Understanding Food Packaging and Recycling in the Food Industry
Food packaging plays a crucial role in protecting, preserving, and presenting food products to consumers. Good packaging should be safe, hygienic, and eco-friendly. Recycling is essential to reduce waste and conserve resources. Metals are commonly used in packaging, with advantages and disadvantages to consider. Recycling metals, such as aluminum cans, can significantly decrease energy usage and environmental impact.
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Presentation Transcript
Packaging and Labelling Chapter 17: Food Processing and Labelling
What I Will Learn To evaluate the packaging on convenience foods To assess the information found on food labels
Functions of Packaging Food products are packaged in order to: Protect the food from contamination during transport and storage to ensure it arrives in peak condition Make the food easier to transport, store and sell Preserve food, thereby preventing waste and food spoilage Increase the shelf life of food, thus reducing waste Make the food more attractive to the consumer Provide information for the consumer, e.g. use-by date, nutritional information and cooking instructions
Good Packaging Should Be . . . Safe, non-toxic Hygienic Easy to open and reseal Economical to produce Strong and long-lasting Biodegradable or recyclable Odourless Moisture- and vapour-proof Able to prevent contamination by micro-organisms Attractive: Colours help the product stand out; the shape should be simple or striking and the image or logo should stand out
Recycling Recycling is the process of turning used waste and materials into new products. This prevents potentially useful materials from being wasted, as well as reducing energy use and pollution.
Materials Used In Packaging: Metals Advantages Totally protects food by preventing the entry of gases, micro-organisms, and moisture Cans and tins are easy to stack and store Can be heated, but not in a microwave Can be lacquered to prevent reaction with food Disadvantages Can be heavy so they increase transport costs Can be expensive to produce Some are not recyclable Metals Aluminium, tin, plated steel Tin cans Aluminium cans Aluminium foil wrap Foil containers Foil bags Aerosols
Materials Used In Packaging: Metals (continued) Examples of use Environmental impact Metal is a limited and non-renewable resource non-biodegradable but recyclable Metal makes up 3.5% of domestic waste Recycling saves raw materials and energy The aluminium can is one of the most valuable waste materials Recycling aluminium cans uses only 5% of energy needed to make them from scratch Fruit/vegetables Fish Soft drinks Butter Take-aways Coffee Whipped cream
Materials Used In Packaging: Glass Glass Jars Bottles Advantages Hygienic as it can be sterilised Protects food from contaminants Rigid containers that come in a variety shapes, sizes and colours Transparent and resealable Easy to stack Suited to heat treatments Doesn t react with food Easily moulded Disadvantages Heavy to transport Fragile easy to break Expensive to make
Materials Used In Packaging: Glass (continued) Examples of use Environmental impact Glass makes up 7.5% of domestic waste Reusable and 100% recyclable collected glass is crushed and used as a substitute for making new glass Numerous collection points (bottle banks) countrywide Can be recycled many times with no loss in quality Recycling saves energy, raw materials, production costs and landfill Mayonnaise Olive oil Sauces Soft drinks Jam Preserves
Materials Used In Packaging: Paper Paper Advantages Biodegradable Low in cost Easy to open Lightweight Can be printed on Waxed paper is waterproof and can be heat-sealed Waxed cartons are suitable for sterilising (Tetra pak) Disadvantages Not suitable for some foods It is not easy to reseal Plain paper is not very strong and disintegrates when wet Plain paper Waxed paper Waxed/laminated cardboard cartons Greaseproof paper Cardboard
Materials Used In Packaging: Paper (continued) Examples of use Sugar Bread Orange juice Sausage rolls Milk Cereal boxes Eggs Environmental impact Paper is an environmentally friendly packaging that is biodegradable and recyclable The average household throws away 13,000 separate pieces of paper each year most is packaging and junk mail Recycling saves energy, conserves trees (17 trees = 1 tonne paper) and saves on disposal costs
Materials Used In Packaging: Plastic Plastic Advantages Strong and moisture- proof Lightweight and flexible Heat-sealable Relatively low in cost Suitable for frozen foods Comes in a variety of weights, sizes, thicknesses and shapes Can be printed on Convenient and easy to handle Disadvantages Some plastic containers/ packaging can contaminate food if heated, so food needs to be removed into another container to be heated Plastic cartons or boxes PET (polyethylene terepthalate) bottles Polystyrene Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)
Materials Used In Packaging: Plastic (continued) Examples of use Dried pasta Yoghurt Dairy spread Soft drinks Take-away food Environmental impact 120,000 tonnes of waste plastic are generated in Ireland each year Not biodegradable and made from crude oil, which is a limited, non-renewable source of energy A limited amount is recycled in Ireland, because the procedure is costly, time- consuming and we have limited facilities PET can be recycled as fibre Plastic packaging as litter is a major environmental hazard
Consumer Responsibility To reduce the impact of packaging materials on the environment, consumers should: Reduce, reuse and recycle where possible Avoid buying products with excess packaging Buy loose rather than pre-packed fruit and vegetables Compact cartons, cans and bottles before recycling Compost organic packaging and food waste Buy products in recycled packaging Buy in bulk or economy size to reduce packaging Buy concentrated detergents, softeners and deodorants Use cloth or other reusable bags when shopping
Class Activity: Packaging Materials In groups, research your topic and make a poster or factsheet to present to the rest of the class. Group 1: How to choose packaging for food Group 2: Metal packaging Group 3: Glass packaging Group 4: Paper packaging Group 5: Plastic packaging Group 6: Consumer responsibility in relation to packaging
Food Labels Labels on food products are an important source of information and are controlled by Irish law, e.g. Consumer Information Act 1978 and EU Directives. The information most pre-packed foods must show is the information on this soup can label.
Whats on a Food Label? Pre-packed food labels must show: Name of food and processing method, e.g. condensed milk Ingredients in order of descending weight additives, including flavourings and sweeteners must be included Quantity (%) of certain ingredients, e.g. beef in beef burgers Net quantity/weight in metric (kg or litre) Use-by date on perishables, best before date on non- perishables Instructions for storage and use if necessary
Whats on a Food Label? Name and address of manufacturer, packager, or seller in the EU Place of origin if absence might mislead the consumer, e.g. Irish Beef The detailed ingredients lists and nutritional information is important to all consumers but especially for those who must follow a special diet, e.g. coeliacs or diabetics, or anyone who is allergic to certain ingredients or additives, e.g. nuts or on a low- sugar, salt, fat or cholesterol diet.
Traffic Light System The traffic light system on labels is very simple and gives guidance on high, medium and low levels of key nutrients. Red = high Amber = medium Green = low Further exploration Find out more about traffic light system in food labelling at the following websites: Irishhealth.com NHS
Class Activity: Labelling Take two labels from two different food stuffs and find the following information, filling out the work sheet. See Activity 17.10 in the TRB
Webquest When shopping, it is important to be environmentally aware and have an understanding of ethical shopping. In groups, investigate a supermarket chain. Find out: 1. What the company is doing to reduce its energy consumption, carbon footprint and transportation costs. 2. What it is doing to reduce, reuse or recycle. 3. If it works with other organisations to become more sustainable, ethical or environmentally friendly. If so, explain what they do. 4. If it contributes to the local community where it is located. If so, explain how. Then, each group must present their findings to the class in a creative way.
Quick Revision 1. Explain why it is important to be aware of packaging while shopping for food. 2. What information must be displayed on a food label? Explain how this benefits the consumer.
