Latest Trends In The Food Storage Packaging To Increase The Shelf Life Of The Food Items
The development in food storage packaging mainly depends on the various tangible and intangible factors across the globe like–The food habits, customs and traditions, cultural development, language variations and the level of technological development. These act as the major developmental facts that affect directly the current trends of the food storage packaging industry.
The Priority Trends that can be segregated are, as under
* There is an increase in the consumer’s demand for fresh & minimum processed food items. This lead to the utmost concern towards consumer’s nutrition, hygiene, and safety.
* In turn, this gave importance to the superior quality of packaging material of food that will enhance the life cycle of food, without affecting the environment or energy resources.
* Hence, there is an acute spur in the superior quality of airtight containers and the food containers with lids.
* Research & Development in the similar fields prompted scientists to invent tamper evident containers.
* Along with the other continents, Europe is also showing a sharp inclination towards food storage packaging systems especially in the commercial sector of the food processing industry.
Thin wall injection molding process was invented to give the safest and fresh-like foods to the consumers at their doorstep!
The above-mentioned priority trends gave birth to the ancillary trends as under
* Minimal Processing was achieved by using the hurdle technology.
* Various official certifications for the production process were introduced.
* The market growth in functional and health food was enhanced and products with limited shelf life were introduced in the market.
* The main secondary trend was–Increase in the demands for recycling & reuse of packaging materials has emerged. The concept was Eco-friendly thus reducing air and land pollution.
Following are some of the major trends concerning the enhancement in food processing & packaging industry
1. Minimal Processing–This food process includes lesser usage of artificial preservatives for the optimal retention of natural freshness.
2. Thermal Minimal Processing–This includes In-package processing, Aseptic Processing and various other thermal processes like steam injection, ultrasound etc.
3. Non-Thermal (Physical) Process include High Pressure, Pulsed electric field, Pulsed light and Air ion bombardment were also introduced in the food & package processing industry.
4. Non-Thermal (Chemical) Process include Modified atmosphere (excellent for frozen foods), Smart (Active) packaging also showed their own dominance as per the food category.
Though the above trends were active, the major concern from the government authorities and the consumers was directly related to the environment. The ill-effects of the processes thus compelled all the packages to use ‘Green’ symbol which gained very positive momentum.
* Reduction in the manufacturing process of packaging wastage.
* Recycling and reuse of packaging material along with various other methods to recover/reuse packaging waste.
* The wastage of packaging disposal in the safest manner.
* Reduction in cost of packaging and give more emphasis on biodegradable and edible packaging.
* Convenience with respect to transportation, usage, and food quality.
Conclusion – As there is an increase in the demand for hygiene, consumer safety, environment friendliness without deterioration in the food quality, the importance of packaging material got the maximum attention. This lead to the birth of In-Mold Labeling container that enhanced the shelf life of the edible items preserved in it. Various types of airtight containers, food containers with lids, microwaveable container, high-definition printing container and tamper-evident containers are in absolute demand. The superior quality quest gave birth to the thin wall injection molding tub that is widely used by various manufacturers across the globe.