Fodd Packaging

R: Concise Reviews in Food Science

JFS R: Concise Reviews/Hypotheses in Food Science

Food Packaging—Roles, Materials, and Environmental Issues
KENNETH MARSH, PH.D., AND BETTY BUGUSU, PH.D.

The Institute of Food Technologists has issued this Scientific Status Summary to update readers on food packaging and its impact on the environment.
Keywords: food packaging, food processing

A

dvances in food processing and food packaging play a primary role in keeping the U.S. food supply among the safest in the world. Simply stated, packaging maintains the benefits of food processing after the process is complete, enabling foods to travel safely for long distances from their point of origin and still be wholesome at the time of consumption. However, packaging technology must balance food protection with other issues, including energy and material costs, heightened social and environmental consciousness, and strict regulations on pollutants and disposal of municipal solid waste.
Municipal solid waste (MSW) consists of items commonly thrown away, including packages, food scraps, yard trimmings, and durable items such as refrigerators and computers. Legislative and regulatory efforts to control packaging are based on the mistaken perception that packaging is the major burden of MSW. Instead, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that approximately only 31% of the MSW generated in 2005 was from packaging-related materials, including glass, metal, plastic, paper, and paperboard—a percentage that has remained relatively constant since the 1990s despite an increase in the total amount of MSW. Nonpackaging sources such as newsprint, telephone books, and office communication generate more than twice as much MSW (EPA 2006a). Food is the only product class typically consumed 3 times per day by every person.
Consequently, food packaging accounts for almost two-thirds of total packaging waste by volume (Hunt and others 1990). Moreover,

References: Aluminum Assn. 2006. North America aluminum industry—a quick review. American Plastics Council. 2004. 2004 National post-consumer plastic recycling report. American Plastics Council. 2006a. The many uses of plastics. Arlington, Va.: American Plastics Council. Available from: http://www.americanplasticscouncil. American Plastics Council. 2006b. Resin identification codes—plastic recycling codes Arvanitoyannis IS, Bosnea L. 2004. Migration of substances from food packaging materials to foods. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 44(3):63–76. Auras R, Harte B, Selke S. 2004. An overview of polyactides as packaging materials. Bastioli C. 2005. Handbook of biodegradable polymers. Toronto-Scarborough, Ontario, Canada: ChemTec Publishing Carolina Recycling Assn. 2002. The bottle bill battle [fact sheet]. Pittsboro, N.C.: Carolina Recycling Assn. 2 p. Codex Alimentarius Commission. 2004. Report of the 20th session of the Codex committee on general principles. Joint FAO/WHO food standards programme. 2004 May 2–7 Coles R. 2003. Introduction. In: Coles R, McDowell D, Kirwan MJ, editors. Food packaging technology. London, U.K.: Blackwell Publishing, CRC Press. p 1–31. Container Recycling Inst. 2006a. Beverage container deposit systems in the United States: key features Container Recycling Inst. 2006b. Bottle bill impact: litter. Washington, D.C.: Container Recycling Inst. Available from: http://www.bottlebill.org/impacts/litter.htm. [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 1989. The solid waste dilemma: an agenda for action [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 1990. Characterization of municipal solid waste in the United States: 1990 update [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 1997. Landfill reclamation. EPA530-F97-001. Washington, D.C.: EPA. p 8. [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 2002. Solid waste management: a local challenge with global impacts [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 2004. WasteWise 2004 annual report—sustaining excellence [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 2005. WasteWise 2005 annual report—forging ahead [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 2006a. Municipal solid waste in the United States: 2005 facts and figures [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 2006b. Plastics. Washington, D.C.: EPA. [EPA] Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.). 2006c. Bioreactors. Washington, D.C.: EPA European Union. 2005. Directive 2005/84/EC. Available from: http://europa.eu.int/ eur-ex/lex/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2005/l 344/l 34420051227en00400043.pdf [FAO] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 1989. Prevention of post-harvest food losses: fruits, vegetables, and root crops [FDA] Food and Drug Administration (U.S.). 2002. PVC devices containing plasticizer DEHP [FDA public health notification] Fellows P, Axtell B. 2002. Packaging materials. In: Fellows P, Axtell B, editors. Appropriate food packaging: materials and methods for small businesses. Essex, U.K.: ITDG Publishing Girling PJ. 2003. Packaging of food in glass containers. In: Coles R, McDowell D, Kirwan MJ, editors Golan E, Krissoff B, Kuchler F, Calvin L, Nelson K, Price G. 2004. Traceability in the U.S [HHS] Dept. of Health and Human Services (U.S.). 2005. Report on carcinogens. 11th ed Hotchkiss JJ. 1997. Food-packaging interactions influencing quality and safety. Food Addit Contam 14(6-7):601–7. [IFT] Institute of Food Technologists. 1988. Migration of toxicants, flavors, and odoractive substances from flexible packaging materials to food [IFT scientific status summary] [IFT] Institute of Food Technologists. 1991. Effective management of food packaging: from production to disposal [IFT scientific status summary] [IFT] Institute of Food Technologists. 1997. Edible and biodegradable polymer films: challenges and opportunities [IFT scientific status summary] Kirwan MJ. 2003. Paper and paperboard packaging. In: Coles R, McDowell D, Kirwan MJ, editors Kirwan MJ, Strawbridge JW. 2003. Plastics in food packaging. In: Coles R, McDowell D, Kirwan MJ, editors Kiser JVL. 2004. Beneficial waste-to-energy ash usage. In: Kiser JVL, Zannes M. The 2004 IWSA directory of waste-to-energy plants Kiser JVL, Zannes M. 2004. The 2004 IWSA directory of waste-to-energy plants. Washington, D.C.: Integrated Waste Services Association. p 31. Lau OW, Wong SK. 2000. Contamination in food from packaging materials. J Chrom. Marsh KS. 1993. Packaging as a supplier of health, filler of landfills, and excuse for trade barriers [abstract]