Packaging Materials

And Handling Technique

Dr. Ranjeet Singh
Senior Scientist
(Agricultural Process Engineering)

ToT Division
ICAR-CIPHET, Ludhiana
razi3dec@gmail.com, 9876621203 (M)
 Packaging has been with humans for thousands of years in one
form or the other.

Packaging dates back to when people first started moving from

place to place.

 Originally, skins, leaves, and bark were used for food transport.

Four thousand years ago, sealed pottery jars

were used to protect against rodents, and glass
making was an important industry in Egypt.

 Tin-plating iron became possible in AD1200,

and as steel replaced iron this method became
useful
 One hundred years ago there was little use for
packaging in the food industries.

 Now, tremendous progress has been made in the

development of diversified packaging materials and in
the packaging equipment.

 Over the last three decades, packaging has grown in

volume and importance into one of the most
significant areas of food production.
1- product containment
2- preservation and quality
3- presentation and convenience
4- protection during Distribution and Processing
5- provide storage history
1-Product Containment
The first function of packaging is its capability of containment.
The primary purposes of packaging are containment and
protection.

It is self-explanatory; liquids, semi liquids, and powders, as well as

bulk solids, cannot be marketed without suitable containers.

 Containment refers to holding goods in a form suitable for

transport, whereas protection refers to safekeeping goods in a way
that prevents significant quality deterioration.
 2-Preservation by Maintaining Quality
 The second function of packaging is to control the local
environmental conditions to enhance storage life and safety.
The main purpose of food packaging is to protect the product from
surroundings and maintain the quality of the food throughout the
product’s shelf life.
 Product shelf life is controlled by three factors:
1-product characteristics,
2- Packaging material properties,
3- Environment parameters.

Reactions causing deterioration in foods include

enzymatic, chemical, physical, and microbiological
changes. Additional problems include insects, pests, and
rodents.
 Nutritional Quality

 Packaging affects the nutritional quality of foods.

As antioxidative nutrients such as vitamins C and E are lost.

Carotenoid pigments can also be oxidized, leading to loss of
color as well as loss of their beneficial effects in the body.

 Lipid hydroperoxides can also result in the formation of

aldehydes and other compounds with off-flavors.

Among all other functions of packaging, the protection of

foodstuffs against light plays a key role particularly during
storage, transport, and sales display.
Barrier Properties
To achieve the best from packaging , it is important to
know product characteristics, properties of individual
package, storage, and distribution conditions.

 Barrier properties include permeability of gases such as:

O₂ ,Co₂ ,N₂ , C₂H₄ (Ethylene), water vapor, aromas, and
light. These are vital factors for maintaining the quality of
foods.

packaging materials cannot be chosen solely on the basis

of their barrier properties.
Factors such as proccessability , mechanical
properties and chemical resistance and interaction
with product and Environmental factors, such as
temperature, relative humidity, and light intensity
must also be taken into account.

Now various types of active substances can be incorporated into

the packaging material to improve its functionality and give it
new or extra functions.

Such Active packaging technologies and Antimicrobial

Packaging and Edible Film are designed to extend the shelf life
of foods, while maintaining their nutritional quality and safety.
 3- Presentation and Convenience
 Food labels are intended by law to provide the
information that consumers need to be able to make the
necessary decisions about those purchases of food.

 It is important to display the product in an attractive

manner to the potential buyer.

 A cleverly designed and beautifully produced

packaging can help sell a product, which is an essential
ingredient of an effective marketing campaign . The
packaging helps in distinguishing products on the shelf,
which is a trait especially important when marketing
low-fat or nutritional products.

For a package to be effective, it must present the

product well and should do its own publicity.
Changes in society, such as diminishing population pattern,
increasing average age, smaller families, more leisure time, as well
as improvements in the quality of life, standard of living, and
general level of education, may also demand specific function of
packaging.

 Eating styles, such as ready-to-eat meals, snacks, and

microwaveable ready meals, have been changed over the years,
which need innovation in packaging.

Packaging should meet the future demand of meeting eating

style of the society.

For children, the packaging might represent innovation or fun.

 4- Protection during Distribution and
Processing

 The fourth function is to protect the product during transit

to the consumer.
Packaging is part of the distribution process necessary to
deliver goods to the consumer and facilitate handling and
transportation.

 It also has affected international trade by making shipping of

food products possible, allowing seasonal products to be more
accessible out of season.

 Packaging can handle better when there are challenges in

food distribution chain, such as heat, humidity, or dew.
It is important to be aware of the distribution challenges and
designing of package to suit it.

 In case of prepacked product, it should have the ability to

stand the severity or type of process conditions , such as flexible
packaging during canning, microwaveable foods, ovenable , and
retortable foods.

Irradiated foods are usually prepacked prior to treatment by

ionizing radiation.

 Protective packaging is a term applied to packaging primarily

designed to protect the goods, rather than for appearance or
presentation.
 5-Provide Storage History
 Time-temperature indicator (TTI) is effective for predicting
microbial concentrations and other parameters of food quality
during shipping and storage.

 It helps in ensuring proper handling and provides a gauge of

product quality for sensitive products in which temperature
control is imperative to efficacy and safety..

TTI could be used in chilled foods to identify the

temperature abuse during storage and distribution.
 TTIs are tags that can be applied to individual packages or shipping
cartons to visually indicate whether a product has been exposed to time
and temperature conditions that adversely affect the product quality.

 According to the response mechanisms, TTIs can be divided into

three groups: (i) biological, (ii) chemical, and (iii) physical systems

There are two issues to be considered:

One is the economics .
The other issue is knowledge of the food product.
 Packaging categories

1- primary packaging
Primary packaging surrounds the product
and features labelling.

2- secondary packaging
ease of manual movement of products.

3- transit packaging
wrapping used to bundle the boxes or crates
for transport and distribution.
 Selecting the right material
Material selection is based on:
technical properties (strength, flexibility, etc.)
fitness for purpose (moisture barrier, cushioning,
etc.)
availability
manufacturing capability
cost
environmental impact
regulations
 Types of Packaging Materials

From skins, leaves, and bark, tremendous progress has been

made in the development of diversified packaging materials
and in the packaging equipment.

In general, packaging materials may be grouped into

1- rigid (wood, glass, metals, and hard plastics )

2-flexible structures. (Plastic film, foil, paper, and textiles )
 1- Plastics

Wide diversity and extremely broad spectrum of properties.

Plastics are relatively cheap, light, easily processed and
shaped, and easy to seal.

 Two major drawbacks are their permeability to gases and

vapors, and the possibility of their interacting with the
product.
 Other components in plastics are residual monomer and
oligomers, additives such as heat and light stabilizers,
antioxidants, plasticizers, and UV absorbers, as well as
processing aids such as lubricants, slip agents , and antistatic
agents.
 For package sterilization, the material of choice is
polypropylene (PP), which is used as the outer and inner plies
of the laminate with poly-vinylidene chloride (PVDC) as the
middle layer to provide an oxygen barrier.
Plastic Bags
Plastic Closures
Oven-Safe Containers

The three main plastics used are :

PP, PE (LD & HD) PS, and PET. PP is suitable for
microwaves.

but now, PS low-density blends have been developed with

heat deflection temperatures (HDTs) of 190°C, which is
suitable for microwaves.
 Plastic–Food Interaction
 Polymer materials are not absolute barriers.
Interactions occur between foods, packages, and polymer
materials
In case of plastics, the major source of concern is the
component migration.

Migration from plastics is mainly due to:

1- residual components and reactants from the manufacturing
process
2- compounds formed during conversion into packaging materials
and packages,
3- additives incorporated
4- adhesives used during conversion.
Other factors includes crystallinity of polymers, glass–rubber
transition, environmental conditions, and composition of
packaged food.
 Metals (Steel, Tin, Aluminum)
 Steel, tin, and aluminum are used mainly for canned foods and
beverages. The most common use of metals for packaging is in tin-
coated steel and aluminum cans.

 The principal advantages of metal cans are their strength

providing mechanical protection, effective barrier properties, and
resistance to high temperatures providing stability during
processing.
it is an advantage for light-sensitive products.

disadvantage in that contents are: invisible, heavy mass, high

cost, and tendency to interact with contents and environment
(internal and external corrosion)
The steel can provide almost perfect barrier protection
and, due to its structural strength and ability to handle
pressure, can be retorted (cooked under pressure) after
sealing .
 Metal–Food Interaction:

 Corrosion is the destructive attack on a metal through the

chemical or electrochemical reaction with the environment.
Since steel corrodes rapidly in the presence of acidic substances,
the tin acts as a barrier.

 Some cans are lacquered internally for high-acid products

(pH < 3) or for products that change color in the presence of tin.

Foods that contain sulfur produce a

blackening of the tin.
Advantages:
Glass containers used to be and still are considered a
prestigious means of packaging, and serve for the most
expensive wines, liqueurs, perfumes, and cosmetics.

 It is highly inert, impermeable to gases and vapors, and

amenable to the most diverse shaping. It is an excellent
oxygen barrier and completely neutral in contact with foods

It has the advantage of transparency, but where required

it can be given different desired colors.

 It has complete as well as selective light protection

properties.
Disadvantages are :

fragility, heavy mass, and high energy requirement during

manufacturing.

 The main uses of glass for packaging are in milk bottles,

condiments, baby foods, instant coffee, and drinks.

 Glass is not used for frozen products, or for ground or

roasted coffee because of breakage costs and the difficulty of
vacuum flushing.
 Timber, Cardboard, and Papers
 Pulp products are widely used in food packaging in
the form of different kinds of paper, paperboard,
laminates, and corrugated board.

The main advantages of paper are its low cost, low

mass, relatively high stiffness, and excellent
printability;

the main disadvantage is its high sensitivity to

moisture, reflected in close dependence on the
relative humidity of the environment.

 The basic raw material for papermaking is cellulose.

Timber

Cardboard
Choosing a carton for a specific job depends on the capacity
of the carton to meet the requirements for that job.
 Environmental Issues

Recently, a new dimension of safety has arisen,

the ecological dimension.

This means that packaging has not only to satisfy

physical, chemical, and biological criteria using
their life cycle as packaging, but once the original
function has been fulfilled the packaging should
decay without polluting the environment.
 Biodegradable material for packaging
Biodegradation is the process by which carbon-containing
chemical compounds are decomposed in the presence of
enzymes secreted by living organisms.
There are three requirements for the fast degradation process viz.
temperature, humidity and type of microbes.
Acceptable bio-plastics are listed below

1- Cellulose 2- Starch
3- Poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoates (PHB): a polymer belonging to the
polyesters class that are of interest as bio-derived and biodegradable
plastics. 
4- Polylactide Acid (PLA) plastics: derived from renewable resources, such as 
corn starch (in the United States and Canada), tapioca roots, chips or starch
(mostly in Asia), or sugarcane (in the rest of the world). In 2010, PLA had the
second highest consumption volume of any bio plastic of the world
 Application of nano-composites
Research on application of nano-composite (scale of 1-100
nm) materials (nano-materials) in packaging is exponentially
increasing.
Nano-composite materials are composed of nanoscale structure
that enhances the macroscopic properties of food products.

The common nanocomposites used in the food packaging

industry are:

(1) Polymer clay nanoclay →increased stiffness, strength,

nucleating agent in foams, smaller cell size, higher cell density, and
flame retardant

(2) Silica nano-composites of nano silver→has excellent

antibacterial properties
Types of Packages Techniques
The modification of the atmosphere generally implies a reduction of O2
content or an increase of the CO2 concentration, but in some cases
changing the level of carbon monoxide (CO),ethylene, ethanol, or other
compounds in the atmosphere can also contribute to shelf-life extension.

After closing the package, the respiration of the product will cause a
decrease in the oxygen content and an increase in the carbon dioxide
content.

The course of the atmosphere modification is determined by three

interacting processes: respiration of the commodity, gas diffusion through
the commodity, and gas permeation through the film. Each of these
processes is in turn strongly influenced by several commodity- and
environment-generated factors.

Strict temperature control in the distribution chain would be a

prerequisite for optimal use of MAP in practice.
In CAP, the altered gas composition inside the package is
monitored and maintained at a preset level by means of
scrubbers and the inlet of gases. This method closely resembles
the practices used in large controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage
facilities where produce is stored essentially unpacked in bulk,
except that CAP is used for storage or transport of smaller
quantities of produce.

The ULO storage uses O2 levels close to the minimum level

required for maintenance of plant tissues.

Using ULO storage at 1°C–2°C with preset levels of 0.5%–1% O2

and 2%–3% CO2, for instance, Elstar apples can be stored for
almost a whole year without unacceptable quality loss.
In some cases, a package cannot be designed in such
a way that optimal conditions will be reached
passively.
“Active packaging” can then provide a solution, by
adding materials that absorb or release a specific
compound in the gas phase.
 Compounds that can be absorbed are carbon
dioxide ,oxygen, water vapor, ethylene, or volatiles
that influence taste and aroma.
 Vacuum packaging (VP) may be regarded as a special type
of MAP, since part of the normal headspace is removed,
leaving an altered initial atmosphere that is not controlled
after packaging.

 In this system, the initial gas composition is that of normal

air, but because of the reduced partial gas pressure, the
amount of O2 available at the start of storage is about one-
third of the normal amount.

As with MAP, the lower O2 content stabilizes the

postharvest product quality by slowing down the metabolism
of the produce and the growth of spoilage microorganisms.
MAP, CAP, and VP all focus on changing the metabolic gases
oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Modifiedhumidity packaging (MHP), however, is designed for

products where dehydration causes the most important quality
losses, and therefore focuses on controlling water vapor levels.
When products such as leafy vegetables or bell peppers are not
packed, quality losses can be observed very soon.

 In most “closed” packages such as MAP, CAP, and VP, the RH

is close to saturation due to the water exchange between the
product and the headspace. This high humidity increases the
probability of condensation and free water accumulating
directly on the product, especially when the package is exposed
to changing temperatures.
MHP systems are designed to control not only
dehydration but also condensation.

Control of the in-package RH may be pursued

through the use of packaging materials with high
water vapor permeabilities, by inclusion of sachets
containing water absorbers like CaCl2, sorbitol, or
xylitol in the package or by use of packaging
materials with suitable gas permeabilities onto
which such desiccants are coated.
 Aseptic packaging

Aseptic packaging is the final step

in aseptic food processing, in which food
products are continuously sterilized, ensuring that
no microorganisms—which cause either food
decay and/or food poisoning—are present. foods.

Smart packaging

A package can be made smart through its functional

attributes that add benefits to the food and hence the
consumers.
Non-thermal processing
and
packaging
 High-pressure technology
involves different packaging considerations, based on :

whether a product is processed in-container or packaged

after processing.

 The packaging material must be able to withstand the

operating pressures, have good sealing properties, and the
ability to prevent quality deterioration during the
application of pressure.

the package should be flexibl enough to transmit the pressure.

The presence of headspace must be kept as small as possible.
 Irradiation technology

Application Dose (kGy)

Low dose (up
to 1 kGy) Inhibit sprouting 0.03-0.15 kGy
Delay fruit ripening 0.03-0.15 kGy
0.07-1.00 kGy
Medium dose Stop insect/parasite infestations
(1 kGy to 10
Delay spoilage of meat 1.5-3.0 kGy
kGy)
Reduce risk of pathogens in meat 3.00–7.00 kGy
Increase sanitation of spices 10.00 kGy
High dose
(above 10 kGy) Sterilization of packaged meat

Increase juice yield

Improve re-hydration
 UV and UV/ozone treatment
Due to poor penetrative properties, UV light is more or less
limited to surface applications, but it shows promise as a post-
packaging treatment.

UV-light, usually used for sterilization of packages used in

aseptic processing, is often combined with ozone treatment.

Ozone mainly reacts with the surface of the polymers and

causes modification of the surface properties of polymers.

both UV and ozone treatment, significantly increased the

surface tension and hydro-philicity of polymers such as PE, PP
and PET, and improved their adhesion properties
•Rules of Personal Hygiene.
•Hygiene in Food Handling Areas.

•Handling and Storing of Foods.

•Handling of Equipment and Utensils

•Food borne Illness due to: Salmonella, Staphylococcus,

Clostridium Botulinum, E coli.