PACKAGING

TECHNOLOGY
Topic 2
AY2018/2019, Oct Sem
1
 GENERAL LEARNING OUTCOME 2

 Student should be able to analyse the importance of

packaging to the food industries
 SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES 3

 Explain the need for food packaging

 Explain the functions of packaging
 Describe the characteristics of different types of
packaging materials
 Differentiate the interactions between food products and
packaging materials
 Name the common types of food packaging machines
 Identify the trends in food packaging and packaging
technologies
 Evaluate the seal integrity of food packaging
DEFINITION 4
Packaging
 The enclosure of a product in a container to ensure safe and
efficient delivery to consumer in sound condition.
Primary Package
 Direct contact with the product. It provides initial and often the
major protective barrier to the product.
Secondary Package
 May contain one or many primary packages. Used as physical
distribution carrier or designed for display on the retail shelf.
Tertiary Package
 Necessary to facilitate handling and transportation
Quaternary Package
 To facilitate handling of tertiary packages.
 5

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/design/foodtech/packaginglabellingrev4.shtml
FUNCTIONS OF PACKAGING 6
Containment
 To contain and hold the product
Protection & Preservation
 To protect product from external environmental effects, thus
extend the shelf life.
Transportation/Distribution
 To allow movement of products from one place to be
delivered to the intended destination safely
Convenience
 Packaging design must provide convenience to the end user,
allows the user easy access to product
Communication
 Serves to provide info to the user. Often referred to as the
‘silent salesman’. It is a marketing tool
 WHAT IS ACTIVE PACKAGING? 7
Packaging in which subsidiary constituents have been
deliberately included in or on either the packaging
material or headspace to enhance the performance of the
package system.
Environment
O2

Packaging H2O

Light m/o

heat Product
Flavours,etc
 ACTIVE & INTELLIGENT PACKAGING 8
Active Intelligent
• Oxygen scavenging • Time-temperature history
• Anti-microbial • Microbial growth indicators
• Ethylene scavenging • Light protection (photochromic)
• Odour and flavour • Physical shock indicators
absorbing/releasing • Leakage, microbial spoilage
• Moisture absorbing indicating

Temp-Time
Indicator
 WHAT IS INTELLIGENT PACKAGING? 9

It is designed to monitor the condition of the packed food

or the environment surrounding the food.
Is capable of detecting, sensing, recording, tracing or
communicating information about the quality and/or the
state of the product during the whole food chain.
Prevent food waste and to improve food logistics and
traceability.

Carolina E. Realini, Begonya Marcos Active and Intelligent Packaging Systems

for a Modern Society, Journal of Meat Science 98 (2014) 404-419
 10

COLD INDICATOR
Guarantee your beverage is cold! CTI is the world’s
largest supplier of thermochromic, temperature-
sensitive inks.
COORS LIGHT: Maybe the most well-known application
of a cold indicator uses cold-activated inks to enhance
their message of “Beer as Cold as the Rockies.” With
the two temperature indicators, Coors Light drinkers
know when their beer is the perfect temperature for
refreshment.
 11

RFID technology for shipments of fresh-cut fruit

from African fields to U.K. tables
Getting the freshly cut fruit from field to
table quickly is challenging, however, and
the race against time begins the second
fruit is harvested. To meet the challenge,
Blue Skies now employs a
time/temperature-monitoring system from
TempTRIP, LLC to help make sure that its
fresh-cut fruit maintains its quality as it
travels from African fields to U.K. tables
in as little as 48 hr.
http://www.packworld.com/package-component/label/timetemperature-monitoring-
system-fresh-cut-fruit
 12

WHY IS THERE A NEED FOR PACKAGING?

NEEDS FOR PACKAGING 13

The use of appropriate packaging is necessary for:

 Reducing wastage
 Improving food security
 Ensuring that products reaches consumer in the best
possible condition
 Extending shelf-life of a processed food
 Generating income and profit
 Meeting socioeconomic needs
SOCIOECONOMIC NEEDS 14

Major socioeconomic needs include:

 Consumer lifestyle – Innovation in convenient packaged foods
 Value – Defined by cost/benefits ratio as driven by consumers
 Profits
 Food safety and biosecurity – E.g. antimicrobial packaging,
tamper-evident packaging and biochemical sensors for
enhanced food safety and biosecurity
 Food packaging regulations –Packaging safety issues and
usage of recyclable materials
 Environmental concerns – Needs to produce environmentally
friendly packaging
 15

HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT TYPE OF

PACKAGING MATERIAL?
SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS 16

For bulk packaging

 To contain and protect the content during transport and
distribution
 E.g. fibre-board cases, crates, barrels, drums, baskets
and sacks
For retail containers or consumer units
 Protect and advertise the food in convenient quantities
for retail sale and home storage
 E.g. tin cans, glass bottles, rigid or semi-rigid plastic tubs,
collapsible tubes, paperboard cartons
SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS 17

 Product attribute, e.g.. sensitivity to oxygen, moisture

 Environment conditions, e.g.. light, humidity and temperature
 Protection of the product – quality, safety, etc.
 Processing restraint, e.g. wide opening for ease of filling
 Functionality requirement, e.g.. ease of dispensing
SELECTION CONSIDERATIONS 18

 Regulatory considerations, e.g.. meeting regulations of

exporting country
 Environmental concerns, e.g.. ease of disposal, recycling
 Distribution and handling restraints, e.g.. able to protect
contents during transportation
 Aesthetic requirements, e.g.. able to print attractive designs
 Minimal cost
TYPES OF PACKAGING MATERIALS 19

 Paper
 Glass
 Metal
 Plastic
PACKAGING MATERIAL - PAPER 20

Paper Carton
 Sheets of paperboard (0.3mm - 1.1mm thickness)
 Usually supplied in layflat form which have been pre-cut
and scored
 Cartons to be formed at point of packaging
 Provide protective barrier against dust and mechanical
damage during handling
 May be coated or laminated to provide special barrier
properties e.g.: wax, glassine, plastic, foil lined.
 Outer coating to improve appearance and printing
quality
PACKAGING MATERIAL - PAPER 21

Cartons offer rigidity when formed and barrier

properties are provided by laminating with
 wax (moisture barrier)
 plastic (moisture barrier, heat sealing)
 lining with Al-foil (gas, water, light barrier)
 lining with glassine paper (grease resistance)
PACKAGING MATERIAL - GLASS 22

Glass containers
• Silica 72% Glass forming oxide
• Soda 14% (Sodium carbonate)
• Lime 11% (Calcium carbonate)
• Alumina 1.75% Stabilizing oxide
• Others 1.25%

 30% of recycled glass can be added to the above

formulation
PACKAGING MATERIAL - GLASS 23

Advantages of glass
 Impermeability to gases, oil, moisture if closure is good
 Inert, transparent, rigid
 Varied shape and sizes
 Cleaning and sterilization is easy
 reusable, recyclable
 Versatility, microwave safe
PACKAGING MATERIAL - GLASS 24

Disadvantages of glass
 Heavy and are susceptible to mechanical breakage
 Some have low thermal shock resistance
 Expensive compared to some plastic and paper carton
PACKAGING MATERIAL - METAL 25

 Materials used: mild steel, tinplate, galvanized mild steel,

aluminum, aluminum alloys
 Product: tin, tin-free steel and aluminum can
 Resistance to corrosion, ease of fabrication (ductility),
strength to withstand high speed filling and closing, light
weight, ability to withstand extremes of temperature.
PACKAGING MATERIAL - METAL 26
PACKAGING MATERIAL - METAL 27

Aluminum
 Used in beverage cans, milk bottle tops, toothpaste
tubes, bottle closures, laminates for flexible plastics
 ease of fabrication
 light weight
 aesthetic appeal, bright and clean
 odorless, non-toxic
 impervious to moisture and gases
PACKAGING MATERIAL - METAL 28

Protective Coating
 To prevent interaction between can and contents
 To protect can against environment
 Properties for interior lacquers
 Good adhesion
 Inert
 Odorless, impart no flavour
 Non-toxic
 Resist physical deformation
 Stable over processing temperature
PACKAGING MATERIAL - METAL 29

Types of Lacquers
 Epoxy-phenolic resins: good adhesion, chemical
resistant. Used for acidic products (3-piece can)
 Oleoresins: acid resistant, good for fruits, but used also
for vegetables and meat
 Phenolic lacquers: able to withstand high processing
temperatures
 Vinyl resins: not resistant to high temperature, good for
soft drink and beer
 30

http://www.pac.gr/bcm/uploads/7-metal-packaging-for-foodstuffs.pdf
PACKAGING MATERIAL - PLASTIC 31

 Made from long, flexible molecules (monomers)

interlocked into a non-brittle lattice (polymers)
 The chemical constituent of monomer and structure of
polymer determine the properties of the material
 Characteristics
 low cost x gas and water permeable
 light weight x absorption of flavour
 less breakage x low heat resistant
 transparent x not tough
 flexible x possible plastic migration
PACKAGING MATERIAL - PLASTIC 32

Categories of Plastics
 Two categories depending on behavior during heating
 Thermoplastic
 Soften and melt on heating and solidify on cooling; can
be converted to many shapes; this cycle can be
repeated w/o changing its properties e.g. PE, PP
 Thermoset
 Irreversible chemical change on heating e.g. epoxies,
polyurethanes
PACKAGING MATERIAL - PLASTIC
The following are the types of plastics used in food packaging:
 Polyethylene (PE)
 Polypropylene (PP)
 Polyesters (PET,PEN, PC)
 Polyamide (PA)
 Ionomers
 Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA)
 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
 Polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC)
 Polystyrene (PS)
33
 Styrene butadiene (SB)
 Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)
 Ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH)
 Polymethyl pentene (TPX)
 High nitrile polymers (HNP)
 Fluoropolymers (PCTFE/PTFE)
 Cellulose-based materials
 Polyvinyl acetate (PVA)
 PACKAGING MATERIAL - PLASTIC 34

Table 2.1 Ranking of various films with respect to specified properties

Polymer WVTR Gas Optics Machine Sealing

permeability performance
LDPE 3 4 4 4 1
Cast PP 3 4 2 4 2
OPP 2 2 2 2 2
OPP coated 1 1 1 2 1
PET 2 2 1 1 4
PVC (plasticised) 3 2 2 4 2

1, excellent; 2, very good; 3, Good; 4, Poor

 PACKAGING MATERIAL - PLASTIC 35
Table 2.2 General gas and moisture barrier properties
Film (25 µm thick) WVTR Oxygen transmission rate
LDPE 10 – 20 6500 – 8500
HDPE 7 – 10 1600 – 2000
OPP 5–7 2000 – 2500
Cast PP 10 – 12 3500 – 4500
EVOH 1000 0.5
PVdC 0.5 – 1.0 2–4
PA 300 – 400 50 – 75
PS 70 – 150 4500 – 6000
PET 15 – 20 100 – 150
Aluminum 0 0
Units: WVTR in g/m2/24 hours at tropical conditions of 90% RH at 38oC and
gas permeability in cm3/m2/24 hours
LOW DENSITY PE 36

 Translucent, soft, flexible

 Good water vapour barrier, but very poor gas barrier
 Good chemical resistance, relatively inert
 Can retain strength down to -60°C
 Starts to melt below boiling point of water
 Can be used as coating for paper, cellulose film and foil
 Bags used for packing frozen food - vegetables, meat
 Can be blow moulded into flexible bottles
(allows squeezing of content)
HIGH DENSITY PE 37

 Harder and less flexible than LDPE

 Higher mp (121°C)
 Similar low temperature resistance as LDPE
 Lower impact strength
 Better water vapour barrier than LDPE
 Better gas barrier than LDPE
 More difficult to heat seal
 Can be molded into bottles
POLYPROPYLENE 38

 Lower densities but higher mp (130 – 171°C) than PE

 Can be used as sealant in food packaging
 Clearer and tougher than PE
 Not suitable for frozen foods, as it is brittle at freezing
temperatures
 Good water vapor barrier and medium gas barrier
 Good chemical and grease resistance
 Used for a variety of foods: biscuits, potato chips, snack
foods, jelly cups, retort pouches, coating films
POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET/PETE) 39

 Commonly used in the biaxially orientated, heat

stabilized form
 Medium moisture barrier, but good gas barrier
 Good strength, elastic
 Good clarity
 Excellent chemical resistance
 Stable over -60°C to 220°C
 May be used for boil-in-bag products, or oven bags
 Film is often metalized to improve barrier properties
 Suitable to be used in MAP
 Suitable to be used in snack food flexible packaging
for products with high fat content, requiring barriers to
oxygen and UV light
POLYAMIDE (PA) 40

 Commonly known as nylon

 Commonly used in biaxially orientated form
 High heat resistance
 Excellent resistant to stress cracking and puncture
 Good clarity
 Good flavour and odour barrier
 Very poor moisture vapour barrier
 Resistant to oil and fat
 Difficult to seal
 Can be overcome by PVdC coating or lamination/co-
extrusion with polyethylene
 Suitable to be used as vacuum packs or in MAP
PLASTIC LAMINATES 41

 Lamination: bringing 2 or more webs together and

bonding them together with adhesive or by heating
 Laminates: any combination of distinctly different plastic
film materials or plastic with non-plastic materials
 Produced by adhesive lamination or extrusion coating
 Co-extrusion is replacing laminates
 It is where 2 or more resin layers are combined into
one extrusion process
PLASTIC COATINGS 42

Metallizing with aluminum

 Coating of thin aluminum to plastic films
 Gives bright appearance - eye-catching
 Better than aluminum foil as it has better dents and puncture
resistance, better barrier properties
 Common metalized materials: PET, PA and OPP
SiOx coatings
 Transparent, retortable, recyclable and has excellent barrier
properties
 Coating of silicon oxide to plastic films
 Also applied to plastic bottles, giving an oxygen barrier that
is 20 times greater than the barrier of an uncoated bottle
 Less flavour scalping
PLASTIC COATINGS 43

Polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC) coatings

 Heat sealable
 Excellent barrier to water vapour and gasses
 Excellent barrier to fatty and oily products
 Used to protect flavour and aroma sensitive foods
 Used in hot filling, retorting, low-temperature storage and
MAP
RETORT POUCH 44

 Material are either aluminum foil bearing/ plastic

laminates or foil-free plastic laminate films
 Materials must be inert, heat sealable, dimensionally
stable, resistant to at least 121oC, low oxygen and
water vapour permeability, be physically strong and
have good sealing properties
 PACKAGING MATERIAL – RETORT POUCH 45
Table 2.3 Typical current examples of retort pouches. (Adapted from Dai Nippon Printing Co. Ltd., 2010.
Types Properties

Aluminum type
PET/Al/CPP
Aluminum type
PET/Oriented PA/ Al/CPP
Transparent type
PET/ Oriented PA/ CPP
Transparent barrier type
SiOx PET/ Oriented PA/ CPP
Transparent barrier type
PET/ metallised Al/ Oriented
PA/ CPP
Transparent barrier type
Oriented PA/PVdC/CPP
Transparent barrier type
Oriented PA/EVOH/CPP
Used for small pouches sold in decorated boxes for
curry, sauces, household dishes
Strong pouches, widely used (small to 3kg)
Transparent type pouch, rice, chilled hamburger
steak, vegetable, fish, dumplings
Highest barrier for transparent pouch
Good transparency type (strip metallised)
Vacuum packaging
High barrier, appropriate for vacuum pkg
 PACKAGING MATERIAL – RECYCLE CODES 46

Figure 2.1 Society of the plastics industry (SPI), resin identification codes

http://www.ava.gov.sg/explore-by-sections/food/food-safety-quality/good-food-
safety-practices#Safe-Use-of-Plastic-Food-Packaging
ASEPTIC MILK CARTON 47

What are the packaging

materials here?
 WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF EACH LAYER? 48

1. The outer PE protects the ink layer and enables the

package flaps to be sealed.
2. The bleached paperboard serves as a carrier of the
décor and provides the required mechanical rigidity to
the package.
3. The lamination layer of PE binds the aluminum to the
paperboard
4. The aluminum acts as a gas barrier and provides
protection of the product from light
5. The adhesive layer of polyethylene ensures good
adhesion between the AL foil and the polyethylene
6. Provides a heat sealable liquid barrier
 49

WHAT KIND OF INTERACTIONS

CAN HAPPEN BETWEEN FOOD,
PACKAGING AND ENVIRONMENT?
 FOOD PRODUCT / PACKAGE INTERACTIONS 50

 From the product through the package

 From the environment through the package to the product

 From the package itself into the product

 From the product into but not through the package

 PACKAGING-FLAVOUR INTERACTIONS 51

 Defined as an interplay between food, packaging, and

the environment, which produces an effect on the food,
and/or packaging

 Food-packaging interactions can be divided into three

main phenomena:
 Migration
 Permeation
 Absorption (Scalping)
 PACKAGING-FLAVOUR INTERACTIONS 52

Polymer Migrating Adverse

Environment film Foodstuff substances consequences
Oxygen (1) Oxidation
(1) Water vapour Microbial growth
PERMEATION
Carbon Mould
dioxide Off-flavour
Other gases
(2) (2) Dehydration
Decarbonation

MIGRATION Monomers
Additives

ABSORPTION Aroma compounds

(SCALPING) Fats
Organic acids
Pigments
MIGRATION 53

 It is the release of compounds from the plastic packaging

material into the product
 First type of interaction to be investigated due to the
concern that human health might be endangered by the
leaching of residues from polymerization, additives and
printing inks
 In European Union, EU Directive 2002/72/EC and
subsequent amendment 2008/39/EC deal specifically
with the use of plastics in contact with food
MIGRATION 54

 Any substances that migrates from the packaging into

the food is of concern as it may:
 Cause potential harm to consumer
 Adverse effect on the flavor and acceptability of food
 Potential contamination/migrants include:
 Chemicals from plastics
 Depends on the heterogeneous nature of the material
e.g. types of additives formulated in the materials
 Related to manufacturing processes that can lead to
presence of residuals (plasticizers used to improve
flexibility of plastic materials e.g.. Vinyl chloride
monomer (VCM) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC))
POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION/MIGRANTS: 55

 Microwave susceptor
 Are multilayer structures used as packaging materials
or as part of package (popcorn packs) or as a plate
or a baking pan for microwave foods
 Use to convert microwave energy into heat and
provide localized heating
 Achieved by means of very thin layer aluminum of a
metalized plastic films that is laminated to paper or
board
POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION/MIGRANTS: 56

 These materials may posed as potential migrants at

high temperature (>200 ºC) as their diffusion
phenomena are high at such condition
 The films may deteriorate and forms cracks where food
components can rapidly migrate into the plastic and
underlying layer
 Migration of adhesive compounds from the plastic film
to food may also occurs
POTENTIAL CONTAMINATION/MIGRANTS 57

 Recycled plastics
 Use of post consumer recycled (PCR) plastics is a
potential hazardous application as they may contains
chemical contaminants:
 From their previous use or
 From contact with other wastes during collection or
 From recycling techniques
FOOD AND PACKAGING MATERIAL INTERACTION
58

 Metal-Food Interaction
 Corrosion of metal (e.g.. tin, iron and lead), leading to
them dissolving from the container and migrate into the
food interface
 Paper-Food Interaction
 Mainly due to solvent and adhesives used for package
fabrication or inks for printing
 Plastics-Food Interaction
 Interactions occurring between food, package and
polymer materials
PERMEABILITY OF PACKAGING MATERIAL 59

Basic concepts of permeation

 Oxygen ingress into package causes oxidation in high
fat products, leading to off-flavors, loss of colour and
nutrient value
 Water vapor infiltrating into package causes moisture
gain that will leads to significant lost in product’s quality
(e.g. sogginess or microbial growth)
 Permeation and gas barrier are closely related
o Permeation is inversely proportional to gas barrier
o For oxygen and moisture sensitive products, high
gas/moisture barrier materials are required for use to
retard the rate of permeation
PERMEABILITY OF PACKAGING MATERIAL 60

Permeation of a permeant through a polymer film

 Driven by concentration gradient in the direction of high
to low concentration
 3 sequential steps involved:
o Adsorption of the permeant onto high concentration
side of the film surface
o Diffusion of the permeant across the film
o Desorption of the permeant from the low concentration
side of the film surface
PERMEABILITY OF PACKAGING MATERIAL 61

Permeation of a permeant through a polymer film

Polymer Film
Permeant
molecules

Higher gas concentration Lower gas concentration

Adsorption Desorption

Diffusion
PERMEABILITY OF PACKAGING MATERIAL 62

Factors governing permeation

 Nature of polymer
 Nature of permeant
 Environment conditions (Storage)
ABSORPTION OF FLAVOUR COMPOUNDS 63

Absorption
 Refers to the penetration and dispersal of molecules
from the product into, but not through, the packaging
material
 Result in loss of aromas and flavours
 Commonly referred to as “flavour scalping”
 Significant losses of limonene and other aroma
compounds from orange juice stored in LDPE lined
packages were reported. LDPE, being the sealing layer
of almost all composite structures, is frequently used for
contact with flavoured beverage.
 64

WHAT IS AN IDEAL PACKAGING?

IDEAL PACKAGING 65

Criteria for ideal packaging include:

 Zero toxicity
 High product visibility
 Strong marketing appeal
 Ability of moisture and gas control
 Stable performance over a large temperature range
IDEAL PACKAGING 66

Criteria for ideal packaging include:

 Low cost and availability
 Suitable mechanical strength
 Easy machine handling and suitable friction coefficient
 Good closure characteristics such as opening, sealing
and resealing
IDEAL PACKAGING 67

Criteria for ideal packaging include:

 Ability to include proper labeling
 Resistance to migration or leaching from package
 Protection from loss of flavor and odor
 Controlled transmission of required or unwanted gases
 68

WHAT IS FOOD PACKAGING LINE?

FOOD PACKAGING LINE 69

Consists mainly of packaging material and food product

combined into a unit of package

Aim is to fill the package safely with desired volume or

weight and involve:
 Adequate techniques of weighing
 Portioning
 Conveying of product and packaging material
 Sealing
FOOD PACKAGING EQUIPMENT 70

Some common food packaging system/equipment include:

 Aseptic filling and packaging machine
 Form/Fill/Seal machine for pouches
 Packaging material is directly taken from the reel and is
formed continuously into a tube
 The tube is sealed below prior to filling and above after
sealing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaTPVxFDTmc)
 Thermoform/Fill/Seal machine for cups and trays
 Filling and closing conveyor line for bottles and jars
 Tetra Pak System
 Vacuum or Modified atmosphere packaging machine
 REFERENCES 71

1. Coles, R., & Kirwan, M. (2011). Food and Beverage Packaging

Technology (2nd ed.). Iowa : Wiley-Blackwell, 2011
2. Lee, D. S., Yam, K. L. and Piergiovanni, L. (2008). Food
packaging science and technology. Florida: CRC Press
3. Rahman, M. S. (2007). Handbook of food preservation.
Florida: CRC Press
4. Robertson, G. L. (2006). Food Packaging: Principles and
Practice. (2nd edition). Florida: CRC Press
5. Ahvenainen, R. (2000). Novel Food Packaging Techniques.
Florida: CRC Press
6. N.A. Michael Eskin and David S.Robinson. Food Shelf Life
Stability. Florida: CRC Press