This document discusses various materials used for food packaging, including plastics, bioplastics, glass, and metals. It examines factors to consider when selecting a packaging type, like cost, storage requirements, and recyclability. The document also analyzes specific materials like PET, polystyrene, and BPA plastics, noting their potential to leach chemicals into foods. While bioplastics offer renewable alternatives, they also have limitations regarding brittleness and higher costs. Overall, the best packaging depends on the food product and aims to both preserve and protect food while avoiding harmful chemical leaching.

1. Chemistry of Food
Packaging of Food
Products
By Linnea Johnson and Justin Alexander

2. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions
 Paper
 Cardboard
 Rigid Plastics
 Flexible Plastics
 Biologically
Synthesized Plastics
 Glass
 Aluminum
 Tin
 Stainless Steel
 Wax
 Ceramics
 Wood
 Tetra Paks

3. Market Share of Packaging Materials

4. Choosing a Packaging Type
 Cost
 Storage size
 Frozen
 Fresh
 Shelf-stability
 Expansion after
storage
 Recyclability
 Effects on the product
 Shape
 What food product is
being packaged
 Where the food
product will end up

5. Chemistry of Food Packaging
 Allows us to determine what type of packaging will prevent food
products and drink products from environmental harm.
 Organoleptic properties through exposure to air and light.
 Harmful pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp.
 Food packaging can also be a source of harm to foods and the
consumer.
 Some food packages can leach harmful compounds into foods and drinks.
 Chemical structure can also determine what type of package is best
suited for recycling, composting, or enzymatic decomposition.

6. Food Packaging Features
1) Reactivity of the food
product to the
environmental
moisture and thermal
leaps
2) Protection against
crashes
3) Safety and hygiene

7. Preservation and Protection
Protection
 Defense of the packaged
product and the whole
food product from
external attack
 Powders
 UV rays
 Thermal leaps
 Moisture
 Crashes
 Compression
 Vibrations
Preservation
 Against microbial agents
 Degrading microorganisms
 Pathogenic bacteria
 Correlated degraded
chemical reactions

8. Plastics
 Plastics have a 37%
market share of food
packaging materials.
 Includes both ridged
and flexible plastics
 Used widely by many
manufacturers to store
multiple types of food.
 Fresh
 Frozen
 Shelf-stable
 Refrigerated

9. Classifications of Plastics
 Rigid and semi-rigid containers
 Flexible Food Packaging
 Polycoupled Food Packaging
 Plastic components for plastic and hybrid packages.

10. Polystyrene
 Mainly known as
“Styrofoam”.
 Can be easily molded to
fit almost any shape.
 Used widely as a tray for
wrapping fish, meats,
cheeses, etc.
 Can leach di(2-
ethylhexyl)adipate (DEHA)
into foods.
 DEHA is known to cause
cancer in the liver (in vivo
mice trials).

11. Bisphenol A (BPA)
 Used to produce
polycarbonate plastics,
epoxy resin for cans, toys,
and microwave
containers.
 Heat coupled with acidic
or basic foods hydrolyzes
the ester bonds holding
the BPA molecules
together, allowing them to
leach into foods.

12. Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)
 PET bottles are known for their ability to prevent oxidation of
the liquids contained within.
 They are highly resistant to the sorption of aroma compounds.
 Tests have been done to compare the sorption of aroma
compounds comparing PET bottles to bag-in-box (BIB) multilayer
flexible plastics and another study comparing PET bottles to
linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and polycarbonate (PC)
films.

13. Bioplastics
 Bioplastics obtain their carbon from renewable sources.
 “Biodegradable polymers are polymers that are capable of
undergoing decomposition into CO2, CH4, H2O, inorganic
compounds or biomass through predominantly the
enzymatic action of microorganisms.” (Peelman, et al,
2013)
 Bioplastics can also be compostable.

14. Polylactic Acid (PLA)
 Lactic acid can be obtained on the basis of renewable starch
containing resources by fermentation, or by chemical synthesis of
non-renewable resources.
 Sources can be from starch-rich products such as corn and wheat.
 Starch is converted to glucose and then subsequently fermented into
lactic acid, and from there into L-lactide.
 Also known as polylactide, it is capable of decomposing at higher
rates than petroleum-based counterparts.

15. Polyesteracetal (PEA)
 1,3-dioxolan-4-one (DOX) can be obtained by combing natural
gas with wood/cellulose, producing methanol. With the
addition of water, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde, you
will achieve the product DOX.
 Synthesized by combining L-lactide and DOX.
 Degrade in salt solutions easier and at a higher rate than PLA.
 Degradation does produce 85 mg formaldehyde, but at a
strength that is equivalent to 9 pears.

16. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)
 “The polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) family are biodegradable
thermoplastic polymers, produced by a wide range of microorganisms.
The polymer is produced in the microbial cells through a fermentation
process and then harvested by using solvents such as chloroform,
methylene chloride or propylene chloride.” (Peelman, et al. 2013)

17. New vs. Recycled
 There is an increasing desire
for renewable resources as well
as reusable resources.
 Recycled products are
becoming increasingly more
common in the packaging
industry.
 Their increased relevance in
the packaging industry is due to
the fact that more and more
consumers are becoming aware
of their “footprint” during their
lifetime.

18. PET Bottles
 A study was conducted using virgin glass bottles, virgin PET bottles,
and recycled PET bottles (respectively in table below) concerning the
aging of wine.
 Esters, alcohols, and acids were tested at times of 0, 5, 9, and 12
months.
0 Months 5 Months 9 Months 12 Months
Esters 15.0+/-0.5
mg/L for all
• 13.4
• 22.8
• 22.6
• 26.6
• 26.9
• 26.9
• 26.4
• 24.1
• 21.9
Alcohols 96.6+/-2.4
mg/L for all
• 96.1
• 68.7
• 74.5
• 66.1
• 64.0
• 64.2
• 52.5
• 50.7
• 55.0
Acids 8.3+/-0.2
mg/L for all
• 4.8
• 7.8
• 8.2
• 8.1
• 8.1
• 8.1
• 7.8
• 7.8
• 6.7

19. PET Bottles

20. Pros
 Bioplastics
 Capable of a “green birth” – they don’t require fossil fuels to
produce.
 Bioplastics are capable of degradation by enzymatic action and
have a shorter biodegradable timeline (typically).
 Plastics
 BPA has a wide range of uses; from food packaging to toys to water
pipes.
 Polystyrene is capable of being molded into a plethora of different
shapes, allowing its use as a container in the food packaging
industry to be nearly unlimited.

21. Plastics Cons
 BPA has been associated with moderate estrogenic
activity and can influence reproduction.
 BPA has also been associated with disruption of
thyroid hormones, proliferation of prostate
cancer cells, and blocking testosterone
production.
 Polystyrene has shown that it releases DEHA into
foods, potentially causing liver cancer.

22. Bioplactic Cons
 Bioplastics
 Brittleness (due to high glass transition and melting temperatures),
stiffness, poor impact resistance, difficult heat stability, high water vapor
and oxygen permeability, and thermal instability are finally also factors
limiting the application of PHA films as food packaging (Peelman, et al).
 PLA isn’t confirmed to biodegrade at a faster rate compared to its fossil
fuel-based counterparts. It is recommended that PLA go through industrial
composting with the addition of enzymes.
 “Because of the hydrophilic nature of starch and cellulose, packaging
materials based on these materials have a low water vapor barrier, which
causes a limited long-term stability and poor mechanical properties
(sensitive to moisture content). Other drawbacks are bad processability,
brittleness and vulnerability to degradation”
 Costs are greater for bioplastics due to lack of availability and lack of land
for use in production.

23. Conclusions
 When choosing a food packaging container, it is
vital to choose the right one.
 Some containers may leach harmful chemicals
into your product.
 Consumers are becoming more conscious of
recyclable materials, increasing the demand for
biodegradable and reusable containers.

24. Questions?
 [Insert amusing photo of celebrity here]

25. References
 Dombre, C., Rigou, P., Wirth, J., & Chalier, P. (2014). Aromatic Evolution of
Wine Packed in Virgin and Recycled PET Bottles. Food Chemistry, (176), 376-
387.
 Fasano, E., Bono-Blay, F., Cirillo, T., Montuori, P., & Lacorte, S. (2012).
Migration of phthalates, alkylphenols, bisphenol A and di(2-ethylhexyl)adipate
from food packaging. Food Control, 27(1), 132-138.
 Martin, R., Camargo, L., & Miller, S. (2014). Marine-degradable polylactic
acid. Green Chemistry, 16(4), 128-141
 Muncke, J. (2012, October 5). Food Packaging Materials. Retrieved April 7,
2015, from http://www.foodpackagingforum.org/food-packaging-
health/food-packaging-materials
 Peelman, N., Ragaert, P., Meulenaer, B., Adons, D., Peeters, R., Cardon, L.,
Van Impef, F., Devlieghere, F. (2013). Application of bioplastics for food
packaging. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 128-141.