Food Packaging Materials

This Brief is concerned with the material chemistry of food packaging materials. It introduces the properties and peculiarities of typical packaging materials, such as plastics, cellulose components, ceramics and metals. Their overall performance as food packaging material is determined by the chemical and physical properties. The Brief describes how the final properties of a food packaging material can be influenced through chemical modifications in the structure and composition of the used components. The authors also cover potential chemical reactions of food packaging materials that may affect their performance. Potential hazards that may arise, such as influences on the product quality, or effects on their recycling or disposal, are discussed. Different influences, like metal corrosion, chemical resistance and degradability of the main packaging materials, or properties like hydrophobicity, surface energy and migration have to be taken into account. This Brief gives an introduction to all these different aspects of food packaging.

This book is arguably the first one focusing on packaging material testing and quality assurance. Food Packaging Materials: Testing & Quality Assurance provides information to help food scientists, polymer chemists, and packaging technologists find practical solutions to packaging defects and to develop innovative packaging materials for food products. Knowledge of packaging material testing procedures is extremely useful in the development of new packaging materials. Unique among books on packaging, this reference focuses on basic and practical approaches for testing packaging materials. A variety of packaging materials and technologies are being used, with glass, paper, metal, and plastics as the most important groups of materials. Material properties such as mechanical and other physical properties, permeability, sealing, and migration of substances upon food contact are determining factors for food quality, shelf life, and food safety. Therefore, food packaging materials have to be tested to ensure that they have correct properties in terms of permeability for gases, water vapor, and contaminants; of mechanical and other physical properties; and of the thickness of main components and coating layers. This book has been designed to shed light on food packaging material testing in view of packaging integrity, shelf life of products, and conformity with current regulations. This comprehensive book, written by a team of specialists in the specific areas of food packaging, package testing, and food contact regulations, deals with the problems in a series of well-defined chapters. It covers the relations between packaging properties and shelf life of products and describes testing methods for plastics, metal, glass, and paper, including the areas of vibration, permeation, and migration tests. It will be of benefit for students, scientists, and professionals in the area of food packaging.

Because of the increasing pressure on both food safety and packaging/food waste, the topic is important both for academics, applied research, industry and also for environment protection. Different materials, such as glass, metals, paper and paperboards, and non-degradable and degradable polymers, with versatile properties, are attractive for potential uses in food packaging. Food packaging is the largest area of application within the food sector. Only the nanotechnology-enabled products in the food sector account for ~50% of the market value, with and the annual growth rate is 11.65%. Technological developments are also of great interest. In the food sector, nanotechnology is involved in packaging materials with extremely high gas barriers, antimicrobial properties, and also in nanoencapsulants for the delivery of nutrients, flavors, or aromas, antimicrobial, and antioxidant compounds. Applications of materials, including nanomaterials in packaging and food safety, are in forms of: edible films, polymer nanocomposites, as high barrier packaging materials, nanocoatings, surface biocides, silver nanoparticles as potent antimicrobial agents, nutrition and neutraceuticals, active/bioactive packaging, intelligent packaging, nanosensors and nanomaterial-based assays for the detection of food relevant analytes (gasses, small organic molecules and food-borne pathogens) and bioplastics.

This book provides an overview of the lastest developments in biobased materials and their applications in food packaging. Written by experts in their respective research domain, its thirteen chapters discuss in detail fundamental knowledge on bio based materials. It is intended as a reference book for researchers, students, research scholars, academicians and scientists seeking biobased materials for food packaging applications.

This book provides valuable information on a range of food packaging topics. It serves as a source for students, professionals and packaging engineers who need to know more about the characteristics, applications and consequences of different packaging materials in food-packaging interactions. This book is divided into 13 chapters and focuses on the agro-food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors. The first four chapters cover traditional packaging materials: wood, paper and cardboard, glass and metal. The next two deal, respectively, with plastics and laminates. Biobased materials are then covered, followed by a presentation of active and smart packaging. Some chapters are also dedicated to providing information on caps and closures as well as auxiliary materials. Different food packaging methods are presented, followed by an investigation into the design and labelling of packaging. The book ends with a chapter presenting information on how the choice of packaging material is dependent on the characteristics of the food products to be packaged.

This comprehensive and authoritative book aims to encompass the best and current practices in the field of contemporary food packaging. It covers various aspects of packaging, including challenges and their solutions, innovations, and environmental concerns. Written by experts working in the field, the content is supported by technical/statistical data, practical examples, case studies, and real-life experiences of academicians and professionals working in the area of food packaging. The book covers challenges in food packaging, systems and materials for packaging, packaging design requirements of the food industry, technology machinery and system, printing and graphics, testing and regulatory aspects, advanced and smart packaging, distribution and logistics in a globalized environment, and sustainable and green packaging. This book will be useful for Packaging Technologists, food scientists, material scientists, policy makers, students, and researchers.

Plastics have developed into the most important class of packaging materials. Their relative impermeability for substances from the surroundings has great influence on the shelf life and the quality of the packed goods. At the same time the interaction between the contents and the various components of the packaging plays a decisive role. This particular book is indispensable in the search for the optimal plastic packaging. It facilitates the estimation of the influence on the goods which come from the surroundings and from the packaging. The authors do not restrict themselves only to the description of the phenomena of diffusion or transport in theory, but they show what they mean for practical applications. Food represents the central theme as main area of application for plastic packaging. It can be considered to be the "model substance" and the findings are to be applied to many other products and systems. The main rules and regulations for food packaging of the European Community and the United States are presented in this book. Furthermore the authors emphasize the testing methods for proving the mass transport and the sensory check of the quality of the products.

Providing a truly global overview of legislation in all major countries, this practical volume contains the information vital for manufactures of food contact materials and food producers, facilitating a comparison of the requirements and making mutual requirements easier to identify. It covers not only plastics but also other food contact materials, such as paper, board, coatings, ceramics, cork, rubber, and textiles.