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From the Stone Age to the Industrial Revolution: How did food packaging technology evolve?
Food packaging is a packaging system designed specifically for food and is critical to the food industry process. It not only provides chemical, biological and physical protection for food, but also ensures that food reaches consumers safely at a reasonable cost. Current trends in sustainability, reduced environmental impact and extended shelf life are also becoming an integral part of the design of packaging systems.
History
Food packaging technology has experienced drastic changes from the Stone Age to the Industrial Revolution. The following are several important time points:
7000 BC: The use of pottery and glass spreads, and industrialization begins in 1500 BC.
1700s: Britain and France introduced steel plates for cans respectively, and the Dutch navy used this type of packaging to extend the preservation time of food.
1804: Nicolas Appel uses glass bottles and heat treatment to extend the shelf life of food for the French army.
1950s: American chemist William R. Scherrer invented the bag-in-box system, initially for acidic liquids and later also for food liquids.
1990s: Digital printing is widely used in food packaging.
Function
The main purposes of food packaging and labeling are:
- Physical protection: Protect food from shock, vibration, bacteria, etc.
- Barrier protection: Prevent oxygen, water vapor and dust from entering the interior of the package.
- Information delivery: Deliver information on use, transportation and recycling, and conduct marketing.
- Convenience: Increase convenience in distribution, handling, stacking, and resealing.
- Safety: Enhance the tamper resistance of packaging and reduce transportation risks.
Type
Based on different functions, packaging is divided into three main levels:
First packaging: direct contact with the product, such as cardboard boxes and plastic pallets.
Secondary packaging: Gathering multiple primary packages into one box for easy transportation.
Tertiary packaging: The largest outer packaging, helping to safely transport multiple secondary packages.
Packaging machinery
When choosing packaging machinery, you need to consider many factors such as technical capabilities, labor requirements, safety, and maintenance. Types of packaging machinery include:
Automatic packaging machine: enables fast and efficient packaging operations.
Semi-automatic packaging machine: The degree of automation is reduced and manual participation is required.
Manual packaging machine: usually used in small-scale production and has high flexibility.
Reduction and sustainability of food packaging
While over-packaging is still a common problem, more and more food packaging designs are moving in the direction of reduction and sustainability. Driving forces behind this change include government regulations, consumer pressure and cost controls. In recent years, many companies have gradually turned to environmentally friendly packaging material design to cope with unprecedented pollution problems.
Waste Management and Recycling
Packaging of different materials such as plastic, metal, paper and glass has different end-of-use treatment methods. However, in many cases the recycling of packaging materials is not ideal, and the recycling system must be improved to reduce environmental impact. Increasing recycling rates has become an urgent issue for the global industry, especially when it comes to multi-layer packaging and materials that are difficult to recycle.
Food packaging trends
Many industry reports point out that trends in the food packaging field are moving towards smart indicators. These technologies not only help food producers track the shipping status of their products, but also improve packaging safety and transparency to consumers.
Ultimately, we see the evolution of food packaging technology from the earliest simple tools to the current complex machinery and materials, showing progress in the continuous pursuit of protection and convenience. However, these developments not only promote food safety, but also bring about a series of environmental challenges, which makes people think: How should we balance packaging innovation and environmental constraints while enjoying convenience?
