After processing of food products, they are being packaged to ensure that they are kept clean and shelf-reliable before they are transported. Consumers often forget about this production process and are more concerned with the disposal of packaging when it comes to environmental issues. Today, we will focus on the former and revisit the latter in a few weeks’ time! What goes into the production of packaging? What effects does it have on human health and the environment?
The type of packaging can affect the shelf life of the food product, extending from hours into weeks and months. Modern food packaging is often made from manufactured and synthetic materials, such as paper and paperboard, rigid plastic and glass (FoodPrint, 2020a). The production of packaging uses a lot of “resources like energy, water, chemicals, petroleum, minerals, wood and fibres to produce. Its manufacture often generates air emissions including greenhouse gases, heavy metals and particulates, as well as wastewater and/or sludge containing toxic contaminants”(ibid.).
Case study: Plastic packaging
Plastics are one of the most common packagings we encounter daily, such as purchasing groceries from the supermarket, buying bread from a bakery, or getting takeaway food. With technology boosting hydraulic fracking, it led to the availability of cheap plastic. Ethane obtained from hydraulic fracking will undergo an energy-intensive manufacturing process to convert it into plastic (FoodPrint, 2020b). This results in the pollution of air, soil and water of nearby communities.
Moreover, phthalates (also known as “plasticizers”) are a type of chemical used primarily in plastics to increase its flexibility and make them less brittle (ibid.). They are commonly used in plastic food containers and some plastic wraps. Phthalates may leach from its packaging onto the food product when it comes into contact with heat. There is ongoing research on whether prolonged exposure may result in health impacts.
Case study: Dairy Products
Demands for longer shelf life and wider distribution of dairy products have resulted in the development of processes and packaging concepts that increase the shelf life of these products in cold chain distribution. There have been studies by various researchers to find the best packaging to improve the shelf-life of dairy products, milk in particular (Galić, 2016)
- Petrus et al. (2010) evaluated the shelf life of pasteurised milk in different packaging at a constant temperature and he found that high-density polyethylene (PE-HD) bottles were better for storing pasteurised milk compared with that of low-density polyethylene (PE-LD) pouch.
- Zygoura et al. (2004) used multi-layered plastic bottles with a high barrier and exposed it to light. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is another plastic material used for milk packaging as it can protect food flavour against light-induced lipid oxidation.
Hence, the research and development of more synthesized materials can also lead to more energy-intensive manufacturing processes, which leads to more greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution.
In summary, the extraction of raw materials and energy-intensive manufacturing processes are common for most food packaging materials. With the increasing amounts of processed food, takeout food and grocery food, there is a greater production of packaging. We need to find alternative materials to reduce the number of raw materials used and also the negative health and environmental impacts caused.
In the next post, we will find out how food is being stored and uncover the pollution behind the storage process.
Trailing off,
Jade and Ridzuan
References
FoodPrint. (2020a). The Environmental Impact of Food Packaging | FoodPrint. [online] Available at: https://foodprint.org/issues/the-environmental-impact-of-food-packaging/#easy-footnote-bottom-10-1295 [Accessed 16 Sep. 2020].
FoodPrint. (2020b). Food Packaging is Bad for the Environment | FoodPrint. [online] Available at: https://foodprint.org/reports/the-foodprint-of-food-packaging/#section_1 [Accessed 16 Sep. 2020].
Galić, K. (2016). Packaging materials and methods for dairy applications. [online] Available at: https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/article/26394/packaging-materials-dairy/ [Accessed 16 Sep. 2020].
