Chemistry of Food Packaging

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9 Future Needs in Food Packaging Materials

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S E Y M O U R G. G I L B E R T Department of Food Science and Packaging Science and Engineering Center, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. 08903

The future of food packaging and its material needs are examined in terms of societal changes. The expansion of packaged foods with increasing urbanization is imperative to cope with solid waste problems, but the future material choices may depend on their adaptability to ecologically effective systems. A cascade rather than recycle system is predicted because of health-related problems in controlling the safety as well as quality of recycled vs. virgin materials. Thus effective secondary and tertiary uses may be the most efficient system for conserving resources. The complexity of future societal demands will require rapid expansion of scientific knowledge which will fulfill these predictable future needs for packaging materials.

"Cood packaging reflects the needs of human societies and their technical capacities to provide for these needs. The kinds and amounts of food supply, the methods of food preservation, and the availability of packaging materials determine the packaging systems i n any culture—be it prehistoric, present, or future. In contrast to the agriculturally predominant past, the food packaging system i n the highly industrialized modern society is based on a shift i n the proportion of its food supply which originates at distant high productivity centers which are often closely associated with adjacent processing centers. Thus food i n its final consumer form or as stabilized bulk commodities moves as a packaged product. The package is the major device for maintaining the stabilizing factors incorporated during preservation. Some major new factors in modern packaging are the use of graphics for consumer appeal and additional design features for operational convenience. These features have often resulted i n higher intrinsic package 95 In Chemistry of Food Packaging; Swalm, Charles M.; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1974.

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costs. However overall cost is reduced by greater sales volume. Lower production costs are usually obtained by higher capital expenditures for production machinery at the material fabrication and package production levels. W e expect that some of these factors w i l l continue to influence strongly future food packaging. Certainly the availability of new materials w i l l be a strong spur to the innovator. The interest i n barrier polymers for plastic bottle production reflects the potential for these resins in the multibillion beverage containers market. The combination of physical strength with light weight had led to the rapid expansion of the plastic bottle market. Now, to penetrate this new market, high gas barrier properties are also needed for carbonated beverages. H o w much the ecology question contributed to the impetus for developing plastic beverage bottles is debatable. I know from personal contacts this was originally a major factor. In part the uncertainty results from the need for clearer definition of the relation of packaging to environmental control. The major contribution of packaging to solid waste control has often been ignored by less informed advocates. Food preservation, with its attendant packaging systems, has reduced biodegradable wastes associated with our food supply. This reduction applies not only to consumed food but to the wastes normally associated with non-edible portions. The separation of the production centers from the place of consumption has shifted the solid waste disposal problem to the production centers. A t the consumer level a much smaller amount of packaging material has been substituted for waste disposal than was previously needed when primarily unprocessed food supplies were characteristic of urban life. The substitution of non-biodegradable packaging material for the much greater volume of biodegradable wastes has greatly aided in both health safety and in keeping the sewage loads from drowning our expanding cities. The relationship of packaging to safety in health and in the reduction of dangerous accumulation of sewage is most evident in hospitals and similar institutions such as nursing homes. The need for absolute control of microbial contamination i n incoming medication and surgical devices is paramount. Prepackaged, sterile instruments are commonplace in the operating room, and the unit dose concept for medication is rapidly gaining acceptance. What is less obvious but of greater potential volume is the growing use of prepackaged foods. Here the availability of safety and reliability by proper quality control helps to compensate for the skill of the individual cook, whose culinary expertise and sanitation are often impossible to control in a modern, large institution. The prospect of substantial cost reduction and the ability of prepackaged food to fit into schemes of

In Chemistry of Food Packaging; Swalm, Charles M.; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1974.

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federally subsidized geriatric care could be an important additional spur in this direction. The attendant reduction in solid waste from food preparation is again vital in this situation. Here, insect carriers of disease and their source of food, the garbage pile, require scrupulous control. Beverages, in contrast to most foods, have a low ratio of nutrient to weight. Thus justification of packaging waste on nutrient supply is not possible. The industry could be a particularly vulnerable target for those concerned with the solid waste problem if this factor were the only basis for judgment. Established alternatives to the nonreturnable bottle in the noncarbonated areas are concentrates and soluble powders. The justification for moving water by container rather than pipe is made on the basis of pleasure rather than necessity where high quality municipal water is available. F o r the carbonated beverage industry to continue i n a society concerned with urban solid waste, its packaging must be consistent with the available disposal systems. Incineration, as well as returnables and recovered scrap, is an alternative to recycling. Because of the new polymeric barriers this technique can be used where the municipal incineration system incorporates energy recovery. This arrangement depends, however, on the availability of properly designed incinerators with scrubbers and energy recovery. There is an important "feedback factor" which cannot be properly evaluated at this time. It concerns future municipal investment in a specific waste control system. This could result in legislation controlling the input of important potential waste materials to the municipality. F o r example large capital investment in a heat/energy recovery system based on incineration might induce legislative restrictions on low calorific materials like metals and glass. Health-related institutions again show the future trend in a m i crocosm. Suitable incineration facilities may determine the ability of such institutions to function effectively in an urban environment. W h e n adequate processes for solid waste and air pollution control by incineration are developed, the use of combustible, one-way trip disposables for all incoming materials can be expected to accelerate. This w i l l result in a decrease in the need for a direct fuel supply. The complexity of the problems associated with future food packaging can be seen from these examples. W e have focused on only one factor in one segment of the food industry—the effect of change in solid waste disposal. The present uncertainties in technical and political aspects of the disposal problem prevent a definite decision as to whether packaging changes should be made. A l l the industry can do at present is prepare itself for a possible major shift that would have to be made in a short time.

In Chemistry of Food Packaging; Swalm, Charles M.; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1974.

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Other factors for change are more certain of success. One is cost of the ultimate package. The steady rise in both real and inflated packaging costs causes higher retail food prices. However there is always consumer resistance to these increases. The packager w i l l continue to search for alternate cheaper materials or those which can be fabricated more economically. The introduction of machines to replace hand labor or to operate at higher speeds may, as in the potato chip industry, lead to use of more costly materials which are more compatible with the newer machines. The key is always volume which in turn is related to total market and market share. If a well-capitalized company can cut overall costs by machine changes, it can consolidate its market position. Thus packaging changes leading to greater automation favor the larger companies. This is analogous to an autocatalytic reaction where the availability of initial capital is the equivalent of the limiting activation energy. In addition to the cost factor, changes which also result in more functional packages—e.g., longer shelf life, operational convenience, etc. — w o u l d encourage change. Supply is related to cost. If basic materials become scarce, changes w i l l follow. Thus constraints in the petroleum supply may affect the polymer industry, which is based almost entirely on petrochemicals. W e can look for expanded use of paper-based materials to provide factors such as bulk, tensile properties, and thermal resistance combined with the low weights of proper barrier materials. Composites w i l l continue to grow in quantity and complexity. In addition to the solid waste problem, we can also expect that with expanding population or expanding demands of a static population, there w i l l be societal pressure to reduce material usage over and above cost factors. These pressures could result in legislation to expand the environmental protection philosophy. For example, since plant materials are a renewable resource as well as readily recyclable, we may expect forced increases in paper-based packages. The recycling concept has inherent constraints not usually recognized by its advocates. Since the difficulties of maintaining quality standards and control are often insurmountable in recycling heterogenous sources, it would be much more feasible to define a sequence of declining requirements for reused materials. This "cascade" principle would put food packaging at the first stage when stringent health safety considerations normally apply. Paperboard for food use would be restricted to either virgin pulp or its equivalent to avoid contamination problems such as the recent P C B (poly chlorinated biphenyl) scare. This idea is already embodied in the 1968 Food Amendments legislation in F D A . W e expect the concept of close control of packaging ma-

In Chemistry of Food Packaging; Swalm, Charles M.; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1974.

Downloaded by UNIV OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO on January 21, 2016 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: June 1, 1974 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1974-0135.ch009

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terial identity to be expanded with the legal and ethical ability to control the introduction of new packaging materials. W e can expect drastic changes i n the food packaging industry. Some w i l l arise from new consumer needs, new or expanded food supplies and products, and new food preservation systems such as aseptic packaging. Others w i l l result from societally based constraints such as safety i n health and hazardous use (as in the child safety closure legislation) and consumer protection against fraud, misinformation, or wrongful use where the burden for awareness is no longer on the buyer but on the supplier. Other such constraints w i l l arise from environmental concerns or material scarcities. The development of special societal needs, such as the large urban health center or geriatric institution with its special problems, w i l l offer unique opportunities for specialized food packaging. The solutions to these problems may presage important priorities assigned i n relation to broader aspects of a densely populated human society. A strong, scientifically based technology coupled with an attentive management w i l l be needed to provide the ability to change rapidly if necessary. There must also be assurances against undue error but not at the price of unnecessary delay i n meeting new challenges. RECEIVED November 5, 1 9 7 3 .

In Chemistry of Food Packaging; Swalm, Charles M.; Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1974.