6
2.1 Introduction
Packaging performance is a key factor throughout the food products supply chain,
as they must guarantee the protection and preservation of food at different stages
from the producer to the final consumer. Therefore, packaging has an important
function during food production, transportation, storage, sales and end use, thus
allowing a safe delivery of food until consumption. In this sense, the packaging
must fulfill several main functions, such as protection (to avoid leakage or breaking
and protect the product against microorganism’s attack), containment (to facilitate
transport and manipulation), communication (to give information about food product) and convenience (to be useful to the consumer) (Espinosa et al. 2017). The
packaging must provide a container for the products which allows adequate transport along the whole supply chain, reducing any physical damage and protecting
against harmful environmental factors, such as dust, light, moisture, oxygen (O 2 ),
pests, volatiles, chemical and microbiological contamination, as well as wear due to
handling. In addition, packaging must fulfill secondary functions such as selling and
sales promotion, which have a notable influence on market profits (Sharma and
Ghoshal 2018). Many authors have emphasized the priority role of packaging from
a marketing point of view. Packaging can be considered as a principal communication vehicle between the consumer and the product, since 70% of purchase decisions are made at the point of sale (Poturak 2014; Gómez et al. 2015). In particular,
the market sectors related to personal and household care, food and beverages, show
a close relationship between consumers and packaging (Ampuero and Vila 2006;
Spence and Velasco 2018).
On the other hand, considering that the world population is constantly growing
and their food needs are increasing, packaging becomes a key factor to facilitate and
guarantee the protection and storage of food products, minimizing their waste and
the use of resources. Thus, in order to extend the product shelf life, a proper selection of packaging materials should be considered, as well as the package design.
The quality of the packaged product is derived from different attributes, such as
flavor (smell and taste), nutritive values (vitamins A and D, minerals and dietary
fibers), safety (absence of chemical residues and microbial contamination), texture
(crispness, juiciness, tissue integrity, toughness and turgidity) and visual appearance (color, decay, defects and freshness). Typically, several kinds of food packaging materials have been used, such as glass, metals (aluminum, steel and tin plate
foils and laminates), paper, paperboards and plastics. It is worth noting that plastics
are the second most used in terms of weight, and the first ones considering units
sold, with than 50% of products packaged with this kind of material. In this context,
a third of the plastics produced worldwide in 2018 were used for packaging applications (Citi Research 2018). Usually, plastics packaging can be associated with different shapes and sizes, being classified as flexible and rigid. In 2018, the first group
represented 33% of the global packaging market, in units sold, while the rigid packaging reached 19%. Several factors, such as light weight, low cost, and good
mechanical, optical, and physical properties, promote the use of plastics for different applications. In addition, the ease of production and manufacturing make these
Y. N. Alonso et al.
2.1 Introduction
Packaging performance is a key factor throughout the food products supply chain,
as they must guarantee the protection and preservation of food at different stages
from the producer to the final consumer. Therefore, packaging has an important
function during food production, transportation, storage, sales and end use, thus
allowing a safe delivery of food until consumption. In this sense, the packaging
must fulfill several main functions, such as protection (to avoid leakage or breaking
and protect the product against microorganism’s attack), containment (to facilitate
transport and manipulation), communication (to give information about food product) and convenience (to be useful to the consumer) (Espinosa et al. 2017). The
packaging must provide a container for the products which allows adequate transport along the whole supply chain, reducing any physical damage and protecting
against harmful environmental factors, such as dust, light, moisture, oxygen (O 2 ),
pests, volatiles, chemical and microbiological contamination, as well as wear due to
handling. In addition, packaging must fulfill secondary functions such as selling and
sales promotion, which have a notable influence on market profits (Sharma and
Ghoshal 2018). Many authors have emphasized the priority role of packaging from
a marketing point of view. Packaging can be considered as a principal communication vehicle between the consumer and the product, since 70% of purchase decisions are made at the point of sale (Poturak 2014; Gómez et al. 2015). In particular,
the market sectors related to personal and household care, food and beverages, show
a close relationship between consumers and packaging (Ampuero and Vila 2006;
Spence and Velasco 2018).
On the other hand, considering that the world population is constantly growing
and their food needs are increasing, packaging becomes a key factor to facilitate and
guarantee the protection and storage of food products, minimizing their waste and
the use of resources. Thus, in order to extend the product shelf life, a proper selection of packaging materials should be considered, as well as the package design.
The quality of the packaged product is derived from different attributes, such as
flavor (smell and taste), nutritive values (vitamins A and D, minerals and dietary
fibers), safety (absence of chemical residues and microbial contamination), texture
(crispness, juiciness, tissue integrity, toughness and turgidity) and visual appearance (color, decay, defects and freshness). Typically, several kinds of food packaging materials have been used, such as glass, metals (aluminum, steel and tin plate
foils and laminates), paper, paperboards and plastics. It is worth noting that plastics
are the second most used in terms of weight, and the first ones considering units
sold, with than 50% of products packaged with this kind of material. In this context,
a third of the plastics produced worldwide in 2018 were used for packaging applications (Citi Research 2018). Usually, plastics packaging can be associated with different shapes and sizes, being classified as flexible and rigid. In 2018, the first group
represented 33% of the global packaging market, in units sold, while the rigid packaging reached 19%. Several factors, such as light weight, low cost, and good
mechanical, optical, and physical properties, promote the use of plastics for different applications. In addition, the ease of production and manufacturing make these
Y. N. Alonso et al.