by fogiene | Sep 29, 2020 | Blog
What is the Importance of Food Packaging?
Food packaging is used to allow for easy transport of goods, protect the integrity of food products, and ensure separation from harmful chemicals, particles, bacteria, and pests. It also allows for food labelling and other information for consumers such as ingredients allowing you to adhere to any laws and regulations regarding labelling of for-consumption goods. Food packaging plays an important role in ensuring Food Safety.
In this article, we’ll do our best to answer common questions about food packaging to help you understand the importance of packaging in your small business.
What Material is Used for Food Packaging?
Food packaging uses a variety of different materials to protect food and provide surfaces for labelling. The types of material used in your food packaging will depend on your preferences and the food products that you’re storing. Most food packaging consists of either glass, cardboard, metal, or plastic.
What Are the Different Types of Packaging?
Different types of packaging will depend on the size and nature of your food product. For example, some vendors bulk-sell large amounts of a product using cardboard as a form of packaging. They may also have internal packaging that further protects the product. Suppliers of individual beverages typically use custom glass or plastic containers to transport and sell their products.
The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to food packaging. You can even develop packaging designs specific to your company or brand – this makes your products more noticeable to consumers and aids in marketing.
What Are the Different Types of Packaging?
Aseptic Processing
This is for foods that are sterile and are to be maintained sterile. These items include liquid eggs, milk and milk product drinks, along with other foods that are processed and need to be preserved for longer periods of time. Aseptic packages are made of a mixture of paper, polyethylene, and aluminium and contain a tight inside layer of polyethylene. Sterile pharmaceuticals are mostly packaged in plastic or glass, such as syringes and vials.
Trays
This is mostly self-explanatory. Trays are what meats, plant seeds, and drinks can be carried in. They are mostly flat with raised edges to keep the product in place, and are made of various materials such as paperboard.
Bags
Like trays, bags are a common form of food packaging. Most commonly known are bagged snacks (chips, pretzels) and fruit (apples, potatoes). “Bagging” separates the food from the environment, namely the air.
Boxes
Boxes are used for the most easy form of transportation of a food product. Most common materials found in boxes are metal, corrugated fiberboard, and wood. Frozen pizzas, cereals, and snack crackers are examples of foods packaged in boxes.
Cans
Cans are also an excellent way of preserving and transporting foods. Most cans are made of steel or other thin metal when found in stores, as well as glass jars when foods are canned in the home.
Cartons
Boxes and cartons are oftentimes interchangeable. Like boxes, cartons are also made out of corrugated fibreboard and are used for transporting food. Within the food packaging type of cartons, there are four sub-categories. The most well-known is the egg carton which is moulded to the shape of the egg to add protection while the food product is mobile. Aseptic cartons also lie in this category. Examples of this are milk, juice, and soup cartons. Another sub-category of cartons are the folding cartons, which begin as flat pieces of corrugated fibreboard and then assembled by the food manufacturer. Lastly, there are gable tops. These cartons usually hold milk or juice and require the gables at the top to be pinched then pulled in order to be opened.
Flexible packaging
Similar to bags, flexible packaging protects the food protect from the environment and create an adequate means of transporting foods. Bagged salad is a common food found in flexible packaging.
Pallets
Pallets are used for mass transportation of a product. Boxes of the product are placed and stacked on the pallet, then wrapped to secure and decrease food movement.
Wrappers
Used for individual items, wrappers provide protection between the food and the environment or the food and a person’s hands. Candy bars are most commonly thought of.
What is Primary and Secondary Packaging?
Primary food packaging is the most essential form of packaging. Primary food packaging is in direct contact with the food product – it preserves the products and ensures protection from external bacteria or particles. Secondary packaging is used for branding and as an extra measure of protection for the food product.
In many cases, food suppliers use primary packaging to package small amounts of food. Secondary packaging is then used to contain the smaller packages together. It’s a great way to bulk-sell smaller portions of food products.
Why Do We Use Food Packaging?
At the end of the day, we use food packaging to protect food and to ensure customers can identify the product. Without food packaging, you wouldn’t be able to distinguish your food products from other market competitors. You also wouldn’t be able to guarantee that your food products aren’t expired.
Food packaging is vital for protecting food against external microbes and bacteria. It can also help preserve food and ensure it doesn’t spoil. After food packaging is removed, the shelf life of a food product is greatly reduced.
All the above factors have a direct impact on the shelf life of a product. Need expert assistance on shelf life studies? Contact us for a free consultation today.
by fogiene | Sep 26, 2020 | Blog
Next to air, water is the most important element for the preservation of life. Water is a finite commodity which, if not managed properly, will result in shortages in the near future. Water conservation can go a long way to help alleviate these impending shortages.
1. Check your toilet for leaks.
Put a few drops of food colouring in your toilet tank. If, without flushing, the colouring begins to appear in the bowl., you have a leak that may be wasting more than 100 gallons of water a day.
2. Take shorter showers
A typical shower uses five to ten gallons of water a minute. Limit your showers to the time it takes to soap up, wash down and rise off.
3. Turn off the water while brushing your teeth
Before brushing, wet your brush and fill a glass for rinsing your mouth.
4. Turn off the water while shaving
Fill the bottom of the sink with a few inches of warm water in which to rinse your razor.
5. Check faucets and pipes for leaks
Even a small drip can waste 50 or more gallons of water a day.
6. Don’t let the tap run while you clean vegetables
Rinse your vegetables instead in a bowl or sink full of clean water.
7. When washing dishes, don’t leave the water running for rinsing
Fill the sink with water to rinse rather than leaving the tap running.
8. Check faucets and pipes for leaks
Leaks waste water 24 hours a day, seven days a week. An inexpensive washer is usually enough to stop them.
9. Plant drought-resistant trees and plants
Many beautiful trees and plants thrive without irrigation.
10. Do rainwater harvesting
Find ways to save and store rainwater for use.
All the above factors have a direct impact on the amount of water we consume. Need expert assistance on water testing? Contact us for a free consultation with Fogiene Sciences today.
by fogiene | Sep 20, 2020 | Blog
1. Raw materials
If a raw material is incorporated into another product without being processed or significantly changed, the life of the final product should not exceed the life declared for the raw material.
If a raw material is changed during processing (e.g. by being cooked) or if the storage requirements change (e.g. chilled raw material but frozen final product) the life given to the final product should be re-assessed.
2. Product description
A great recipe is not enough to which to base the shelf life of a product and also it is not advisable to copy the shelf life of a similar product. There are many factors that determine the shelf life and each product is unique.
Ingredients added to ensure food safety such as pH, preservative, water activity etc. may be specific to that ingredient and may not be of the same type, added in the same quantity or may not be present at all in similar ingredients. Therefore if it is added in a recipe, their reactions may be totally different when interacting with other ingredients.
The mix and quantity of ingredients used in the recipe may also affect parameters, which in turn can influence consumer acceptance and therefore the shelf life of the product.
3. Type of packaging
Use of Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP) for the food being produced may enable a longer shelf-life to be assigned than would otherwise be possible.
Vacuum packaging can extend product life by removing all air from a package which is then sealed. The removal of the air is the key factor for preservation in these products although it should be noted that for some chilled foods this can increase the risk from some types of food poisoning bacteria, e.g. Clostridium botulinum, that will only grow in the absence of oxygen and in such cases additional controls will be required to be used in combination.
‘Active’ packaging materials in the form of sachets or altered packaging materials may be used to extend life either by adding or removing gases (e.g. oxygen) from a pack over life or by controlling the rate at which certain gases can pass through the film.
Different packaging materials may react differently on contact with food and consideration should be given to potential migration of chemicals from different packaging materials over time.
‘Secondary’ and ‘tertiary or transport’ packaging must not be ignored for these will often be designed to protect the primary packaging in direct contact with the food e.g. glass jars are designed to protect the food whilst the tertiary and secondary packaging are designed to protect the glass jar during its journey along the rest of the supply chain. Knowledge of the supply chain and handling requirements will be needed to ensure that external packaging carries sufficient information to ensure the primary pack and product is stored and handled correctly.
4. Temperature
The temperature to which foods are exposed may greatly affect the length of time that a food remains safe or of a suitable quality for consumption. Selection of the most appropriate temperature regimes and applying them consistently is therefore extremely important not just for finished product but also during preparation.
Consideration must be given to what can reasonably be expected to happen once the food has left your control.
Therefore, while instruction may be given for a food to be stored at +5oC or below, as it is reasonable to expect higher temperatures to occur in a consumer’s car and that the food will actually be held at below +8oC due to the normal operating temperature of a domestic fridge, these temperatures must be allowed for when setting the shelf-life. In some cases, the difference between the safe shelf life that can be obtained under ideal conditions and the shorter shelf life that occurs when allowing for such abuse is referred to as a ‘buffer’. However, it is advisable instead to think of this as a safety zone designed to protect both the consumer and the manufacturer or seller of the food.
If food is exported, do not assume that your product will be handled or stored under the same conditions as in your own country. The business to consumer supply chain should be considered in setting the appropriate shelf life. This will require investigation.
5. Hygiene
Product design and assessment in isolation does not provide enough information to enable the setting of shelf-life in relation to food safety. It is therefore important to consider:
Building design
The environment used for storing and handling both foods and food contact packaging will commonly range from a high risk environment where the aim is to prevent contamination from micro-organisms to a low risk area where the aim is to minimise the growth and contamination of micro-organisms. In some cases, there may even be ‘zero care’ environments such as outside catering. Clearly the lower the level of control achieved, the greater the risk of contamination that could immediately, or after a period of time, create a food safety problem.
Process design
Bacteria are highly unlikely to be completely absent from anything other than highly specialised food production areas and so it is important to build up a clear picture of where bacteria may exist, how quickly numbers increase and how they might contaminate the food. The effectiveness of cleaning, the length of time equipment is used before being cleaned and the sources of bacteria should therefore be carefully assessed. It is advisable to make use of laboratory testing to analyse findings and validate hygiene programs.
Equipment design and storage
The harder equipment is to clean and the longer it takes to clean, the less likely it is to be cleaned and disinfected effectively.
It is unlikely that equipment will remain in a hygienic condition indefinitely without specific controls being applied. The frequency of use and the controls in place to prevent recontamination of clean equipment should therefore be understood before deciding upon the shelf-life to apply.
6. Expected usage after opening
Different foods can be expected to be used in different ways from a packet of cereal being opened and lasting a number of weeks to an ice cream that is likely to be consumed immediately on opening.
Where there is any likelihood of a foodstuff not being consumed immediately on opening, this secondary or open life must also be allowed for taking into account all of the factors described above in relation to the food and the consumer’s environment such as a domestic kitchen.
All the above factors have a direct impact on the shelf life of a product. Need expert assistance on shelf life studies? Contact us for a free consultation with Fogiene Sciences today.
by fogiene | Sep 13, 2020 | Blog
As a consumer it is a little confusing to differentiate between ‘best before’ date, ‘expiry date’ and ‘use by date’ and hence these 3 dates are often mistaken. That’s why it is common that foods that may be 1 day over its ‘best before’ date is thrown away even though it would still be edible. So what is the difference between the 3 dates?
What does ‘best-before date’ mean?
The ‘best before’ date guarantees that properties of the product will remain intact up to this point. Once the date has passed it may lose some of its quality such as freshness, taste, aroma or nutrients. It does not mean that the food is unsafe for consumption. In order to decide whether the food is still edible, one should rely on his/her senses (sight, smell and taste). The product should not be consumed if you find that the taste has been compromised, odour and appearance is odd or it’s exhibiting strange consistency. Note: this only applies to unopened shelf-stable product. Once a sealed product is exposed to air it is prone to contamination. Thus, the ‘best before’ date no longer applies to it.
What does ‘use by date’ mean?
‘Use by’ date usually applies only to perishable goods such as fresh fish or meat. Dispose them off immediately once they have passed the ‘use by’ date.
What does ‘expiry date’ mean?
Expiration dates tell consumers the last day a product is safe to consume.
Advice to Consumers
- Take note of the “use by” or “best before” date of the food items before purchase or consumption.
- Do not eat nor donate food beyond its “use by” date, and be wary of the quality of food beyond the “best before” date.
- Always follow manufacturer’s direction for proper storage.
Advice to Producers
- Do not sell food nor give away food after its “use by” date.
- Ensure food sold after its “best before” date is still fit for human consumption.
- Ensure you conduct a shelf life study before giving a “use by” or “best before” date mark for a food.
Fogiene Sciences has decades of Experience & Expertise in Nutritional Labelling & Shelf Life Studies. Contact us for more information.
by fogiene | Sep 8, 2020 | Blog
There are several types of packing when it comes to food packing such as tetra pack, nitrogen packing, vacuum packing, and many others. You want to know the difference between nitrogen packing and vacuum packing? To understand this we have to realise why we require packaging of materials.
Packaging is essential. Every day we take products out of their package. Think as simple as a sandwich, cheese, or chips. Almost everything comes packed. We give you 5 reasons why, especially for you as a retailer, a good package can make your product stand out.
1. Protection
Of course you want your customer to get home with or receive their products at home, undamaged and in great condition. The items must be packed weathertight and they should be able to take a little beating. The package must be tuned to the contents.
2. Keeping fresh
Keeping your product fresh or tenable (longer), can be done in many ways now a days. Shrink film, cooling packaging, oxygen free packaging, possibilities keep growing. Handing your customer their fresh fish in a cooler bag (especially on the local market day) is a great example of point 3, 4 and 5 as well.
3. Service
Even though people are used to it, offering a good package to your customer is a sign of good service. Whether you give your packaging away for free of you sell them, your customers expects to be offered an option to take their purchased items home.
4. Image
Your packaging is an extension of your overall image. When your image is one of luxury or maybe innovation, you can show this in your packaging in many great ways. Is your image one of low prices, an economical priced bag is a better fit to your image.
5. Publicity
By personalizing your packages, for example place your logo on it, your brand is much more visible in the streets. It’s a type of “free” advertisement when people, for instance, carry your bag around. Especially when you have a complex logo sign it’s advisable to create a positive recognition of your logo and brand.
Indians consume a lot of processed foods every day. They’re convenient and easy to transport and store. Processed foods need a lot of protection, from the processing plant to the grocery store, and to your kitchen. Plus, you may need to store them for a while before you use them.
Dry foods are usually packaged in bags and boxes. The key to long-term preservation is removing oxygen from the containers because the oxygen exposure causes the food to deteriorate. The fats will go rancid, discoloration of the food occurs, and the product spoils and goes to waste. There are two ways to accomplish this, either vacuum packaging or nitrogen flushing.
The first step in vacuum packaging is to get the food into a bag. Next, the bag is connected to a vacuum, and the air is removed, which of course, takes the oxygen along with it. The bag is sealed, and the product is ready to be labelled and shipped.
Regular vacuum packaging works fine for sturdy solid foods like fresh meat, but it doesn’t work well for foods that are delicate, like chips. These foods need protection during transportation so that they won’t be crushed or broken.
Nitrogen Flushing
When you pick up a bag of chips, you can hear and feel the chips banging around, and it seems like there’s much more air in the bag than actual chips. But it isn’t really like the air you breathe because the package doesn’t contain oxygen. All that ‘air’ is nitrogen gas.
Chip and snack bags are not filled with nitrogen gas just so they look bigger. The bags are designed that way to protect the delicate foods inside from both oxygen exposure and physical damage. The nitrogen replaces the oxygen in the bag, and it cushions and protects the contents.
And no worries about the nitrogen gas. It’s completely safe.3 In fact, you’re exposed to nitrogen constantly because it makes up about 70 percent of the air you breathe.
Nitrogen flushing is a method used to preserve and protect food from damage during shipping and storage. Nitrogen replaces the oxygen in a food storage bag, and it cushions the contents. Unlike oxygen, nitrogen doesn’t react with foods or affect the flavour or texture, so they stay fresher longer.
How It Works
First, the food is added to an open package, something like a plastic or mylar bag. Next, food manufacturers use machines that force the regular oxygen-rich air out of the bags and immediately fill them with nitrogen gas.4 Then, before the nitrogen has a chance to escape, a machine seals the bags tightly. The bags are placed in large boxes and shipped to grocery stores, convenience stores, and restaurants.
The nitrogen-filled packages help to protect the delicate foods inside for as long as the bag is sealed. Of course, once you open the bags, the nitrogen escapes and is replaced by regular air that’s about 20% oxygen. That means the food inside is no longer protected and will start to deteriorate and the oils or fats will start to go rancid. You can maintain some of the freshness by keeping the package closed with a twist tie or clip, or by placing the food in a resealable container and putting it in the fridge, but it’s best to consume the food products within a short time.
Food packaging has a direct impact on the shelf life of a product. Need expert assistance on shelf life studies? Contact us for a free consultation with Fogiene Sciences today.
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