Food Packaging - Cooking Tips

Consumer food packaging has an important job to do. Much like the ever-vigilant police officer, it preserves, protects, and defends food from its environment. Packaging also makes transport of food possible. Packaging comes in a variety of shapes and materials and includes cans, glass, semi-rigid and flexible plastic containers, fiber boxes, metal foils, pouches, paper cartons, cellophane, and much more.

Stand-up pouches of tuna are an example of a newer kind of consumer food packaging. Pouches are convenient, lightweight, and recloseable, and their major advantage is that thermal processing (heat processing) in plastics takes much less energy than processing in cans. This can translate to better tasting food.

Plastics can also offer extended shelf life to highly perishable foods such as fresh vegetables and fruit because the atmosphere in the package can be controlled to minimize the normal rate of product deterioration—made possible through the technology of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). For example, ready-to-eat lettuce in plastic bags is only possible because of MAP. Lettuce begins to deteriorate immediately upon shredding. MAP slows that process.

Shelf Life

Many processed and packaged foods are shelf stable, which means that they do not require refrigeration until opened. These items are often referred to as nonperishable for these reasons. Their shelf life is evaluated in terms of the quality of the product. Canned foods can last for years, because shelf stable foods experience a very slow rate of organic change. After several years, however, the product may lose taste and color.

The dating of shelf stable foods is done on a voluntary basis for all food products except baby food. Consumers will see products marked with dating terms such as “best before,” “best-if-used-by,” “sell by,” and “use by.” The “best before” or “best-if-used-by” date is the date recommended for best flavor and quality of a product. It is not a safety date. A “sell by” or “expiration” or “use by” date tells a customer how long a store should display the product for sale. Purchase products before the “sell by” or “use by” date. A product can be safely used after the “sell by” date; however, do not use a product beyond the “use by” date.

Additionally, consumers should note that products in slightly dented cans may be consumed as long as there are no leaks and the product appears wholesome. Do not consume products from severely dented, leaking, or swollen cans or jars.

• Packaging materials, just like foods, are tested to be sure they are safe.
• Canning foods dates back to the time of Napoleon.
• The military developed plastic pouches for “meals-ready-to-eat” in the 1950s. They could be conveniently carried in a pocket and did not need refrigeration.

www.nfpa-food.org
(National Food Processors Association, NFPA)

www.safefood.org
(NFPA’s consumer website)

www.mealtime.org
(Canned Food Alliance) FAQs, health and nutrition information, recipes.

www.flexpack.org
(Flexible Packaging Association)

www.iopp.org
(Institute of Packaging Professionals)