Question

Article about the use of plastic in food packaging

Answer 1

Food Packaging Roles and Materials
The principal roles of food packaging are to protect food products from outside influences and distribution damage, to contain the food, and to provide consumers with ingredient and nutrition information. Traceability, convenience, and tamper indication are secondary functions of increasing importance. The goal of food packaging is to contain food in a cost-effective way that satisfies industry requirements and consumer desires, maintains food safety, and minimizes environmental impact.

Package design and construction play significant roles in determining the shelf life of a food product. The right selection of packaging materials and technologies maintains product quality and freshness during distribution and storage. Materials that have traditionally been used in food packaging include glass, metals (aluminum, foils and laminates, tinplate, and tin-free steel), paper and paperboards, and plastics. Today’s food packages often combine several materials to exploit each material’s functional or aesthetic properties.

As research to improve food packaging continues, advances in the field may affect the environmental impact of packaging. The table on p. 49 summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of various packaging materials in terms of product protection, product distribution, and environmental impact.

Waste Management Approach
Proper waste management is important to protect human health and the environment and to preserve natural resources. EPA’s guidelines for solid waste management (EPA, 1989) emphasize the use of a hierarchical, integrated management approach involving source reduction, recycling, composting, combustion, and landfilling.

• Source Reduction (i.e., waste prevention) is reducing the amount and/or toxicity of the waste ultimately generated by changing the design, manufacture, purchase, or use of the original materials and products. EPA considers source reduction the best way to reduce the impact of solid waste on the environment because it avoids waste generation altogether.