The quality of low-density polyethylene freezer bags

available on the Polish market

Michał Halagarda
Cracow University of Economics
Katarzyna Kowa
Cracow University of Economics
Zofia Cichoń
Cracow University of Economics

Abstract:

Freezing food is widely recognized as a method for ensuring maximum extension of products’ shelf-
life with minimal changes to their initial properties. This technique of preserving food is also one of the
safest for human health. It is commonly used in food production and processing industry as well as in
private households willing to provide themselves with seasonal products all year round.
Frozen food products are mainly stored in plastic bags. Their properties in low temperatures may
however influence the quality of products. Mechanical damages of packaging may in fact facilitate the
penetration of pollutants into the interior and accelerate the process of product’s decay.
The aim of this study is to assess the quality of low-density polyethylene bags designed for frozen
food storage available on the Polish market. This type of packing is the most commonly used for frozen
food storage. The samples of bags from 6 producers were stored for 6 months in a temperature of -18°C.
After each month of storage the elongation at break for vertical and vertical with seal direction and
packaging external appearance were checked.
The results of this research prove that the quality of food freezer bags available on the market in
Poland differs significantly. During 6-month storage in low temperatures all samples showed a decrease
in elongation at break. This demonstrates the reduction of packaging’s flexibility.

Key words: freezer bags, low density polyethylene, freezing, frozen food

Introduction

Freezing is considered to be the most appropriate and the safest way of extending the shelf-life of
perishable foods. This method allows to significantly slow down chemical and enzymatic reactions with
little or no changes to sensory and nutritional properties of a product. No additional preservatives are
needed. Freezing, thanks to water crystallization, also helps to avoid product’s moisture loss during
storage (Saldanha and Bragagnolo 2006, 620; Goff 1992, 318; Martins, Almedia and Silva 2004, 850;
Czerwińska 2005, 8; Polak 2007, 42). Using this technique both private households and food processing
industry can provide themselves with seasonal products all year round.
 The quality loss during storage of frozen foods may, however, occur. The factors that may have a
negative influence on product’s properties include: initial temperature, refrigerator dynamics,
physicochemical properties and packaging material (Martins, Almedia and Silva 2004, 851).
Packaging, therefore, is an essential element for ensuring frozen food product’s quality and
extending its shelf-life. Proper packaging should protect a food product against climatic and mechanical
influence of the storage and transportation environment. It also ought to prevent contamination
(Grabowska and Królicki 2005, 26-27; Cleland 1996, 269).
Selection of appropriate packaging depends on many factors, such as storage length and conditions,
product’s physicochemical properties, physical state of the product, etc. (Grabowska and Królicki 2005,
27). The most common packaging types for frozen food involve aluminium trays, polyethylene bags,
plastic films made of multi-layer laminates (composites) and cardboard boxes coated with plastics
(Kołożyn-Krajewska and Sikora 2004, 204; Grabowska and Królicki 2005, 27).
The most popular material among plastics in Poland is low density polyethylene. Its consumption
represents 22% of total use of plastics in the industry (Walecka 2010, 12). Low density polyethylene is
highly valued for its properties, especially good sealability, flexibility, low vapor permeability and high
resistance to abrasion (Gajewska-Szczerbal 2005, 7; Michalska-Pożoga 2011, 78-79). Therefore it is
frequently used as an element of composites or a single material for production of packaging for frozen
food products. Most of the freezer bags for home use available on the Polish market are made of this
material. Due to the fact that still many people prefer to freeze fresh products i.e. fruits, vegetables, fish
and meat themselves rather than buy them frozen in shops the quality of freezer bags is of crucial
meaning to provide maximum protection and long shelf life of the product. They should not only
withstand low temperatures but also demonstrate resistance to multiple manipulation and friction which
may occur in home freezers during storage. Any damage to packaging may result in penetration of dirt or
spillage of the product.
According to Assman and Czaja-Jagielska (2011, 256) low temperatures can cause a drop in strength
and increase fragility of the packing material.
The aim of this study was to assess the quality of low density polyethylene food freezer bags
available on the market in Poland.

Material

The research was conducted on low density polethylene freezer bags from 6 different producers.
Detailed characteristic of research material is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Characteristics of research material

 Dimensions Number of pieces in Volume
Product Colour Seal
(cm) packaging (l)
A 27 x 30 25 3,0 blue bottom
B 25 x 34,5 40 3,5 white bottom
C 20,5 x 29,5 80 2,0 transparent bottom
D 27 x 30 25 3,0 white bottom
E 25 x 35 25 4,0 white bottom
F 35x 35 NA no declaration red/blue side
Source: own research

5 types of freezer bags are to be commonly found on the market in Poland. Sample F was obtained
directly from the producer and has commercial purpose.

Methods

The program of the research was prepared on the basis of literature guidelines, European and Polish
Standards. The first stage of the study involved packaging appearance quality and properties assessment
which included:
- external examination according to PN-EN 14867:2005,
- inspection of production defects according to PN-C-89258-1:1997,
- inspection of colour and overprint according to PN-C-89258-1:1997,
- thickness according to PN-ISO 4593:1999.
The second phase of the research included evaluation of freezer bags’ quality after storage in low
temperatures. The samples were stored for 6 months at the temperature of -18°C. The specimens were
prepared according to PN-EN 14867:2005. The tests of elongation at break according to PN-EN ISO
527-1:1998 were performed on the Instron apparatus 4301 after each month of storage on ten samples for
each direction: vertical and vertical with seal. For product F horizontal direction with seal was examined
instead of vertical due to the side seal. The examination was conducted at the speed of 500 mm/min ± 50
mm/min.
Bag samples for zero test were stored for a period of 48 hours in accordance with the conditions
presented in the PN-EN 14867:2005 (ie. T = 23 ± 2 ° C, φ = 50 ± 5%).
Additionally, whole bags were kept along with the test samples. They served as a material to make
monthly visual inspections of external appearance.

Results and discussion

 Protection of frozen food against contamination and moisture migration has a great influence on
product quality. A decrease in strength and an increased fragility of material during storage at low
temperatures may result in package cracking, which in turn is a disqualifying factor for material to be
used in the food storage (Assman and Czaja-Jagielska 2011, 256). It may lead to the penetration of
pollutants into the interior and acceleration of product’s spoilage processes. In that case food quality may
also be reduced by contamination with lacquer coating particles and organic solvents (eg ethanol, ethyl
acetate) which are components of printing inks used on packaging (Bohdan 2007, 24).
In 1955 Spencer and Stadelman reported that in the meat industry the most efficient material for low
temperature storage is polyethylene (Kenawi 1993, 69-70). A lot has changed since then but despite the
fact that composites have better properties than monolayer films freezer bags for home use available on
the Polish market are made of low density polyethylene. This material is suitable for storage of bread,
meat, fish, fruits and vegetables (Mieliwodzka 2006, 90). In case of bread it provides good moisture
protection for 15 days (Novotni et al. 2011, 646).
The normative requirements concerning low density polyethylene freezer bags include external
appearance, thickness, surface properties and optical characteristics of the printing and marking. The
results of conducted tests are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. The results of the freezer bags’ properties examinations

Space for Water Thickness Production Colour
Product Transparency
inscription impenetrability (mm) defects and print

text
A 45 cm2* ** 0,028 no proper
readable

text
B no ** 0,022 no proper
readable

text
C no ** 0,010 folds proper
readable

text
D 66 cm2* ** 0,020 no proper
readable

colour and
2
text folds,
E 35 cm * ** 0,036 print of poor
readable streaks
quality

text
F no ** 0,044 no proper
unreadable

* - in compliance with standard

 ** - test positive
Source: own research

The outcomes of the first stage of the research proved that only 2 out of 6 analysed products comply
with Polish and European Standards. Numerous folds were present in freezer bags C and E. Additionally
product E was made of film of uneven colour with milky streaks and had a very blurred and uneven
printing on the surface intended for the inscription. Bags B, C and F lacked space for inscription which
according to PN-EN 14867:2005 standard should be provided on freezer bags. All products successfully
passed the tests for water impenetrability. Requirements concerning transparency stated by PN-EN
14867:2005 standard were not met by bag F due to the fact that it was heavily stained. It was also noticed
that the film thickness of product C was unusually small when considering freezer bags.
The repeated tests after each month of six-month cold storage proved that the initial properties of
products did not change.
As it was already mentioned, during home cold storage freezer bags are vulnerable to variable forces
and therefore their mechanical properties play a crucial role in preserving quality of the frozen products.
The results of elongation at break tests for vertical direction and vertical direction with seal are presented
in Figures 1 and 2 respectively.

Fig. 1. The elongation at break for vertical direction

Source: own research
Fig. 2. The elongation at break for vertical direction with seal

Source: own research

Low density polyethylene has a branched polymer structure and therefore a lower content of
crystalline phase in comparison with other types of polyethylene - medium and high density. Thanks to
that, low density polyethylene has better toughness and higher optical properties than the previously
mentioned types of polyethylene. Nonetheless it has a lower tensile strength, lower density and lower
softening temperature (Czerniawski and Michniewicz 1998, 215).
The results of this study prove that during cold storage at the temperature of -18°C the elongation at
break for vertical direction and vertical direction with seal of low density polyethylene freezer bags
dropped. There was, however, one exception. Product’s D elongation at break for vertical direction after
six months of storage slightly rose. This was due to the fact that tested samples demonstrated high level
of heterogeneity and the results between samples in each month varied significantly.
This is in contrary with the results achieved by Assman and Czaja- Jagielska (2011, 258-262). In
their study all tested plastic films made of different polymers showed stability of elongation at break. The
tests, however, were conducted only for 8 weeks. It is worth noticing that thermal shock tests revealed a
decrease in elongation at break for all tested materials. The results of Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy in case of polyethylene suggested degradation of this material’s molecules. Examinations
with scanning electron microscope on the other hand did not prove influence of low temperature on
structures of analysed plastic films neither for the samples kept for 8 weeks in the temperature of -20°C
nor for the samples subjected to thermal shock.
In this research elongation at break decreased from 24.15 % (product D) to 60.08 % (product C) for
vertical direction and from 45.41 % (product C) to 58.69 (product D) for vertical direction with seal
comparing initial elongation at break to the lowest average recorded in one of the following six months
of the tests. Again the lowest decrease in elongation at break for product D in vertical direction might be
attributed to heterogeneity of the tested films. The other samples’ drop in the value of this parameter was
from 40.34 % to 60.08 % and a downward trend in the six-month research was noticed. No significant
differences between vertical direction with and without seal were found. The largest reductions in
elongation at break were observed in the first four months of cold storage.
Research for product C was ended after the fourth month. As mentioned before, these freezer bags
were made of very delicate and thin film. In comparison with the samples of other studied products, they
were much less resistant to the forces used in the tests. In fact some of the tested product’s C samples
underwent such a rapid breakage that Instron apparatus could not sense the changes in load and did not
stop, thus not recording correct data. It was decided that the obtained results might not be entirely
reliable and therefore further tests concerning this product were stopped.
The outcomes of this study prove that storage of low density polyethylene freezer bags in subzero
temperatures resulted in a decrease in elasticity of the plastic film. Time and low temperature caused
aging of the research material and lowered its endurance qualities. The polyethylene film of analysed
freezer bags hardened. The consequences may involve higher vulnerability to manipulation which can
lead to the package cracking and product’s quality loss.
In this research it was also noticed that there was no significant difference in decrease of elongation
at break for vertical and vertical with seal direction. It was, however determined that elongation at break
showed higher values for vertical direction without seal. The average difference in six months of storage
ranged from 11.45% (product F) to 33.29% (product E). The presence of a seal slightly lowered elasticity
of the tested samples.

Summary

Packaging designed for the storage of frozen products, should ensure effective protection against
qualitative changes. To fulfil this function freezer bags should maintain the impermeability and
mechanical properties in subzero temperatures.
 The results of this study show that freezer bags available on the Polish market vary significantly in
quality. Only 2 products (A and D) of the 6 analysed met the quality criteria set in the first stage of the
research. These bags were aesthetically made, had place for inscriptions, appropriate film transparency
and evenly stained film with no folds or streaks. It should also be noted that all the examined products
passed the test for impermeability. Bags B lacked space for inscription only, and bags F failed to meet
the requirements of transparency due to their intensive colour.
In the second stage of the research the best outcomes for elongation at break were noted for product
E. These bags, however, were made of film of uneven colour with milky streaks and a very blurred and
uneven printing on the surface intended for the inscription. It was also observed that product C’s plastic
film was very thin and its properties disqualify these bags for frozen food storage purposes.
Inspections of the test material performed monthly revealed no changes concerning the surface of
the freezer bags during six-month storage.
It was observed that subzero temperatures and storage time caused a decrease in flexibility of film
thus reducing the quality of packaging. This indicates the aging of the samples and an increase in the
stiffness during long-time storage what may result in bag’s low resistance to manipulation. In addition, it
was determined that the samples with seals show less flexibility.

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