Guide to food packaging and packaging materials

Abstract

Packaging is increasingly becoming very important in the economies of most developing countries. Unfortunately, the use of unsuitable packaging materials, inadequate and ineffective packaging can be identified as common practices in most developing countries. Several reasons could be attributed to this. One reason could be the absence of a reliable reference brochure on food packaging specifically devoted towards tropical food products. This brochure has been put together to meet this objective. This brochure is organized into a number of chapters. The first chapter covers the topic on the introduction to food packaging which includes the functions of food package. The second to fourth chapters cover topics on packaging materials, aseptic packaging and other specialized forms of packaging, vacuum and modified atmosphere packaging. Thereafter, the packaging of specific food groups has been included. In each of these latter chapters, the key factors for packaging of each food groups have been considered, followed by recommended packaging and storage systems for the particular food group. It is hoped that this guide will serve as useful reference brochure for food processing companies, students, as well as workers in research and development in developing countries