Characteristics of Product

For a product to be packaged, a specific packaging material is chosen. Many such decisions about the packaged product, their compatibility, their behaviour in the journey till they reach the consumer should be studied in detail, so that they perform efficiently. It includes study of various factors affecting the type of packaging required for the particular type of product. It is very important to know the facts about the product and its various characteristics. Among the processed products, food products and pharmaceuticals nedd the greatest care in the packaging & presentation. Product characteristics can be divided as follows:

Physical Characteristics
State - A product can exist in any state of matter. This decides widely to select a package because the physical form of the product aids in the design of the package as well as material to be used. SOLIDS Solid unit Granular Crystals Flakes Free flowing powder Non-free flowing/Lumps

LIQUIDS Free flowing Viscous Dissolved

GASES Liquified Permanent(Noncondensible)

COMBINED STATES Paste Thin/Stiff Liquid+Gas mixture Liquid+Solid mixture Gas+Solid mixture Multi-form mixtures

Above are most possible physical forms in which a product can exist. State of the product is a general property. Also the nature of the product with the variant state is helpful because a particular product has possibility to exist in more than one state, then in such a situation what nature it exhibits gives a better understanding. corrosive flammable odourous aseptic corrodible irregular in shape subject to odour transfer easily marked abrasive volatile hygroscopic perishable fragile toxic sticky underpressure

Size and Shape - To determine the dimensions and contour of the package one should know the dimensions of the product and allowance to be given for inserting the product in its compatible package. Eg: if a liquid which is volatile in nature then it should have package designed with optimum ulage space for normal expansions during storage and transportation considering its vapour pressure data and the required performance by the package. Size property can also be useful to determine the quantity of packages which are possible for the product. Mass, Weight, Volume & Density - Mass is an intrinsic property of any product and is different from weight. Weight is the force/pull exterted by the gravity on any body i.e. on the mass which can never be a zero value. Mass of a product provides data for the quantities Eg: sugar can be packaged in 250 gm, 500 gm, 1kg etc. Volume is the occupied space of any product dimensionally. Density is ratio of mass and volume. Mass, weight and density of the product determine the type, dimensions of the packaging material to be used. Center of Gravity - For the package to be stable during the storage and transportation, center of gravity is very important. The center of gravity should be nearer to the base of the package for conformed stability. Otherwise the pack would have tendency to tilt and fall during handling, storage and distribution. When a package is dropped every part of it is subjected to resultant forces due to gravitational pull. A slight shift in C.G. leads to serious imbalance as a result of which either the package or the product always get damaged.

Fragility & Rigidity - Fragile and rigid objects are more susceptible to damage than sturdy products. It is therefore necessary to understand the damage causing shocks and vibrations during the distribution & one should package the product in such a way so as to protect the product safely during its entire distribution cycle.

Chemical Characteristics
The chemical nature of the product provides variety of information about the product. Initially it is important to classify the product whether it is organic or inorganic in nature. Identifying its species, then a detail composition of the product should be known. This in turn, helps us to analyze the possible reactions it can undergo. Chemical reactions can take place internally as well as externally i.e. due to an external agent. This peculiar study is vital for processed food products to be packaged. Many products interact with the packaging material and also in the enivornment in which it is packed. The important culprits over here to spoil the product are oxygen and moisture. Also many packaging material constituents can undergo reactions with product, but this is minimized to a considerable extent because of the various techniques of coating. Chemical reactions at later stage aids in microbial growth. Processed food products are perishable products which easily deteriorates. A typical example for chemical reaction undergoing in oil & its products is rancidity. Rancidity can be oxidative, hydrolytic or ketonic which gives rancid taste to the product. If food products are not kept in appropriate humidity conditions, the product can absorb moisture and spoilage can occur. This generally leads to organoleptic changes (taste,smell,texture) in the food products. During packaging, the critical moisture content of the product and its environments moisture content (relative humidity) should be maintain so that equilibrium relative humidity is under control, to provide a good shelf life to the product. Food products grow, respire, ripes and matures, internally it can undergo enzymatic degradations. This behaviour of food product should be analyzed so that optimum products are consumed at right time, at right stage. For fruits and vegetables packaging a proper balance of exchange of gases is essential or it would lead to anaerobic changes. Many food products are adversely affected by the effects of light either alone or in combination with oxygen. Corrosion is another factor caused due to presence of oxygen and moisture. It spoils and damages the product to a wide extent. Hence, the surface area which is available for attack, should be under checks and studies which helps in chemical attacks due to chemical properties of the participants causing corrosion.

Biological Characteristics
A product can interact with the micro-organisms present the atmosphere and can damage itself. Hence, to design a suitable package with a view to prevent damage to the packaged product by living organisms, study of their mode of life will be very helpful. The biological food spoilage is chemical in nature since all living things are themselves dynamic chemical systems requiring an input of energy. They are categorized as external biological deterioration. A large part of food preservation depends on the control of micro-organisms. Typical of any living entity, each micro-organism type has a preferred environment to exist and propagate. Manipulating the four principle environmental factors that regulate growth, controls or eliminates micro-organisms viz. Temperature, moisture, acidity(pH) and nutrient source. Various techniques are implemented to extend the normal biological shelf life of food.

Therefore, studying the various characteristics of products is like knowing its emotional qualities. It is an important step and a crucial one before the actual product packaging begins.