Effects Packaging Materials on Shelf Life
EXPERIMENT 1: THE EFFECTS OF PACKAGING MATEIAL ON SHELF LIFE OF CRACKERS
Introduction
The type of food, chemical composition, size, storage conditions, expected shelf life, moisture content, aroma and appearance are just a few of the characteristics that must be taken into consideration when selecting the right material for a food product. A continuing trend in food packaging is the design of packages to extend the shelf life of foods while maintaining fresh-like quality. This places a high demand on selecting materials that not only provide the needed properties to maintain the quality of the food but it must be done at a cost effective price. The permeability of the packaging material is one of the most critical features of the package for affecting the quality of the food product.
Objectives: I) To calculate the moisture uptake of different packaging materials II) To assess the texture hardness of the products by sensory analysis and texture analyzer III) To determine the estimated shelf-life of the products
Materials:
Crackers, packaging materials- HDPE, PP, Paper bag, aluminium foil, etc: plastic sealer: weighing balance, texture analyzer
.
Procedure:
Two bags (duplicate) of crackers for each packaging materials was provided.
The bags were filled with crackers, and then was weighed and stored at 25ºC for 2 weeks.
Two packets of crackers from the commercial packaging materials was weighed and stored at 25ºC for 2 weeks as control.
Each of the packets was reweighed after a week and the mean moisture uptake was determined after a week.
After 1 week, for the commercial products, the packet was kept empty by removing all traces of the contents and the weight of the empty packages was weighed. The original mass of the contents was calculated according to the calculation given.
From the results, the time (in weeks) before packages allow to uptake of 1% moisture (based on the mass of the content) was calculated.
At this point (1% moisture uptake)
Introduction
The type of food, chemical composition, size, storage conditions, expected shelf life, moisture content, aroma and appearance are just a few of the characteristics that must be taken into consideration when selecting the right material for a food product. A continuing trend in food packaging is the design of packages to extend the shelf life of foods while maintaining fresh-like quality. This places a high demand on selecting materials that not only provide the needed properties to maintain the quality of the food but it must be done at a cost effective price. The permeability of the packaging material is one of the most critical features of the package for affecting the quality of the food product.
Objectives: I) To calculate the moisture uptake of different packaging materials II) To assess the texture hardness of the products by sensory analysis and texture analyzer III) To determine the estimated shelf-life of the products
Materials:
Crackers, packaging materials- HDPE, PP, Paper bag, aluminium foil, etc: plastic sealer: weighing balance, texture analyzer
.
Procedure:
Two bags (duplicate) of crackers for each packaging materials was provided.
The bags were filled with crackers, and then was weighed and stored at 25ºC for 2 weeks.
Two packets of crackers from the commercial packaging materials was weighed and stored at 25ºC for 2 weeks as control.
Each of the packets was reweighed after a week and the mean moisture uptake was determined after a week.
After 1 week, for the commercial products, the packet was kept empty by removing all traces of the contents and the weight of the empty packages was weighed. The original mass of the contents was calculated according to the calculation given.
From the results, the time (in weeks) before packages allow to uptake of 1% moisture (based on the mass of the content) was calculated.
At this point (1% moisture uptake)
References: Philip T., (2003). Packaging Materials Polyethylene for Food, Packaging Applications, 1-68 Nagi. H.P.S., Kaur. J., Dar. B.N. and S. Sharma (2012). Effect of Storage Period and Packaging on the Shelf Life of Cereal Bran Incorporated Biscuits. American Journal of Food Technology, 7: 301-310. Valentina. S. (2012). Food Packaging Permeability Behaviour: A Report, International Journal of Polymer Science, Volume 2012, 1- 11.