Food packaging industry is primarily concerned with packaging activities regarding protection of food products from biological, physical or chemical agents. With the growth of modern civilization, people are getting more concerned with hygiene and quality of the food. As a result of that, food packaging industry is gradually setting up it's stand to contend with other industries. In near future it is going to be a booming industry.
Functional units of food packaging industry
Food packaging industry can functionally be subdivided into five parts, which are containment, protection, communication, functionality, environmental and safety issues. The containment part is concerned with activities relating to prevention and reliability of the food products. Food products are packaged in such a way that no moisture will pass through and are made hard-wearing to reliably deliver it to the customers. The protection part is concerned with the covering of food product to protect it from damage by any biological, chemical or physical means. Functional part guarantees that the packaged food products are conveniently be used by the consumers, as well as the manufacturers. The communication part is concerned with the text and graphic of the package. This includes size, shape, color and content details of the packet. Environmental and safety issues deal with the environmental aspect of the package, including recycling of the packet and safety of the products like plastic contamination etc.
Food packaging types
Sterile packages, bags, boxes, cans, cartons, flexible packaging, Pallets, wrappers etc. Sterile packaging is necessary for food products like eggs, bags are used for product like potato, boxes are normally used for products like soft drinks, cans can be used for product like tomato soup, cartons can be used for eggs, pallet and wrappers are primarily used for transportation purposes.
Growth Of the Food Packaging Industry
Various market surveys are showing that by the end of 2010, global packaging market will reach €5.4 billion with a growth rate of 4.3%. The three leading food packaging industries are located at U.S., Europe and Asia. It is anticipated that consumption of snack foods like chocolate, nuts etc. will promote the demand of packaging.