Effect of the thickness of food packages made of recycled and virgin polymer layers coextruded in sandwich form on the time of food protection

Abstract

Reusing old polymer as new food packages is a vast ecological objective. From the scientifical point of view various problems must be resolved for ensuring the food safety. Thus the new food packages are in sandwich form where the recycled polymer layer with potential contaminant is located between two virgin polymer layers. The main problem arising is the prediction of the time of food protection. A contaminant transfer occurs during the coextrusion process through the package, being responsible for a decrease in this time of food protection. The effect of the thickness of the package is especially considered. It appears during the coextrusion process because the cooling period of the package strongly increases with the thickness; it also plays a role in the contaminant transfer through the package and into food. The process of contaminant transfer is studied not only during the coextrusion stage, but also with the food-package system. The effect of the thickness of the package on the time of food protection is especially studied.