Lesson 14: Packaging, labeling and Costing of Food Products
Materials Used for Forming a Package
Any physical material which serves as a covering, wrap or seal for an object or material is a packaging material. Protection offered by a package is determined by the nature of the packaging materials and by the type of package construction. A great variety of material is used in packaging. The different types of packages used in food industry are shown in
Primary packaging materials are the materials which are used to form the different types of packages whereas ancillary packaging materials are the important types of materials which have got application in packaging.
Flexible packaging Any package capable of being readily deformed by hand, including being bent, flexed or twisted is referred to as flexible packaging. E.g. bags and bubble wrap to tubes, stand-up pouches and foam cushioning materials.
Cellulose based materials The cellulose based packaging materials are available in two forms, i.e., paper and paper board.
Paper Paper is defined as a matted or felted sheet usually composed of plant fiber. Paper has been commercially made from such fiber sources as rags (linen), bagasse (sugar cane), cotton, and straw. Modern paper is made almost exclusively from cellulose fiber derived from wood chips after acid or alkaline hydrolysis. Different types of paper are used in packaging namely tissue paper, coated (varnish or wax coated), butter paper, glassine paper, art paper, kraft paper, vapour phase inhibitor (VPI) paper, high gloss paper and vegetable parchment paper. Paper as a packaging material has many advantages like it can be produced in many grades and can be converted to many different forms, especially boxes or cartons; it is recyclable and biodegradable; and can be easily combined with other materials to make laminated or coated packs produced with different degrees of opacity.
Paper Board Paperboard is a generic term covering boxboard, boxboard, cardboard, cartonboard, clipboard and corrugated or solid fibreboards . Boards are made in a similar way to paper but are thicker to protect foods from mechanical damage. According to ISO standards, material weighing more than 250 grams per square metre shall be known as paperboard. Paper with density more than 180 g per square meter (gsm) is generally termed as paper board. Different types of paper boards used are coated board, duplex board, triplex board, asphalted board, grey board, mill board, clay coated board, kraft board, chip board and straw board.
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