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Introduction

Food Technology Report The main purposes of food packaging are: To preserve the product To protect the product from damage, both accidental or malicious damage (where someone damages the product on purpose) To make the product more attractive to the consumer To make it easier to transport the product Packaging: materials Plastics Plastics are widely used in food packaging because they are: versatile - in particular, they can be either flexible or rigid resistant to acids and other chemicals easy to print on lightweight, and cheap to produce (NB: not all plastics have all the above qualities.) Types of plastics used in food packaging. Name Uses and properties Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Bottles for juice and mineral water High-Density Polythene (HDPE) Bottles for milk Polystyrene (PS) Bin-liner bags and containers for frozen foods PS can stand extreme cold Low-Density Polythene (LDPE) Egg cartons and yoghurt pots LDPE can withstand heat and provide insulation Polypropylene (PP) Biscuit and crisp wrappers; squeezable bottles for sauces PP is used for chilled products, but not frozen ones Polypropylene Terephthalate (PET) Oven-ready packaging and fizzy-drink bottles A special packaging technique is Modified-Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). Here food products are contained in a plastic container, in which the air has been modified to prolong the shelf-life of food and to stall colour deterioration and other problems, until the package is opened. ...read more.

Middle

It only denotes that the packaging manufacturer has financially contributed to the cost of recovering and recycling packaging in European countries other than the UK. Labelling The law requires certain information to be given on all pre-packed foods to ensure that the consumer is protected and informed. The guidelines are laid down by the EU. These are the items on the label that are required by law. manufacturer's name and contact details name of the product description of the product weight (NB - some foods are exempt, for example bread) ingredients (listed in descending order of weight) cooking/heating instructions storage instructions best-before date the process used for manufacture The following items are not legal requirements, but are nevertheless good practice and often included on packaging: illustration of product price nutritional values of the product customer guarantee the batch-code and bar-code numbers opening instructions ________________ ________________ Traffic light labelling You're standing in a supermarket aisle looking at two similar products, trying to decide which to choose. You want to make the healthier choice but, as usual, you're in a hurry. Well, help is at hand. A growing number of supermarkets and food manufacturers are using traffic light colours on the labels of some products to help you make your choice. ...read more.

Conclusion

Food Preservation Because food is so important to survival, food preservation is one of the oldest technologies used by human beings. Here are a few ways of preserving food: Refrigeration and freezing Canning Irradiation Dehydration Freeze-drying Salting Pickling Pasteurizing Fermentation Carbonation Cheese-making Chemical preservation The basic idea behind all forms of food preservation is either: To slow down the activity of disease-causing bacteria To kill the bacteria altogether In certain cases, a preservation technique may also destroy enzymes naturally found in a food that cause it to spoil or discolor quickly. An enzyme is a special protein that acts as a catalyst for a chemical reaction, and enzymes are fairly fragile. By increasing the temperature of food to about 150 degrees Fahrenheit (66 degrees Celsius), enzymes are destroyed. A food that is sterile contains no bacteria. Unless sterilized and sealed, all food contains bacteria. For example, bacteria naturally living in milk will spoil the milk in two or three hours if the milk is left out on the kitchen counter at room temperature. By putting the milk in the refrigerator you don't eliminate the bacteria already there, but you do slow down the bacteria enough that the milk will stay fresh for a week or two. ...read more.

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