Packaging Materials used in Bakery Industry

By,

Krushna Yadav D.K

Id No. FSK(H) 819.

• Packaging is defined in the regulations as "all products made of any materials of any nature to be used for the containment, protection, handling, delivery and preservation of goods from the producer to the user or consumer."

Definition of Packaging

Introduction

• Packaging plays a significant role in bakery products in increasing shelf life, preventing mechanical damage, marketing, nutrition value and displaying food safety related warnings.

• We would concentrate on types of packaging used to attract consumers or through creative packaging to enhance sales and product s uniqueness from competitor. Most bakery products are marketed fresh and are stored at ambient temperature.

• Bakery packaging has certain specification which are unique  for bakery products  .Major packaging are Biscuit packaging and bread packaging.

1. BISCUIT PACKAGING.

• Biscuits are fed into packing machines in continues  stacks this is  either manual or with help of auto feeders with help of feeding chutes.

• Biscuits are fed into packing machines in continues  stacks this is achieved through stacker which converts free flowing biscuits into uniform achieved through stacker which converts free flowing biscuits into uniform.

2.BREAD PACKAGING.

• Be attractive and maintain adequate shelf-life.• Run on automatic machinery.• Be strong.• Be inexpensive.• Be an adequate moisture barrier.• Protect the shape of the product.

Major functions of packaging

• 1. Protect from mechanical damage in transit and loading and unloading2. Protect from loss of moisture and any foreign odor contaminations3.  Protect from Foreign body infestation.4. Legal compliance for values and ingredients for consumers5. Advertisement 6.Packaging provides following function to the products, manufacturers as well as consumers. 7. Packaging must protect from any mechanical damage to the product

• 8.Packaging must have all information about the product for consumers. 9. Packaging should help consumer carry, store and handle easily . features like tear tape and incision cut and sealable pouches. 10.Colors and layout of product packaging are tools for advertisement for manufacturers 11.Maintains shelf life of products. 12.Packaging acts as barriers to heat , moisture ,aroma etc

Type of packing material is used in biscuit industry

• Primary packaging: the packaging material which comes directly contact with product known as primary packaging Laminate/Wrapper, Wax Paper and Bopp films.

• Secondary Packaging: These packaging are required basically for transportation /warehouse storage /handling .Mostly these are cardboard boxes or CBB made of kraft papers or sometimes these are tins .

There are several basic requirements of a package intended to contain bakery products.

• These include:-• Water vapour permeability of packages.• Oxygen exchange from within and outside a package.• Aroma impermeability characteristics of packaging materials.

• Resistance to seepage of fats and oils• Protection against deteriorative visible and ultra-violate radiation.• Good printability and appearance.• Physical, mechanical protection to the products against shocks, crushing an vibrations .

• Compatibility and safety of the packages Packaging

Aluminum Foil as Packaging Material for Bakery Products.

The Aluminum foil containers offer unique properties.

a. Compatibility

b.heat conductivity and resistance

c.Hygiene

d.Durability and strength

e.Multi-mode heating or cooking

f.Decorative potential

g.Lightness and space economy

h.Sustainability

i.Good presentation

Bakery New Packaging Techniques for Products

• 1.Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)

• MAP extends the shelf life, preserves quality, and improves overall cost effectiveness Gases are also used for packaging.

• CO2 and N2 are the most commonly used gases in gas packaging of bakery products

• Carbon dioxide is soluble in water and fat, producing carbonic acid and lowering the pH of the product, resulting in changes in the flavour.

• Nitrogen is also very effective but only if the residual oxygen percentage is low.(continued.)

• Mould growth can be effectively controlled by packaging the product in a modified atmosphere of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2).

• Can be effectively controlled by packaging the product in a modified atmosphere of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2).

• The antimicrobial effect may be lost if the headspace oxygen concentration increases by as little as 0.5-1 %.

• MAP is especially suited to breads, pastries, and pies

2. Vaccum Packaging.

• This involves evacuating most of the oxygen present in the package to levels less than 1% (vol/vol).

• Low oxygen concentration prevents the growth of aerobic organisms and reduces the rate of oxidative rancidity.

• In the baking industry vacuum packaging is however not widely used because of the crushing effect it has on products.

3. Flushing with inert gas

• Nitrogen is an inert gas, and is used as a filler gas. Because of its insolubility in water.

• nitrogen on its own can delay oxidative rancidity in low water activity products.

• Flushing of potato crisps with nitrogen is said to increase the shelf-life from about 60 days without N2 to about 120 days with N2.

• Another advantage of nitrogen flushing is that uniform pillow packs are produced, which prevent damage of the fragile snack products during handling and distribution.

• The use of gas flushing has brought improvements in the barrier properties of packaging materials and in seal performance.

• The use of the technique has been shown to double or triple the shelf-life of these products which now ranges from 10-12 months.

4. Gas Packaging:-• This is an extension of vacuum packaging technology

involves packaging a product in an impermeable film, flushing with appropriate gas mixtures, and then heat-sealing the package.

• Gases used in modified atmosphere packaging include nitrogen (see above) and carbon dioxide which are used since they are neither toxic nor dangerous and are not considered as food additives.

• Carbon dioxide is the most important gas in gas-packaged bakery products. It is both fungistatic and bacteriostatic and prevents insect growth in packaged and stored food products.

• Carbon dioxide is highly soluble in fat and water where it forms carbonic acid. This may lower the product pH resulting in slight flavor changes. The most common applied ratios of CO2 to N2 in bakery products are 60:40, although higher levels of carbon dioxide are sometimes used

5.Active packaging.• Active packaging is the name given to a large

group of packaging modifications that are meant to improve shelf life of the foods.

• It improves shelf life of foods by modifying the environment around the food so that growth of microorganisms is prevented or delayed.

• shelf life of a product can be dramatically extended using oxygen absorbers.

• These absorber generate carbon dioxide replacing the removed oxygen.

• Such absorbers allow natural and safe preservation of food’s original taste and freshness, resulting in extended shelf life without preservatives or additives

Other types of packaging materials

1. Flexible packaging (laminates, wrappers)

• These are the most common method of packaging material used to pack bakery products .

• Few manufacturers are providing tear tape at the top of packing which opens like a thread and helps consumer to open a pack to required packet length .

• We can find this in slug packs or Family packs . Good Day , Marie gold , Krack Jack, Parle G

2. Plain cardboard Boxes

• These are used by many manufactures to pack biscuit to differentiate its product from competitors.

• These normal paper boxes which are slightly thicker.

3.Display Boxes• After primary packing done by flexible

wrappers these packets are arranged in display boxes manually and then these boxes are shrinked wrapped.

• Consumers can see the products through these transparent films.

4.Vertical Pouches or Sachet

• These have also been experimented by many bakery manufacturers mainly biscuits, snacky biscuits.

• These can be found for cookies packing which very soft to handle.

• Soft cookies or cakes are arranged in these trays to prevent from any damage at with ease to handle and store .

5.Poly bags

• Breads are packed in these types of poly bags which are tied through twist n tie bands or stickers.

• Normal flow wrap packaging is done for Majority of white bread available in market.

6.Shrink Wrapped / Over wrapped boxes and trays

• Shrink wrapping is done on boxes to give a attractive look to consumers with additional safety to the products.

• Shrink wrapping is done on boxes to give a attractive look to consumers with additional safety to the products.

7.Tube Packaging

• This is also used by bakery manufacturers for cookies and biscuits for their premium

products.

• Traditional packaging concepts are reaching their limits as far as extending shelf life is concerned.

• Traditional packaging concepts are reaching their limits as far as extending shelf life is concerned.

• Traditional packaging concepts are reaching their limits as far as extending shelf life is concerned.

Conclusion.

• Bakery products include items of different packaging requirements, which are met by arrange of plastic materials in the form of films, laminates and thermoformed trays.

• These materials provide adequate protection against moisture loss/gain, retain the taste and aroma, and are hygienic and safe for food contact.

• These materials provide adequate protection against moisture loss/gain, retain the taste and aroma, and are hygienic and safe for food contact.

References• Anon (2004) Bakery Products. Alufoil, Part 3.1.7, Edition:

Oct 2004.• Goyal, G.K. and Swati Shrivastava (2006) Trends in

packaging of traditional dairy products, in Compendium, 21st CAS Course on “Developments in traditional dairy products” , NDRI, Karnal, 10th Dec. to 30th Dec., 2006, pp 55-60.

• Kumar, K.R. and Balasubrahmanyam, N. (1984) Plastics in food packaging, In “Plastics in packaging” Indian Institute of Packaging, Mumbai-400 093, pp 319 –341.

• Anon (2006) Packaging of bakery products, The Economic Times Polymers, April-May, 2006

• Sanderson,L. (2003) Active packaging, Bakers Journal, Smith, J., Daifas, D., El-Khoury, W., Koukoutsis, J., and El-Khoury, A. (2004)/ Shelf life and safety concerns of bakery products—A Review, Critical Reviews in Food. Sci. and Nutrition, 44(1), 19-25.