1800–1850

• In 1809 in France, Nicolas Appert produced the

means of thermally preserving food in hermetically
sealed glass jars.
• In 1810, Peter Durand designed the soldered
tinplate canister and commercialized the use
of heat preserved food containers.
• In England, handmade cans of ‘patent preserved
meats’ were produced for the Admiralty (Davis,
1967).
• In 1852, Francis Wolle of Pennsylvania, USA,
developed the paper bag-making machine (Davis,
1967).
 1870
• In 1871, Albert L. Jones in the USA
patented (no. 122,023) the use of
corrugated materials for packaging.
• In 1874, Oliver Long patented (no. 9,948)
the use of lined corrugated materials
(Maltenfort, 1988).
• In1879, Robert Gair of New York produced
the first machine-made folding carton
(Davis, 1967).
 1880-1890
• In 1884, Quaker Oats packaged the first cereal
in a folding box (Hine, 1995).
• In 1892, William Painter in Baltimore, USA,
patented the Crown cap for glass bottles (Opie,
1989).
• In 1899, Michael J. Owens of Ohio conceived
the idea of fully automatic bottle making.
 1900
• By 1903, Owens had commercialized the
industrial process for the Owens Bottle
Machine Company (Davis, 1967).

• In 1906, paraffin wax coated paper milk

containers were being sold by G.W.
Maxwell in San Francisco and Los
Angeles (Robertson, 2002).
 1910
• In 1910. Waxed paperboard cartons were
used as containers for cream.
• In 1912, regenerated cellulose film (RCF)
was developed.
• In 1915, John Van Wormer of Toledo, Ohio,
commercialized the paper bottle, a folded
blank box called Pure-Pak, which was
delivered flat for subsequent folding, gluing,
paraffin wax coating, filling with milk and
sealing at the dairy (Robertson, 2002).
 1920
• In 1923, Clarence Birdseye founded
Birdseye Seafoods in New York and
commercialized the use of frozen foods in
retail packs using cartons with waxed
paper wrappers.
• In 1927, Du Pont perfected the cellulose
casting process and introduced their
product, Cellophane.
 1930
• In 1935, a number of American brewers began
selling canned beer.

• In 1939, ethylene was first polymerised

commercially by Imperial Chemical Industries
(ICI) Ltd.. Later, polyethylene (PE) was produced
by ICI in association with Du Pont. PE has been
extensively used in packaging since the 1960s.
 1940
• In 1940. During the Second World War,
aerosol containers were used by the US
military to dispense pesticides. Later, the
aerosol can was developed and it became
an immediate postwar success for dispensing
food products such as pasteurized processed
cheese and spray dessert toppings.

• In 1946, polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC) –

often referred to as Saran – was used as a
moisture barrier resin.
 1950
• In 1950, The retort pouch for heat-processed foods was
developed originally for the US military. Commercially,
the pouch has been most used in Japan.
• Aluminium trays for frozen foods, aluminium cans and
squeezable plastic bottles were introduced e.g. in 1956,
the Jif squeezable lemon shaped plastic pack of lemon
juice was launched by Colman’s of Norwich,
England.
• In 1956, Tetra Pak launched its tetrahedral milk carton
that was constructed from low-density polyethylene
extrusion coated paperboard.
 1960
• The two-piece drawn and wall-ironed (DWI) can was developed
in the USA for carbonated drinks and beers;
• the Soudronic welded side-seam was developed for the tinplate
food can;
• tamper evident bottle neck shrink-sleeve was developed by Fuji
Seal, Japan – this was the precursor to the shrink-sleeve label;
• aluminium roll-on pilfer-proof (ROPP) cap was used in the spirits
market;
• tin-free steel can was developed.
• In 1967, the ringpull opener was developed for canned drinks by the
Metal Box Company;
• Tetra Pak launched its rectangular Tetra Brik Aseptic (TBA) carton
system for long-life ultra-heat treated (UHT) milk. The TBA carton
has become one of the world’s major pack forms for a wide range of
liquid foods and beverages.
 1970
• The bar code system for retail packaging was introduced
in the USA; and methods were introduced to make food
packaging tamper evident;
• Boil-in-the-bag frozen meals were introduced in the UK;
• MAP retail packs were introduced to the US,
Scandinavia and Europe;
• PVC was used for beverage bottles;
• frozen foods in microwaveable plastic containers, bag-in-
box systems and a range of aseptic form, fill and seal
(FFS) flexible packaging systems were developed.
• In 1973, Du Pont developed the injection stretch blow-
moulded PET bottle which was used for colas and other
carbonated drinks.
 1980
• Co-extruded plastics incorporating oxygen barrier plastic
materials for squeezable sauce bottles, and retortable
plastic containers for ambient stored foods that could be
microwave heated.
• PET-coated dual-ovenable paperboard for ready meals.
• The widget for canned draught beers was
commercialized – there are now many types of widget
available to form a foamy head in canned and glass
bottled beers.
• In 1988, Japan’s longest surviving brand of beer,
Sapporo, launched the contoured can for its lager beer
with a ring-pull that removed the entire lid to transform
the pack into a handy drinking vessel.
 1990
• Digital printing of graphics on carton sleeves
and labels for food packaging was introduced
in the UK;
• shrink-sleeve plastic labels for glass bottles
were rapidly adopted by the drinks industry;
• shaped can technology became more widely
adopted in the USA and Europe as drinks
companies sought ways of better
differentiating their brands.
 Definitions
• There are many ways of defining packaging reflecting
different emphases.
• For example:
- A means of ensuring safe delivery to the ultimate
consumer in sound condition at optimum cost.
- A coordinated system of preparing goods for
transport, distribution, storage, retailing and end-use.
-A techno-commercial function aimed at optimising
the costs of delivery while maximizing sales (and hence
profits).
 Basic Functions
1. Containment: depends on the product’s physical form and
nature. For example, a hygroscopic free-flowing powder or a
viscous and acidic tomato concentrate
2. Protection: prevention of mechanical damage due to the
hazards of Distribution
3. Preservation: prevention or inhibition of chemical changes,
biochemical changes and microbiological spoilage
4. Information about the product: legal requirements, product
ingredients, use etc.
5. Convenience: for the pack handlers and user(s) throughout
the packaging chain
 Other Functions
6. Presentation: material type, shape, size, colour,
merchandising display units etc.
7. Brand communication: e.g. pack persona by the use of
typography,
symbols, illustrations, advertising and colour, thereby
creating visual
impact
8. Promotion (Selling): free extra product, new product,
money off etc.
9. Economy: for example, efficiency in distribution, production
and storage
10. Environmental responsibility: in manufacture, use, reuse,
or recycling And final disposal.
 Other functions: Cont’
11. Provides functional convenience in use or preparation,
freeing up more time
12. Promotes goods in a competitive marketplace and increases
consumer choice
13. Facilitates the development of modern retail formats that
offer consumers the convenience of the one-stop shop and
the availability of food from around the world throughout the
year
14. saves energy through the use of ambient packs that do not
require refrigeration or frozen distribution and storage.
15. Extends the shelf life with the benefit of prolonged product
use, thereby reducing wastage
 to help minimize food waste
throughout the supply chain and save cost,
an optimum level of packaging is required.

Significant food wastage occurs:

in many less developed countries – between 30% and 50% of food
produced is wasted due to inadequate means of preservation,
protection, storage and transportation (World Health Organisation).

In developed countries, where modern processing, packaging and

distribution systems are commonplace, food wastage before it
reaches the consumer is only 2–3%.

• Less than 1% of packaged food goes to waste, compared with

between 10% and 20% of unpackaged food.
– Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN)
 Forms of Food Wastage
• Food wastage can represent a much greater
financial loss than just the cost of spoilt product. -
---For example, there may be costs associated
with salvage, disposal, administration,
replacement, insurance and litigation.
• There is the potential loss of customer goodwill,
which is an important consideration in today’s
highly competitive marketplace.
A Tetra Pak motto is that :
a package should save more than it costs.
 The societal benefits of packaging may
include the following:
• Prevents or reduces product damage and food spoilage,
thereby saving energy and vital nutrients, and protecting the
health of the consumer
• Requires less municipal solid waste disposal since it promotes
processed food residue recycling for use as animal feed or
compost. For example, from 454 g (1 lb) of fresh corn-on-the-
cob purchased at the supermarket, the customer eats
approximately only 170 g (six ounces), and the rest ends
up in the trash can and, ultimately, in the local landfill
(Institute of Packaging Professionals, IOPP, USA). This same
amount of edible frozen corn can be packed in a polyethylene
bag weighing less than 5 g (less than 0.18 ounce)
The societal benefits of packaging may
include the following: con’t
• Lowers the cost of many foods through economies of
scale in mass production and efficiency in bulk
distribution.
• Savings are also derived from reduced product damage
• Reduces or eliminates the risk of tampering and
adulteration
• Presents food in an hygienic and often aesthetically
attractive way
• Communicates important information about the food
and helps consumers make informed purchases
 Figure 1.1 Food distribution systems
(adapted from Paine & Paine, 1983).
• Farms
• Packer
• co-ops
• Primary processors
• Secondary processors
• Regional distribution centres, wholesalers,
• cash and carry
• Retail outlets
• Consumer
 Current public concerns related to packaging
Includes, but not limited to:
1. packaging litter and the volume of packaging waste in
municipal waste
2. cost of disposal and recovery of discarded packaging in
municipal waste
3. pollution associated with methods of disposal, i.e. landfill and
incineration
4. ease of opening
5. perception of over-packaging due to apparently excessive
lullage (free
space) resulting from product settlement
6. legibility of labels
7. integrity of information on labels
8. contamination of food due to the packaging itself
9. accidents involving packaging.