Packaging materials description

1. PACKAGING MATERIALS

2. LEAVES
Advantages
• For banana leaves,
they are used for
wrapping certain types
of food like suman
• Corn husk is used to
wrap corn paste or
unrefined block sugar
• Cooked foods are
wrapped in leaves.
Disadvantages
• They do not protect
the food against
moisture, oxygen,
odors or micro-
organisms
• not suitable for
long-term storage.

3. VEGETABLE FIBER
Advantages
• When converted into
yarn, string, or cord,
they can be formed
into packaging
materials.
• very flexible
• some have resistance to
tearing, and are lightweight
for handling and
transportation
• Ex. banana, coconut, and
cotton fibers
Disadvantages
• do not provide
protection to food
since they offer no
protection against
moisture pick-up,
micro-organisms, or
insects and rodents

4. VEGETABLE FIBER BASKET
Advantages
• offers good protection,
good stacking
characteristics and
strength
• use of wood continues for
some wines and spirits
because the transfer of
flavour compounds from
the wooden barrels
improves the quality of the
product.
Disadvantages
• More costly than
plastics

5. PAPER
Advantages
• Inexpensive
• Can be designed
easily
Disadvantages
• highly absorptive,
fairly easily torn, and
offers no barrier to
water or gases

6. EARTHENWARE
Advantages
• are used worldwide for
storing liquids and solid
foods such as curd,
yoghurt, beer, dried
food, and honey.
• Corks, wooden lids,
leaves, wax, plastic
sheets, or combinations
of these are used to seal
the pots.
Disadvantages
• breakable
• heavy

7. GLASS
Advantages
• is able to withstand heat
treatments such as
pasteurization and
sterilization.
• Does not react with food.
• Protects the food from
crushing and bruising
• Resistant to moisture, gases,
odors and microorganisms
• Re-usable, re-sealable and
recyclable
• Transparent
Disadvantages
• Breakable and Heavy
• easy to fracture,
scratch and break if
heated or cooled too
quickly
• potentially serious
hazards may arise
from glass cracks or
fragments in the food

8. PLASTIC
Advantages
• Useful
• Flexible
• Has low cost
• Offers protection against
moisture and gases
• Heat sealable
• Have wet and dry
strength
• Convenient and easy to
handle
Disadvantages
• Non-biodegradable
• May contain chemicals
that may be absorbed
by the food

9. METAL
Advantages
• provide total protection
of the contents.
• cans are tamper proof.
• cans are convenient for
presentation.
Disadvantages
• heavier than other
materials, except glass,
and therefore have
higher transport costs
• the heat treatment
associated with the use
of metal cans is not
suitable for small-scale
production.