Food Packaging

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Food Packaging
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What is food packaging?

• Enclosing food to protect food from tampering or
  contamination from
• physical,
• chemical, or
• biological sources.

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Six Functions of Packaging

1. Barrier between food and contaminants.
2. Protects food from impact during shipping and
   storage.
3. Acts as a dispenser
4. Protects food from moisture, gas, odors, and
   light
5. Identifies the contents
6. Serves as a cooking and storage container.

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Food Packaging Materials

• Metals (steel, tin, and aluminum) -- canned foods
• Glass -- beverages, pickles, condiments
• Paper (usually coated with wax, plastics, or
  aluminum foil) -- cartons of milk, crackers
• Plastics -- milk jugs, beverages, deli salads
• Packaging films (cellophane, edible films, and
  coatings) -- candy bars, hot dog casings, chips
• Laminates (layering materials into one product)
  -- drink boxes

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Packaging Types
Food package Food
Aseptic packaging Liquid whole eggs
Bags Potato chips
Boxes Box of cereal
Cans Can of soup
Cartons Carton of eggs
Flexible packaging Bagged salad
Wrappers Used to cover a package.
D-9.02 Food Packaging
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Reduced oxygen packaging

• Some packaging methods involve changing the
  environment that surrounds food to increase the
  shelf life.
• Reduced oxygen packaging (ROP) provides an
  atmosphere that has little or no oxygen in the
  environment surround the food.  
• Three types of ROP are
• Controlled atmosphere packaging
• Modified atmosphere packaging
• Vacuum packaging

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Controlled Atmosphere Packaging

• Controls the movement of gases inside the
  package.
• Used with
• fresh-cut salads.

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Modified Atmosphere Packaging

• Flush the food container with a gas, CO2 or N2.,
  before the container is sealed
• Use with
• potato chips and other snack foods
• fresh pasta

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Vacuum Packaging

• Remove all air, including oxygen, from inside the
  packaging environment.
• Used with
• Country ham slices,
• deli meats,
• bacon

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Determination of what type of package to use

• The type of packaging material used with a
  specific food product depends on
• the function the package must perform
• the protection needed
• conditions of shipping and storage
• chemical composition of the food