oxygen Scavenger:
○ Commonly uses small sachets with iron powders.
○ Reacts with moisture to remove oxygen from the package.
● Carbon Dioxide Scavengers/Emitters:
○ Commercial sachets can absorb or release carbon dioxide.
○ Important for fresh coffee that releases CO2 and needs protection from moisture.
● Ethylene Scavengers:
○ Ethylene speeds up ripening in fruits and vegetables.
○ Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) is used to absorb ethylene and indicates its
effectiveness by changing color.
● Ethanol Emitters:
○ Ethanol is an effective antimicrobial agent.
○ It can be released in sachets to control microbial growth in packaged foods.
● Preservative Releasers:
○ Silver zeolite releases antimicrobial silver ions into food.
○ Other preservatives include organic acids and natural extracts.
● Moisture Absorbers:
○ Absorb excess moisture to prevent spoilage.
○ Moisture-control sachets and pads are used in various foods.
● Flavor/Odor Adsorbers:
○ Active packaging can remove unwanted flavors and odors from food.
○ It targets specific compounds like amines and aldehydes.
Intelligent Packaging
● Indicators: Used for quality control in packed food.
○ External Indicators: Attached outside the package (e.g., time-temperature
indicators).
○ Internal Indicators: Placed inside the package to monitor conditions.
● Time Temperature Indicator (TTI):
○ A device that shows temperature changes affecting food quality.
○ Works based on irreversible changes from mechanical, chemical, or biological
processes.
● Freshness Indicators:
○ Detect changes from microbial growth and oxidation.
○ Ideal indicators show spoilage and quality issues, including temperature abuse.
●
Pathogen Indicators:
○ Toxin Guard™ system detects harmful bacteria using antibodies.
○ It can also identify pesticide residues and proteins.
