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Checking Out Food Packaging Choices

By Lenna Stockwell


Packaging is an essential part of the design process for any product, and no matter what type of food you produce; you need to have at least a minimal amount of packaging. There are many different materials used for packaging, including plastic, cardboard, paper and types of metal. Here is some basic information about the most common types of packaging.

While you hear people say that they purchase soup or chili in a tin can, canned goods are not actually packaged in cans produced using tin. For many decades, tinplate steel was used to produce the cans that hold our vegetables, soups, sauces and other canned items. Aluminum has been the most common source used to make canned goods since the late 1950s.

Put aluminum alongside tinplate steel and you'll find it with more advantages starting with it being less costly and can be made easier though it still resists corrosion. This is the metal that is the most abundant type on Earth. In addition, aluminum can be recycled an infinite amount of times to create new cans and products. In fact, about two-thirds of all aluminum ever produced is still being re-used today. This number would be higher if people would simply remember to place aluminum into their recycling bins.

Different types of plastic are one of the most common materials used for packaging. Even items packaged in cardboard boxes and containers typically are just holding vessels for the sealed waxy plastic bags inside, such as the bags which hold cereal or crackers. There are actually seven basic types of plastic and each is identified with a special resin code, which is a number surrounded by a triangle of arrows.

There are several different types of plastic that are used to make food packaging, including polyethylene terephthalate, which is often used to hold liquid products, such as soda and water. High-density polyethylene is another type also used to make plastic bottles, milk jugs, plastic bags and many types of food storage containers. Low-density polyethylene also is used to make plastic bags and well as plastic wrap and the plastic rings used to hold together cans of soda.

These plastics are transformed into products through a process known as thermoforming. Large, thin sheets of plastic are heated to a specific temperature and then forced into molds either using injection molding or vacuum forming. Once the plastic has cooled, the excess plastic is trimmed away and recycled to make new thermoformed products. The finished product is then removed from the mold.




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