How to Pack Food Grade for a Long Time
Packing has become vital aspect in changing time. The entire definition of packaging has been changed thanks to growing consumer’s awareness, competition and the ethical requirements.
Today packaging does not mean just wrapping up the product and making it ready for sale but it involves things like preserving the product from pollution, saving it from environment changes, medium of imparting information like manufacturing date, expiry date, ingredients etc. Also it has become great medium of advertisement and tool for alluring the target audience.
Different types of food have varied packaging attributed. There are many other aspects through which food can be preserved for long time but one vital aspect that has emerged is packaging. Manufacturers have time and again found different ways to preserve food for long time and thus effectively package oxygen, aroma; moisture and time sensitive products.
One such packaging material is high standard food grade film that enables great preservation of food and thereby extending the shelf life of the product. The main function of food grade packaging films is to preserve the food for long time duration. Traditional food packaging aspects were just passive barriers that are designed to delay the effect of environment on food products. On the other hand active packaging films allow packages to interact with food and the environment and play dynamic role in food preservation. Many food gradable packaging includes carbon dioxide absorbers or emitters and odors absorbers that preserve food for long time by keeping it fresh.
Food grade packaging films can preserve food for long time period as it contains attributes like:
1. Oxygen scavengers: The presence of oxygen in the package can generate oxidative reactions and result in food deterioration. And oxidative reactions results in adverse qualities like undesirable color changes, and reduced nutritional qualify. Oxygen scavengers remove oxygen thereby retarding oxidative reactions.
2. Carbon dioxide absorbers and emitters: Carbon dioxide absorbers are added to suppress or restrict microbial growth in certain products like cheese, poultry, meat etc. It is also used to reduce respiration rate of fresh products and also to overcome partial vacuum caused by oxygen scavengers.
3. Moisture control agents: Certain products require excess moisture while packaging like caking in powdered, candies, sweets etc. Here application of moisture control agents aid in controlling water activity thereby reducing microbial growth.
4. Antimicrobials: These are used in food grade films to enhance quality and safety as they reduce the surface contamination of processed food. They reduce the growth rate of microorganisms as they inactivate them.
5. Ethylene Absorbers: This is natural plant hormone developed by ripening produce. It accelerates respiration of produce and thus helps in extending shelf life of the fresh products.
6. Flavor and odor Absorbers: They grasp unwanted gaseous molecules like volatile package ingredients, chemical metabolites of food etc.
7. High chemical barrier material innovations: These aspects do away with adsorption, Desorption and diffusion of gases and also disallows the penetration of molecules like oxygen, gas and water vapor.
Modern food grade packaging films incorporates these attributes on the basis of food to be packed and aids in preserving food for long period of time.