TOPIC 6:

QUALITY CONTROL, EVALUATION AND

TESTING OF TRANSPORT PACKAGES
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing the unit, students should be able to:
• Describe factors affecting quality in Packaging
• Discuss method of hazards evaluation and packaging quality control
• Apply the test method used in the tests.
 Factor Affecting Quality In Packaging
Few factors affecting quality in packaging are:-
• 1. A statement from the supplier that the packaging is made of FDA and/or USDA approved
materials. The package composition should be listed on the statement.
• 2. Dimensions of carton, jar, bottle or box.
• 3. Strength of the container and suitability for stacking, freezing or microwaving.
• 4. Strength of seals or fit of the lid. For heat sealed packages, the temperature requirements for
sealing are critical.
• 5. Ability to restrict or allow air flow, moisture or light. Permeability, thickness, flexibility and
temperature resistance are specific criteria in this category.
 Methods of Evaluation Hazards
• Test the Package.
• Know Distribution Environment. Find out more about how products move,
including the variety of channels used to move your goods.
• Continuously Review and Improve. Distribution hazards change, as do packaging
materials. Review and retest even the most successful designs periodically.
• Stay Up to Date. Take every opportunity to learn more about your products and
distribution, learn about new technologies and procedures, and exchange knowledge
with others who have similar concerns.
Parcel Distribution Hazards
• Shock
• Vibration
• Compression
• Atmospheric Conditions
 Shock
• This hazard of parcel distribution can occur when packages are dropped; strike
(or are struck by) other packages or by sorting mechanisms; or shift and fall
during transit.
• Although it is recognized that impacts predominately occur on and around the
base of the package (bottom face, edges and corners), packages should be
designed to protect against impacts from any direction.
• Base is generally defined as the bottom surface when the package is in its most
stable orientation; sorting operations cannot always honor up arrows or
orientation labels.
 Vibration
• Potentially damaging vibration may occur during transit by road, rail or air.
• The severity of motion is low compared to shock, but long exposure times (hours or
days) can cause abrasion and scuffing, loosening of closures and fasteners, fatigue
and cumulative damage.
• Parcel carriers use a number of different transport modes, including trucks of
various types, trailers on flatbed railcars, aircraft and others.
• The modes can have unique vibration characteristics, and packaged products can
react differently to each.
 Compression
• Warehouse storage is not generally a part of parcel distribution, but packages
are stacked in the long-haul transport vehicles and the resultant compression
forces are dynamic (varying due to vibration) during transit.
• Dynamic compression can be several times the magnitude of static compression.
Since package orientation within the load cannot be predetermined, packages
must be able to withstand this compression in any direction.
 Atmospheric Conditions
• These conditions can affect the characteristics of both products and packages.
• High humidity weakens corrugated; high temperatures can weaken plastic, and
low temperatures can tend to make it brittle; high altitudes can distort or damage
air-containing or sealed components; static discharges can destroy electronics;
and so on.
• Packages must be designed to protect their products under atmospheric
extremes, including winter temperatures, summer temperatures plus the
temperature rises in closed vehicles and containers
 The Effect of Environment on Package
• The packaging has to 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.
 The Effect of Environment on Package
Physical environment:
• 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
 The Effect of Environment on Package
Ambient environment:
• This is the environment which surrounds the package.
• Damage to the product can be caused as a result of gases (particularly O2), water and water
vapour, light (particularly UV radiation) and temperature, as well as micro-organisms
(bacteria, fungi, molds, yeasts and viruses) and macro organisms (rodents, insects, mites and
birds).
• 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.
 The Effect of Environment on Package
Human environment:
• This is the environment in which the package interacts with people and designing packages
for this environment requires knowledge of the variability of consumer’s capabilities
including vision, strength, weakness, dexterity, memory and cognitive behavior.
• Since one of the functions of the package is to communicate, it is important that the
messages are clearly received by consumers.
• To maximize its convenience or utility functions, the package should be simple to hold,
open and use.
• For a product which is not entirely consumed when the package is first opened, the
package should be resalable and retain the quality of the product until completely used.
 Package test
• Burst Strength
• Tear Resistance
• Tensile Strength:
• Water Vapour Transmission Rate (WVTR)
• Impact Strength
 Burst Strength:
• The test measures the ability of a paper or paper board to withstand pneumatic or
hydraulic pressure built up.
• For films, foils, laminates and papers, the pneumatic test is used.
• Heavy papers and paper boards are tested on hydraulic type of testers (lbs/sq.
inch or kg/sq. cm).
• The test gives a sort of combined tear and tensile properties. In many cases it
serves as good index of the quality of fabrication of packaging materials.
 Tear Resistance
The papers are tested for their tearing resistance properties in two ways:
• Internal tearing: The energy required to propagate an internal tear is measured.
• Edge tearing: The energy required to initiate a tear is measured.
• The test is done on both directions of the paper. The work done in tearing is measured by the
loss in potential energy of the pendulum of the instrument.
• Tear factor = Tearing resistance in gram
Basic weight in GSM
• (GSM = gram/square meter)
 Tensile Strength:
• The tensile strength of a paper is defined as the force applied parallel to the
plane of the specimen of specified width and length under specified condition of
loading.
• The test indicates the durability and serviceability of papers in many packaging
operations such as wrapping, bagging, printing etc.
• Plastic films are normally tested at higher speeds because of higher extensibility.
• The stress strain curve helps in locating the yield point and knowing the yield
strength
 Water Vapour Transmission Rate (WVTR):
• The WVTR is measured as the quantity of water vapour in grams that will
permeate from one side to other side of the film of an area of one square meter in
24 hours, when the relative humidity difference between the two sides is
maintained at 90 per cent gradient at 37.8°C.
• The property is important to estimate the efficiency of the packaging material or
a package for resistance to the flow of water vapour and is helpful in considering
the selection of barrier materials for hygroscopic foods.
 Impact Strength
• These tests are designed to measure the ability of the films to withstand fracture
by shock the test is a measure of toughness of the material.
• It is a combination of deformation and breaking properties.
SUMMARY

In this unit we have studied

1. The factors affecting packaging quality and list of mechanical hazard during
transportation.
2. The hazard during transportation related to physical, ambient and human .
3. The various type of testing method to test the quality of packaging materials