Food Packaging GCSE Catering

Types of Packaging Primary Secondary Tertiary The actual package or container that holds the product, e.g. bottle, can The packaging that supports the primary packaging e.g. the card cereal box that holds the inner bag Any packaging used primarily for transportation, e.g. wrapped pallets

Packaging Materials Glass Uses: Bottles and jars Advantages Can carry liquids Can be coloured, printed on Product can be seen Reusable/recyclable Disadvantages Brittle (easily breakable)

Packaging Material Cont’d Advantages Strong Withstands heat processing Lightweight High energy costs to produce Recyclable Easily printed on Disadvantages Must be coated inside or reacts with foods Cannot microwave Uses valuable energy to extract from the ground Metal Cans, screw caps, aerosols

Packaging Material Cont’d Disadvantages Causes litter problems Limited resource Not easily recycled Plastics and polystyrene Inner trays and bottles, Over-wrapping and bags Advantages Can be moulded to shape Resistant to moisture Very lightweight Can be folded Can be printed Reasonably strong Does not react to food

Packaging Material Cont’d Advantages Easy to print on Can be coated, treated or laminated Made from renewable sources Easy to handle Can be folded Lightweight Reasonably strong Poor protection against moisture Disadvantages Crushes easily Weak when wet Recycled paper and card cannot be used for food Paperboard & Card Uses: Labels, cartons, boxes, packets

Paired Activity Using the envelope provided play the ‘who am I’ game. You and your partner will each have a set of pictures. You need to pick up a random description and your partner needs to guess, using the pictures which packaging type you are

Packaging and the Environment Food packaging requires energy and uses up natural resources such as - trees - oil - sand - metal ores Most packages are thrown away – one third of all rubbish is packaging

Reducing Waste Consumers can: - buy re-usable containers - Re-use carrier bags - Take waste to recycling centres - Buy minimum packaging - Select biodegradable materials when possible Manufacturers can: - Reduce the amount of packaging used - Avoid harmful processes such as bleaching with chemicals - Use recyclable materials - Printing symbols on packaging