Protective and Preserving Food Packaging

Abstract

Packaging of food materials serves different purposes, such as acting like a material handling tool and performing a food processing aid role. As a handling tool, packaging contains the desired unit amount of food and may facilitate the assembly of individual items into aggregates. For example, some fluid foods are package into bottles, which may be placed into boxes and, finally, these boxes may be arranged into easily handled pallets. In the case of packaging as a processing aid, an example is that of metal containers used in food sterilization, which serve not only a protective function but also ensure dimensional stability for the food to maintain a certain shape and location to facilitate heat-penetration calculations. Protection of the food product from physical, microbiological, or any other sort of damage is the most important aspect of packaging. The protective function of packaging takes into account the aspects of the quality of the food being protected. The quality of the food products, as they reach the consumer, depends on the conditions of the raw material, the processing method, the severity of the process, and the conditions of storage. The chemical, physical, and biological mechanisms involved in food deterioration are a direct function of diverse environmental factors, and the most pertinent barrier property of the food package differs for each product. Some of the environmental factors and the corresponding relevant packing properties are listed in Table 15.1.