1. Food Packaging & Food labelling
© PDST Home Economics.

2. Reasons for packaging Protection Ease of transport & storage
To preserve food thereby preventing waste and spoilage.
Marketing
To carry information

3. Desirable Properties of Food Packaging
Safe, non-toxic
Hygienic
Easy to open and reseal
Attractive
Economical
Strong
Biodegradable or recyclable
Odourless
Desirable Properties of Food Packaging

4. Materials used in packaging
Examples of use
Metals: Tin cans, aluminium cans, foil containers, foil bags, aerosols
Fruit, soft drinks, take-aways, coffee, whipped cream.
Glass: Jars, bottles
Mayonnaise, olive oil
Paper: Plain paper, waxed paper, laminated cartons, greaseproof paper, cardboard
Sugar, bread, orange juice, sausage rolls, cereal boxes
Plastic: polythene, plastic cartons or plastic boxes, PET (polyethylene terepthalate) bottles, polystyrene.
Dried pasta, yoghurt, dairy spread, soft drinks, take-away food.

5. Suitability for purpose
Metal: protects, easy stack & store, can be heated, lacquered to prevent reaction with food, heavy -increase transport cost, expensive, recyclable.
Glass: hygienic, protects well, rigid, variety shapes & sizes, transparent, resealable, stackable, can be heated, doesn’t react with food, heavy, breakable, costly, recyclable.
Paper: biodegradable, low cost, easy to open not easy to reseal, light, can be printed on, plain paper-not strong, waxed paper is moistureproof & vapour proof.
Plastic:strong, moisture proof, light, flexible, heat sealable, low cost, suitable for freezing, variety of weights, sizes, shapes, thicknessess, can be printed on, some may contaminate food when heated in microwave.

6. Packaging and the Environment
Each home produces 1 ton waste/year.
1/3 is packaging and ½ of this is recyclable.
01/03/03 EU directive on recycling packaging means Ireland must recycle 50% by 2005
Careless disposal leads to litter, pollution and need for more landfill sites
Recycle =convert waste to usable material.
Plastic bag levy Mar.2002, 15cent
Packaging and the Environment

7. Packaging & Environment
Metal: 3% domestic waste=33000tons, recycling saves raw materials and energy. Recycling aluminium cans uses only 5% of energy needed to make them from scratch.
Glass: 7.5% domestic waste, reusable and recyclable, numerous collection points, collected glass is crushed and used as a substitute for raw materials, conserves energy, raw materials and production cost
Paper: environmentally friendly packaging, readily recycled, recycling conserves trees (17 trees=1ton paper),saves energy, reduces waste.
Plastic: non-biodegradable, made from crude oil a non-renewable resource, 120,000 tonnes waste plastic in
Ire. /yr, Not all recyclable, lack of recycling facilities in Ire. PET can be recycled as fibre.

8. Consumer Responsibility
Reuse and recycle
Avoid excess packaging
Buy loose fruit & veg.
Compact waste before putting in recycling bin
Compost organic packaging e.g. cardboard
Buy products made from recycled materials.

9. Food labelling - Functions
Inform consumer about the nature of pre-packed food
Identify product
Help sell product

10. Labelling regulations
EU legislation regarding food labelling is enforced by The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI)
All labels must be:
Unambiguous (clear)
Legible
Indelible
Easy to see
Written in English
Not misleading

11. Essential information on pre-packed food labels
Name under which product is sold
Ingredients in order of decending weight.
%of certain ingredients e.g.beef in burgers
Net quantity in metric (kg or litre)
Use by date on perishables, best before date on non-perishables.
Instructions for storage and use if necessary
Name and address of manufacturer, packager, or seller in the EU
Place of origin if absence might mislead
Alcoholic strength if more than 1.2% alcohol by volume.
Indicate if food has been irradiated, genetically modified, have been packed in modified atmosphere

12. Labelling
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP): composition of gas inside package is different to air. Gases like CO2, O2 and N2 (inert) are used to stop microbes growing & prolong shelf-life
Medicinal claims of treating preventing or curing disease are not allowed.
Nutritional content must be stated per 100g or 100ml for comparison
If claims are made about a certain ingredient the % of that ingredient must be stated e.g. low fat butter 39% fat.
A claim of fortification must be true.
Non-packaged food: display of following info must be nearby, name, origin, class, variety, price per kilo
Price Labelling: must be on food or shelf, pre-packed food of varying weight must give unit price and pack price,