Food Packaging - American Chemical Society

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Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on January 2, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: April 20, 2000 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2000-0753.pr001

Preface

Packaging development has been driven by the demands of the food industry, regulatory agencies, and environmental groups. The food industry wants packaging materials that provide better barriers, that preserve products better, and that help give them longer shelf lives. The regulatory agencies want assurance that the materials, which are being developed, meet the necessary safety standards to insure that products are not contaminated by the materials in which they are packaged. On the environmental side, there are demands for use of less material overall and to reuse or recycle as much of that material as possible. In the area of new barriers, not only are new materials being developed but also new ways of combining existing materials are being investigated. One approach that is being taken to enhance the quality of certain products is to use edible barriers within the food itself. A n example of this might be a pizza in which the sauce could cause sogginess in the crust. A barrier between the two components could improve the quality of the final product. Another example where this technology might be applicable is in baked products containing pieces of fruit. The fruit has a higher moisture content than the surrounding baked good and a barrier could help to prevent the fruit from drying out and the baked product from getting soggy. One of the areas of considerable interest that has been led by the environmentalists is the reuse and recycling of packaging materials. Both of these cause potential concern. Whether the material is to be recycled or reused, the concern centers on what the consumer may have used the package for after consuming the product and before returning it. Any contaminants that the package may have absorbed could potentially contaminate the next product that is put in the package. This could result in quality problems for a beverage that is put into a reusable bottle. If the bottle has absorbed a flavor, it may release it into the next product that is put into that container. If a nonfood item such as gasoline or a pesticide were stored in the bottle, there is potential for contamination of the food with unapproved chemicals. With these developments come demands for better testing methodologies. When looking at barriers in packaging, there are standard tests for oxygen, water vapor, and other individual gases. These tests do not address the issues of aroma permeation or potential for migration from the packages. Extensive test development has occurred to prove the safety of both recycled and reused packaging materials. This testing has had to look at a wide variety of potential contaminants to insure that any possible scenario has been considered before the materials are approved for direct contact with food products. Although testing can be carried out to determine the potential for migration from packaging materials into foods and the loss of flavors from the food through the vii

Risch; Food Packaging ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.

Downloaded by 80.82.77.83 on January 2, 2018 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: April 20, 2000 | doi: 10.1021/bk-2000-0753.pr001

packaging material, this is often a time consuming process. Research is being conducted to model these processes. Several chapters in this book address the issue of modeling the diffusion of compounds through different types of packaging. Numerous equations have been proposed and it appears that the modeling that is done is dependent on the compound that is diffusing through the material and the nature of the material itself. As these models are developed, they could provide a real benefit to package developers and regulatory agencies to better understand what might happen in actual use without having to conduct extensive testing of all the different potential migrants. The packaging industry will continue to develop new materials, and scientists will be challenged to find ways to test those materials to prove their safety and effectiveness. This is the third American Chemical Society symposium to address the issue of interactions between foods and packaging materials. The needs of the marketplace will put demands on the materials that we use to better protect our foods and maintain not only the quality of the products but also the safety of the foods being consumed. S A R A J . RISCH

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Risch; Food Packaging ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.