Food-Packaging 2024.pptx

Food Packaging Learning Objective To be able to identify and evaluate the different types of packaging used in the food industry To explain how manufacturers, retailers and the consumer can reduce the use of food packaging Ta by Tina Judge Learning Question -Why do we package food? To protect it fro...

Food Packaging Learning Objective To be able to identify and evaluate the different types of packaging used in the food industry To explain how manufacturers, retailers and the consumer can reduce the use of food packaging Ta by Tina Judge Learning Question -Why do we package food? To protect it from damage and contamination To hold the contents To keep it fresh/ preserve it/ extend shelf life To reduce food waste (but not packaging waste!) To make food easier to handle, transport and serve To improve hygiene and food safety To make the contents look more attractive To give information on contents, storage and use To prevent tampering Attract customers to buy it/ make it presentable for selling (marketing) To provide information about the food (legal and voluntary info) To make handling, transportation and storage easier Learning Question – What determines the type of packaging used? Many factors determine the choice of materials used, especially in relation to food hygiene and safety. For example, the material must be suitable for the food, as some chemicals present in the food or packaging may react together. There are 5 main types: Food Packaging Materials – Types and Features Paper and card Glass Paper and card Glass packaging is often packaging is commonly used for sauces and used for items such as pickled foods. MAP – modified atmosphere packaging Modified atmosphere breakfast cereals and packaging is suitable for flour. a variety of food items, including fresh produce and meats. Metal Plastics/ polystyrene Metal packaging is commonly used for Plastic and polystyrene packaging are canned vegetables, soups, and fizzy often used for items like yogurts, fruits, drinks. and vegetables. Food manufacturers and caterers are making efforts to minimize the quantity of packaging used for food products. They are also striving to utilize recyclable materials whenever possible. Additionally, customers are being encouraged to reuse and recycle food packaging whenever feasible or buy loose rather than packaged food items (some shops specialise in this). Polystyrene boxes Their use is reducing with fast food companies replacing with paper packaging as far as possible. Paper will not keep food hot, whereas polystyrene will. For burgers, fish and chips, etc Strong, easy to print, light to carry, do not react with food, act as an insulator to keep food hot But not very environmentally unfriendly as difficult to degrade (break down). Also very bulky and not that strong - can be easily broken Clear plastic sandwich boxes Light to carry Environmentally unfriendly Easy to see what’s inside, keeps The clear part is made from oil and sandwiches fresh, hygienic - hard to recycle. Better if made with prevents physical contamination for just paper, but then cannot see the example by contents. Modified atmosphere packaging Packaging (usually plastic) which changes the gas inside packaging (often using nitrogen) to prevent discolouration of the contents, for example packaged beef steak. This increases shelf life and may reduce food waste as a result. MAP is often used for more expensive premium products and also for items that go off quickly, for example bags of ready prepared salad. Plastic containers with lids Keep food hot Designed to keep food hot, making them Prevent leaks These containers help prevent leaks, ideal for takeaways like Indian and ensuring that the food stays contained Chinese cuisine. and mess-free during transportation. Often takeaways can be a bit greasy and plastic helps contain this. Microwavable and reusable Non-reactive with food They can be safely used in the microwave Plastic containers with lids do not react and are washable and reusable, offering with food, ensuring the safety and convenience and sustainability - reusing integrity of the food stored within them. for other things once clean. Some are recyclable, but not all are. Look for the recycle logo. Foil trays with card lids Keep Food Hot Identify Contents Used for Chinese and Can write on lids to Indian takeaways. Keep identify contents. Stack Can be recycled but the food hot, can write on easily, lightweight. Now process is expensive and lids to identify contents, often use paper time consuming, causing stack easily, lightweight. containers instead,but the move to paper these are not so fit for containers. Cannot microwave to reheat. purpose.. Recyclable but Expensive Metal cans Used for soup, fruit and vegetables. The cans are heat treated to a very high temperature to prevent infection by Clostridium Botulinum - this can kill. As with foil trays, these are easy to stack. They have paper labels with contents information as the cans cannot be written on. They can be stacked, but are liable to denting, which can leave the contents liable to being unsafe to eat if the inner lining has been damaged. Recycling is possible but is expensive and time consuming. Glass Used for oils, drinks, sauces and pickled food. Long shelf life. Problems with glass breaking, but it is quite easily recycled. Paper Paper bags: lightweight, can be shaped to the food, easily recycled. Used for wrapping food items such as sandwiches. Paperboard: lightweight, easily printed on, cheap, easily recycled. Used for pizzas, egg boxes. Key points Packaging Foods are packed for a number of reasons including protection, preservation and presentation Packaging give customers essential product information on food labels There are many types of packaging materials: glass, plastic/polystyrene, paper/ card, metal and card, MAP Packaging can be quite environmentally damaging due to the materials and processes used and the volume of packaging sent to landfill Producing packaging can use up natural resources of trees, oil and huge amounts of energy. Packaging cannot always be recycled due to mixed materials that have been used, for example some fruit juice cartons are made up of several different layers laminated together of card, plastic and foil If packaging is not biodegradable it can take many years to break down, especially black plastic trays Unrecyclable and recyclable packaging is disposed in landfill sites which take up space and causes pollution You also need to be able to write about how to minimise the impact of packaging. (See p94 of the textbook. ) Remember that best before and use by dates also appear on packaging. Consumer: recycle using the correct bins repurpose containers avoid packaging that is not biodegradable use bags for life or other reusable shopping bags buy from retailers who sell loose items or use less packaging don't over-buy use eco-friendly shops use own water bottles/ take own coffee cup to shops Retailer: sell more loose items use brown bags/ mesh bags for fruit and vegetables sell food that is packaged in recyclable containers sell larger packs reusable shopping bags/ charge for bags for life refill stations for loose items such as dried pasta What to do Read the Eduqas textbook p 92-94. Draw a table about types of different packaging with their advantages/ disadvantages. Also what each can be used for. Be able to answer these questions: State 3 reasons for packaging food. Give 2 reasons why a consumer could find the packaging of a food product useful. Explain why packaging can be considered harmful to the environment. Name 4 foods and state a suitable type of packaging for it. Attempt the exam questions given to you separately. Most exam questions focus on matching the type of packaging to suitable uses and also look at how recyclable they are. You may be asked to think about manufacturers, retailers and consumers reducing packaging. Type of packaging Card/paper Flour, breakfast cereals Glass Sauces, pickled foods Plastic Yogurts, fruit and vegetables Metal/ foil/ cans Canned vegetables, soup, fizzy drinks Ovenable paperboard Chilled and frozen ready meals, some pizzas Polystyrene Takeway food (now used less often) Summary 1 Uses up natural resources, eg trees, oil and energy Can cause pollution (air, land or sea) Cannot always be recycled due to the mix of materials used eg fruit juice cartons have different layers laminated together which are very hard to separate If not biodegradable, can take many years to break down eg black plastics can take hundreds of years Non-recyclable packaging goes into landfill which takes up space and causes pollution