WHOLE BRAIN LEARNING SYSTEM

OUTCOME-BASED EDUCATION

TECHINICAL VOCATIONAL AND LIVELIHOOD GRADE

AGRI-FISHERY ARTS

FOOD/FISH PROCESSING 12
THIRD
LEARNING SEMESTER
MODULE WEEK 1-2

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 MODULE
IN
FOOD/FISH PROCESSING
SHS

QUARTER 3
WEEK 1-2
DAY 1-10

PACKAGE FINISHED/PROCESSED FOOD

PRODUCTS

(INTRODUCTION TO FOOD PACKAGING )

Development Team
Writer: Charmine Dawn P. Ramos
Editor: Liezl R. Quitoriano
Reviewers: Romeo G. Uganiza Joseph C. Salvador
Illustrator: Jhone Terence C. Marucut
Layout Artist: Nestor M. Lucero
Management Team: Vilma D. Eda Arnel S. Bandiola
Lourdes B. Arucan Juanito V. Labao
Marju R. Miguel

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Lesson INTRODUCTION TO FOOD
1 PACKAGING

An overview of food packaging will be given in this module. Materials and

forms of food packages and their functions will also be discussed.
In your journey through the discussions and different tasks, you are expected
to:

Content Standard:
Demonstrate understanding of packaging of finished/processed food
products.

Performance Standard:
Demonstrate the procedures in packaging of finished/processed food
products independently.

Learning Objectives:
1. Define packaging;
2. Explain the functions of food packaging;
3. Discuss the attributes and environments of food packaging; and
4. Check, select, and inspect packaging materials according to the
finished/processed food products specifications.

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 What I Know

Before you go over with this module, try to answer the Pre-Test. This will
enable you to find out what you already know and what you still need to know about
the lesson. Good luck!
Pre-Test

Read and analyze each item carefully. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.

1. Which of the following materials protects the primary package such as carton
overwraps for products?
A. container B. primary package
C. secondary package D. shipping package

2. The following are functions of food packaging EXCEPT:

A. contain B. inform
C. mislead D. protect

3. This refers to the package used for storage, identification, and transportation of
products.
A. container B. primary package
C. secondary package D. tertiary package

4. This is often regarded as the primary function of the package.

A. containment B. communication
C. convenience D. protection

5. Which of the following describes as the apportionment function of packaging?

A. containment B. communication
C. convenience D. protection

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 What’s In

Activity 1
Before you proceed to the lesson, try to identify what types of packaging are the
given pictures. Write your answers on a separate paper.
Types of Packaging

1. Primary Packaging
2. Secondary Packaging
3. Shipping or Tertiary Packaging
Pictures Types of packaging

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 What’s New

Before we go further, try to recall the meaning of some terms which you might have
come across as you read through this learning guide.
Definition of terms:

Package physical entity that contains the product

Packaging activities of designing and producing the container or wrapper
for a product
Primary Package which comes in contact with the food itself
Secondary the material that protects the primary package, such as carton
Package overwraps for products in pouches
Shipping or the package used for storage, identification, and transport
tertiary package

What is It

Packaging is so familiar in everyday life that we tend to take it for granted. It is

not until we try and open a package and experience difficulties or have consumed
the product and then need to dispose of the used packaging that it becomes a topic
of conversation. In other words, it is largely only the negative aspects of packaging
that come to the attention of the average consumer. Therefore, packaging is often
regarded as unnecessary and wasteful of resources, when it is essential in delivering
safe, high quality food to billions of consumers every day.

Insufficient food is still a major problem for many of those living in developing
countries. While there is no single solution, United Nations studies have indicated
that up to 50% of the food that is produced in developing countries never reaches
the consumer because it becomes spoiled, is lost during transportation or is eaten or
infested by insects and rodents. Much of this loss could be prevented or minimized
by good packaging.

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 Food packaging is essential and pervasive: essential since without packaging
the safety and quality of food would be compromised; and pervasive since almost all
food is packaged in some way. Food packaging performs several disparate tasks:

a. It protects the food from contamination and spoilage.

b. It makes it easier to transport and store foods.
c. It provides uniform measuring of contents by allowing brands to be
created and standardized.
d. It makes advertising meaningful and large-scale distribution and mass
merchandising possible.
e. Food packages with dispensing caps, sprays, reclosable openings, and
other features make products more usable and convenient.

Packaging has been defined as a socio-scientific discipline which ensures

delivery of goods to the ultimate consumer of those goods in the best condition
appropriate for their use. Packaging has also been defined as the enclosure of
products, items or packages in a wrapped pouch, bag, box, cup, tray, can, tube,
bottle, or other container form to perform one or more of the following functions:
containment; protection and/or preservation; communications; and utility or
performance. If the device or container performs one or more of these functions it is
considered a package.
Other definitions of packaging include a coordinated system of preparing
goods for transport, distribution, storage, retailing and end-use; a means of ensuring
safe delivery to the ultimate consumer in sound condition at optimum cost; and a
techno-commercial function aimed at optimizing the costs of delivery while
maximizing sales and profits. It is important to distinguish between the words
package, packaging, and packing. The package is the physical entity that contains
the product. Packaging was defined and in addition is also a discipline (e.g.,
packaging technology) and a job title (e.g., Packaging Technologist). The verb
‘packing’ involves the enclosure of products in a package such as a pouch, bag,
box, cup, tray, can, tube, bottle, or other container to perform one or more of the
following functions:
a. containment
b. protection
c. convenience
d. communications

Three types of packaging

The primary package is that which in direct contact with the food itself such
as a tin can for packaging mango juice, paperboard cartons, glass bottles and plastic
pouches. It provides the initial and usually the major protective barrier. The product
in its primary container as in the example cited may be used for retail sale.

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 The secondary package is the material that protects the primary package,
such as carton overwraps for products in pouches. It is the physical distribution
carrier and is sometimes designed so that it can be used in retail outlets for the
display of primary packages.

Corrugated boxes are the most common type of secondary package

The shipping package or tertiary package refers to the package used for
storage, identification, and transport.

Stretch-wrapped pallets of secondary packages (typically corrugated boxes) are the

most common type of tertiary packaging

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FUNCTIONS OF FOOD PACKAGING
Four primary and inter-connected functions of packaging have been identified:
containment, protection, convenience, and communication.

1. Containment
This function of packaging is so obvious as to be overlooked by many, but it is
the most basic function of packaging. Food products must be contained before they
can be moved from one place to another. The containment function of packaging
makes a huge contribution to preventing losses from the myriad of foods which are
moved from one place to another on numerous occasions each day.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/8cov9iyc
2. Protection
This is often regarded as the primary function of the package: to protect its
contents from outside environmental effects, water vapor, gases, odors,
microorganisms, dust, shocks, vibrations, compressive forces, etc., and to protect
the environment from the product.
For most food products, the protection afforded by the package is an essential
part of the preservation process. For example, aseptically packaged milk in
paperboard laminate cartons only remains aseptic for as long as the package
provides protection; vacuum-packaged meat will not achieve its desired shelf life if
the package permits oxygen to enter. In general, once the integrity of the package is
breached, the product is no longer preserved.
Freedom from harmful microbial contaminants at the time of consumption can
also be influenced by the package. First, if the packaging material does not provide a
suitable barrier around the food, microorganisms can contaminate the food and
make it unsafe. Microbial contamination can also arise if the packaging material
permits the transfer of, for example, moisture or oxygen from the atmosphere into
the package. In this situation, microorganisms present in the food but presenting no
risk because of the initial absence of moisture or oxygen may then be able to grow
and present a risk to the consumer.

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3. Convenience
Modern industrialized societies have brought about tremendous changes in
life styles and the packaging industry has had to respond to those changes which
have created a demand for greater convenience in household products: foods which
are prepared and can be cooked or reheated in a very short time, preferably without
removing them from the package; condiments that can be applied simply or pump-
action packages; dispensers for sauces or dressings which minimize mess;
reclosable openings on drink bottles to permit consumption on the go, etc. Thus,
packaging plays an important role in allowing products to be used conveniently.

Two other aspects of convenience are important in package design. One of

these can best be described as the apportionment function of packaging. In this
context, the package functions by reducing the output from industrial production to a
manageable, desirable ‘consumer’ size. An associated aspect is the shape (relative
proportions) of the primary package in relation to convenience in use by consumers
(e.g., easy to hold, open and pour as appropriate) and efficiency in building into
secondary and tertiary packages. Packaging plays a very important role in permitting
primary packages to be unitized into secondary packages (e.g., placed inside a
corrugated case) and then for these secondary packages to be unitized into a tertiary

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package (e.g., a stretch-wrapped pallet). Because of this unitizing function, materials
handling is optimized since only a minimal number of discrete packages or loads
need to be handled.

4. Communication
There is an old saying that ‘a package must protect what it sells and sell what
it protects’, i.e., the package functions as a ‘silent salesman’. The modern methods
of consumer marketing would fail were it not for the messages communicated by the
package through distinctive branding and labelling, enabling supermarkets to
function on a self-service basis.
Consumers make purchasing decisions using the numerous clues provided by
the graphics and the distinctive shapes of the packaging.

Other communication functions of the package include a UPC (Universal

Product Code) that can be read accurately and rapidly using modern scanning
equipment at retail checkouts, and nutritional information on the outside of food
packages which has become mandatory in many countries.

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ATTRIBUTES OF PACKAGING

1. Commercially Efficient
One related to the convenience function is that it should be efficient from a
production or commercial viewpoint, such as in filling, closing, handling,
transportation, and storage.

2. Minimal Environmental Impacts

Another is that the package should have, throughout its life cycle from raw
material extraction to final disposal after use, minimal negative environmental
impacts.

3. Uncontaminated Food
A third attribute is that the package should not impart to the food any
undesirable contaminants. Although this last attribute may seem self-evident, there
has been a long history of so-called food contact substances migrating from the
packaging material into the food. For many years, the solder used in three-piece
metal cans resulted in lead migrating into some foods; the switch to welded side
seams eliminated this source of lead. Food packaging materials are highly regulated
to ensure consumer safety.

ENVIRONMENTS OF PACKAGING

The packaging must perform its functions in three different environments.

Failure to consider all three environments during package development will result in
poorly designed packages, increased costs, consumer complaints and even
avoidance or rejection of the product by the customer.

1. Physical
This is the environment in which physical damage can be caused to the
product. It includes shocks from drops, falls and bumps; damage from vibrations
arising from transportation modes including road, rail, sea, and air; and compression
and crushing damage arising from stacking during transportation or storage in
warehouses, retail outlets and the home environment.

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2. Atmospheric
This is the environment which surrounds the package. Damage to the product
can be caused because of gases (particularly oxygen), exhaust fumes, water and
water vapor, light (particularly UV radiation), and the effects of heat and cold, as well
as microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, molds, yeasts, and viruses) and macro-
organisms (rodents, insects, mites and birds) which are ubiquitous in many
warehouses and retail outlets.
Contaminants in the ambient environment such as exhaust fumes from
automobiles and dust and dirt can also find their way into the product unless the
package acts as an effective barrier.

3. Human
This is the environment in which the package interacts with people, and
designing packages for this environment requires knowledge of the human strengths
and frailties of vision, strength, weakness, dexterity, memory, cognitive behavior, etc.
It also includes results of human activity such as liability, litigation, legislation, and
regulation. Since one of the functions of the package is to communicate, it is
important that the messages are received clearly by consumers. In addition, the
package must contain information required by law such as nutritional content and net
weight. To maximize its convenience or utility functions, the package should be
simple to hold, open, use and (if appropriate) reclose by the consumer.

Consumers often complain about the difficulty they experience in opening or

accessing packages. Older consumers generally experience more problems than
younger consumers, due in large part to the loss of strength as people get older. For
example, the grip strength (a measure of the force required undo a cap on a bottle or
remove a metal cap on a glass jar) peaks at around 25-39 years for men and women
and then declines. The maximum grip strength for men is about 120 pounds,
declining to 90 pounds for men aged 60-64 and 75 pounds for men over 70. With an
increasing proportion of the population living longer and often alone, packaging
manufacturers need to consider this decline in strength with age.

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 Contributing to the difficulty in opening packages is the trend for more tamper-
evident packaging, such as a feature on the package which indicates if the package
has been tampered with or accessed. The most common form of tamper evidence
on a closure is a plastic sleeve which must be breached before the closure can be
removed. More sophisticated tamper evident devices use holograms.

What’s More

Activity 2

Direction: Identify what is being asked in the following. Write your answer on a
separate sheet of paper.
__________1. This is the environment in which physical damage can be caused to
the product.
__________2. This is often regarded as the primary function of the package.

__________3. This is the environment in which the package interacts with people.
__________4. This is the environment which surrounds the package.
__________5. This is the material that protects the primary package.

What I Have Learned

Knowledge of the functions of packaging and the environments where it must

perform will lead to the optimization of package design and the development of real,
cost effective packaging.

Despite the number of functions which a package must perform, this module
focuses almost exclusively on the protective functions of the primary package and
possible food/package interactions in relation to the ambient environment. Package
performance in the physical environment is usually considered under the heading of
packaging engineering. The communication function of package performance in the
human environment is properly the major concern of those with a primary interest in
marketing and advertising, and there are many books that deal specifically with this
aspect. For those focusing on the convenience-in-use aspects of packaging, books
in consumer ergonomics are the best source of information.

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 What I Can Do

PART 1: UNDERSTAND
(Creative constructed response)
LEARNING COMPETENCY: (U)
Students are expected to explain the functions of food packaging(U).
SITUATION:
The G12-Food Processing students receive an invitation to visit the food
innovation center at MMSU. Mrs. Ramos instructed the students to observe their
packaging materials then give their observations after. Likewise, explain the functions
and importance of food packaging.
QUESTION AND CREATIVE WRITTEN OUTPUT:
Answer the following questions below.
1. Why is it important to know the functions of food packaging in processing food
products?
2. Why is it important to package the products properly?
SAMPLE PROMPTS/OUTLINE
It is important to know the functions of food packaging because…….
It is important to package properly the products so that……….

STUDENT’S WRITTEN OUTPUT:

CREATIVE CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE HOLISTIC RUBRIC:

RATING DESCRIPTION
4 The answers are correct and complete. They are very detailed.
3 The answers are correct and complete.
2 The answers are correct but there are some items that are left
unanswered.
1 The answers are vague, and they are not related to the question.
0 There are no answers from the questions given.

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 PART 2: DO
(PERFORMANCE TASK GRASPS APRROACH)

PERFORMANCE TASK (1 PRODUCT)

PERFORMANCE STANDARD: The learner demonstrates in checking, selecting, and

inspecting packaging materials according to the finished/processed food products
specifications
SITUATION:
Food and Drugs Administration is tasked to safeguard public health. Food-Drug
Regulation Officer (FDRO) is hereby authorized to inspect, to open and examine any
receptacle or package that contains substances that in contact with food. In your office,
you are assigned as the Food-Drug Regulation Officer to inspect the packaging of food
products from the local stores in your community. Check and select at least three food
products and make a report about their packaging.
GOAL:
To inspect and make a report on the packaging materials used in the food products
selected.
Follow the table below in making the report.
Name of the Package Functions Improvements can
Product used/Types of you suggest to the
Packaging product
Example: Rebisco Plastic-Primary 1. Protection The secondary
Strawberry Package and 2. Communication package should be
(Cream-Filled secondary packed in a box for
Cracker Sandwich) packaging the cracker to be
secured.
1.
2.
3.
ROLE: Food-Drug Regulation Officer

PRODUCT: Food Packaging report (Use the table provided in Goal)

AUDIENCE: Businessman

STANDARDS: Your output will be evaluated in terms of:

Content of the Report
Reliability of the Report

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PERFORMANCE TASK ANALYTIC RUBRIC:

CRITERIA 4 3 2 1 0 RATING
OUTSTAN SATISFAC DEVELO BEGINN MISSIN
DING TORY PING ING G
Content of The The content The ideas The No
the Report content ideas or or ideas or submis
ideas or judgments judgments judgment sion
judgments are may be s are not
are clearly supported supported stated,
supported with details. with some and facts
or details. and
explained details
with details. from the
text are
not used.
Reliability All Most Some Stateme No
of Report statements statements statement nts are submis
are are s are not sion
arranged in arranged in arranged arranged
order that order that in order that they
they lead to they lead to that they lead to
an an lead to an an
organized organized organized unorgani
thought. thought. thought. zed
thought.
TOTAL
:

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 Assessment

Now that you are through with the module, CONGRATULATIONS! You are
ready for the Post-Test and find out how well you have gone through the module.
Compare your score with that of the Pre-Test. If you get higher, that means that
you have learned something. GOOD LUCK!

Post-Test

1. This is often regarded as the primary function of the package.

A. containment B. communication
C. convenience D. protection

2. Which of the following describes as the apportionment function of packaging?

A. containment B. communication
C. convenience D. protection

3. Which of the following materials protects the primary package such as carton
overwraps for products?
A. container B. primary package
C. secondary package D. shipping package

4. The following are functions of food packaging EXCEPT:

A. contain B. inform
C. mislead D. protect

5. This refers to the package used for storage, identification, and transportation of
products.
A. container B. primary package
C. secondary package D. tertiary package

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 Answer Key

References

Online Source

University of Queensland. An Introduction to Food Packaging. Accessed March 1,

2021. https://tinyurl.com/8cov9iyc.
Pictures

University of Queensland. An Introduction to Food Packaging. Accessed March 1,

2021. https://tinyurl.com/8cov9iyc.

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Schools Division of Laoag City

Curriculum Implementation Division
Brgy. 23 San Matias, Laoag City, 2900
Contact Number: (077)-771-3678
Email Address: laoag.city@deped.gov.ph

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