Chapter 2 - General Characteristics of Packaging Materials for Food System

Abstract

Food packaging is a dynamic system of the food product, packaging material, visual and structural designs, transportation and distribution. A number of packaging materials are introduced to provide desirable functions within the packaging system for numerous types of food products. In most commercial food products, paper and paperboard and plastics are primary packaging materials. Metal and glass are also widely used for various liquid and semi-solid food products. Sustainability concern in the food industry, which is a global hot topic in general, drives the more use of sustainable packaging materials such as bioplastics and bio-based materials which are either synthetized or naturally originated. The appropriate selection of packaging material is a most important factor for assurance of the safety and quality of food. Typically, the process primarily relies on the characteristics of major packaging materials (paper and paperboard, plastics, glass and metal) and their compatibility with food products. Typical properties for the food packaging system fall into the gas barrier property, mechanical, thermal, rheological, morphological, optical and physical properties. Gas barrier property is often considered as the most important factor to ensure the shelf-life of food products. Therefore, the general characteristics of major food packaging materials and their industrial uses will be discussed in this chapter.