Food Technology

Labelling and Packaging

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Learning objectives

To understand about the function of food packaging.

Learning objectives

To learn about what information must be provided on

packaging.
To learn about the different types of packaging used.
To understand about the impact of food packaging on the
environment.

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Why does food need packaging?

Food comes in all

sorts of shapes
and sizes.

When it is
bought in
shops it needs
transporting
home!

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History of packaging

food was measured out for

each customer
tea leaves were weighed
into paper bags
cheese was cut off a block
and wrapped in waxed
paper
milk was poured into the
customer’s jug
and women shopped every
© Beamish, The North Of England Open Air
Museum day.

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What does packaging do?
Traditionally packaging was used to transport food, help store it
and to contain some food such as liquids.
It was also discovered, however,
that packaging preserves food and
prolongs its shelf life by
protecting it from bacterial damage,
moisture and insect attack. Some
packaging preserves food for a
very long time, such as tins.
Today, due to the way we shop,
packaging also prevents
tampering, provides information
and attracts customers.

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Tamper-evident packaging

Since most shopping today

is self-service, tamper-
evident packaging is very
important in showing
whether a product has
been tampered with at the
time of purchase.
Tampering might involve
the food being deliberately
damaged in some way
(e.g. glass being added to
it) or some of the food
being eaten.

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How does packaging attract customers?
Packaging is used as a way of attracting customers to the product
in place of the shopkeeper. This is done by using:

enticing colourful
adjectives packaging
to
describe
the
product a photo of
such as the
moist, product
sweet and
creamy

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What information does packaging provide?
Packaging must also inform the customer as there is usually no
interaction between the retailer and the customer.

Food manufacturers
They might also choosemusttoprovide
add fournine pieces
or five piecesof
information
of extra information:by law:
bar
name or ofsmart codes that identify the price and are
the food
used by shops
description and
of the manufacturers for stock control
food
nutritional
name and information – the
address of the big four or the
manufacturer big four
or seller
and
storagethe instructions
little four
serving
cooking suggestions
or preparation instructions
more or volume about the ingredients – what is
weightinformation
not
a listinofit the ingredients (heaviest first)
further
use-by storage
date information such as not suitable for
freezing
any special claims such as low-fat.
the price.

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Which information is essential?

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What type of material should be used?
Food is either packaged in a single material such as glass or
plastic or in a combination of materials. The choice of packaging
will depend on:
the kind of food (dry, wet,
light, heavy or fragile)
the length of time the food
is to be kept in the
packaging
whether the food is to be
cooked in the packaging
whether the food is to be
eaten or drunk all at once.

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Different types of packaging material
When glass manufacture became easier and cheaper, milk
started to be sold in glass bottles. This saved delivery time as
well as being more convenient for the customer – even if the odd
bottle got broken. Today there is a choice of different packaging:

glass plastic tetrapak

Which is best?
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Plastics
Plastics have different properties and are used for different
purposes:
Type 1 – PET is the most commonly used one (water
containers); APET (fizzy drinks); CPET is heat resistant (oven
ready-meal trays)
Type 2 – HDPE (milk and detergent bottles)
Type 3 – PVC is banned in some countries (food trays, cling
film, bottles of squash, water and shampoo)
Type 4 – LDPE (plastic bags and bin liners)
Type 5 – PP (margarine tubs and microwaveable meal trays)
Type 6 – PS is polystyrene (yoghurt pots, plastic cutlery, egg
cartons, vending cups and burger cartons)
Type 7 – other plastics that do not fall into any of the above
categories (melamine and non-breakable plates and cups).

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Advantages of different packaging

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Disadvantages of different packaging

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Food and packaging quiz

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Packaging that preserves food

Aseptic packaging is used with tetrapaks. Sterilized food is

put into a sterilized tetrapak in sterilized conditions so that no
bacteria is present. Food can be stored in these tetrapaks for
up to six months.
Vacuum packaging is used with plastic packaging and has
been around for many years. All the air is removed from the
package and the food is kept in anaerobic conditions (without
oxygen). Examples of foods packaged in this way are bacon,
smoked fish and coffee.

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is also used with

plastic packaging. Air is flushed out of the package and
replaced with another gas before it is quickly sealed.

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Combined material packaging
Quite a lot of food packaging is made from more than one
material:
Ovenable paperboard has a coating of PET (polyester),
withstands temperatures of -40°C to 230°C and can be used in
an oven or microwave.

Gualapack is flexible and made from aluminium and four

different plastics (PET, PE, PP and OPA). Its big disadvantage
is that it is difficult to recycle.

Tetrapak is rigid and is made of 24% LDPE, 6% aluminium and

70% paperboard.

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How would you describe each packaging?

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Which packaging is being described?

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Packaging and the environment

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Packaging and the environment

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New developments in packaging
One answer to the environmental issue of food packaging is to
use a package that is easily biodegradable and made from
waste products of food processing.
A company, Potatopak, does exactly this. They make packaging
from the potato starch formed during the processing of potatoes
into crisps and other potato products. The packaging
biodegrades in weeks, even days, if there is leftover food on it. It
can withstand high and low temperatures and can be made
waterproof! It is already being used in some supermarkets and
takeaway outlets.

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Key points

Packaging has many uses.

Labelling provides important information about
the food product.
Key points

There is a wide variety of packaging material

that can be used.
The material must suit the food product.
Packaging methods can be used as a way of
extending the shelf life of food.
Consumers and manufacturers must consider the
environmental impact of the food packaging they
use.
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