This document discusses packaging for various types of fish and fishery products. It begins by classifying fish broadly and providing background on India's fisheries sector. It then discusses packaging needs and options for different product categories like fresh/iced fish, frozen fish, dried fish, canned fish, value-added products, and live fish fry/fingerlings. Key requirements addressed are insulation, barrier properties, strength and preventing quality deterioration from factors like moisture loss, oxidation and microbial growth. Recent advances discussed include modified atmospheric packaging, active packaging and vacuum packaging.

1. Packaging of Fish and Fishery Products
(Packaging of Fresh Iced Fish, Ornamental Fish
and Fingerlings)
VIKAS KUMAR
Scientist (Fish Processing Technology)
TOT Div., ICAR-CIPHET, Ludhiana

2. Fish
• Any aquatic organisms harvested for commercial purposes,
whether caught in wild fisheries or harvested from aquaculture or
fish farming.
• Whether of freshwater, estuarine/ brackish water or marine/ salt
water; include (Sachindra and Mahendrakar, 2015)
– finfish,
– crustaceans (cray fish, crab, prawn/shrimp, lobster) and
– mollusks (bivalves- mussel, oyster, scallop; univalves- abalone, snail,
conch; cephalopods-squid cuttlefish, octopus)
• Has significant dietary contribution in terms of high-quality, easily
digested proteins and micronutrients.
– Accounted for 17 % of animal protein and 7 % of all proteins consumed
by the global population (SOFIA, 2018).
– Provided about 3.2 billion people with almost 20 % of their
average per capita intake of animal protein (SOFIA, 2018).
• Globally fish and fish products provide an average of 34 calories
per capita per day (SOFIA, 2018).

3. Fish
Broad Classification of Fish
Finfish Shellfish
Based on water body Major category taken
Freshwater Brackishwater Saltwater Molluscans
Crustaceans

4. Rohu- Labeo rohita
Catla- Catla catla
Mahseer- Tor tor
Tilapia- Orechromis
Pink Perch
Murrels
Pangas
Milk fish
Indian Seabass
Fish base
(www.fishbase.org) has
listed 2384 finfish species
from Indian subcontinent
that includes 1704 marine,
762 fresh water, 202
endemic and 258
commercially exploited
species. The marine
fisheries resources of India
comprises of more than 200
species of commercial
finfish and shellfish.
https://mpeda.gov.in/MPED
A/important_species.php#

5. Fisheries- Leveraging the Diverse Indian Opportunity
• Total Production= 12.61 MMT(3.58 MMT for marine and
7.21MMT inland fisheries) in 2017-18.
– 2nd in world; share to global fish production: 6.3%.
– GDP contribution: 1%; Average annual growth rate:7%
• During 2018-19, India has exported fish and products of Rs.
47,620.59 crore. Vision for 2024: 1,00,000 crores.
• Coastline (8,118 kms), Exclusive economic zone (EEZ) (2.02
million Km2), Continental shelf (0.506 million Km2)
• River and canals-1,91,024 Km; Reservoirs 3.15 million ha; ponds
and tanks-2.35 million ha; oxbow lakes and derelict water-1.3
million ha),
• Brackish waters (1.24 million ha) and estuaries (0.29 million ha).

6. Packaging
• An essential requirement for virtually any product
whether food or manufactured item.
• sells the product and therefore must reach the product
in presentable form.
• protects the product from contamination and prevents
it from spoilage.
• extends shelf life of a product,
• facilitates distribution and display, gives the product
greater consumer appeal and
• facilitates the display of information on the product.

7. Need for Packaging of Fish and Fishery Products
• Fish is highly perishable food
• Fish quality deteriorates rapidly and potential life is
reduced if it is not handled and stored properly.
• Fish must be refrigerated or frozen immediately after
landing to prevent microbial deterioration.
• Usually, the fish is caught from places where it is
processed or marketed and they need to be
transported over long distances.
• Fish and fishery products can be grouped into fresh
fish, frozen fish, canned fish, dried fish and other value
added fish products. Each category requires special
packaging.

8. Packaging of fresh/iced fish
• Fish remains fresh 4-6 hours depending on environmental
conditions and types of fish.
• Journey <16 hrs.- non-returnable, inexpensive bamboo
basket- ideal; 16-60 hrs. corrugated polypropyelene
boxes/rigid HDPE box-ideal
• Corrugated boxes-cheaper, lighter and better insulating than
wooden boxes.
• Foamed polystyrene/polyurethane slabs-good insulation
• Shallow, thermoformed tray of polystyrene with transparent
film over-wrap for retail marketing under refrigeration in
supermarkets

9. Container should
have insulating properties
to reduce the rate of melting of ice,
reduce dehydration,
reduce fat oxidation,
eliminate drip,
prevent odour permeation,
be adequate mechanical strength to reduce handling
damages,
be light in weight
be capable of being washed reasonably free of bacteria

10. Frozen fish
• Export of marine products is mostly in the frozen form.
• Most popular items: shrimp, squid, cuttlefish, lobster
• Factors affecting quality of frozen fish:
– moisture loss/dehydration,
– oxidation/rancidity,
– flavour loss,
– heat radiation and light
• Package should have
– good barrier properties i.e. low water vapour and oxygen
permeability rates
– retain the odour inside the package
– withstand sub-zero temperatures.

11. • Inner wrap: LDPE or high molecular weight HDPE or linear LDPE
film
• Unit Carton- Waxed duplex cartons
• Film bags-LDPE or high molecular weight HDPE or linear LDPE
• Master Cartons- Wax corrugated fibre board cartons with high
bursting strength, puncture resistance and compression strength.

12. Dried Fish
• In India, mackerels, shrimps, bombay ducks and tuna are the fishes
generally sun dried, sometimes after application of salt.
• Hygroscopic in nature and absorbs moisture during humid climate.
• Prone to rancidity and attacks of insects.
• Traditionally, dried fish is packed in baskets made of “palmyra”
leaves with a hessian lining on the outside. However, such packages
do not provide protection from moisture absorption, oxygen or
insects and therefore not suitable for exports.
• Modern plastic based films /laminates are the better alternatives
and the possibility of vacuum packing can have potential
application.

13. Smoked/Salted Fish
• Products are preferred mainly for improved/modified
smoke flavour.
• It develops rancidity during frozen storage.
• Polyamide polyethylene laminates and polyester
polystyrene laminated film
Fish Pickle
• Contains spices, vinegar and oil.
• Requires grease-proof, inert, heat sealable packaging
with low WVTR and impermeabilty to volatile flavour
• Bottle/ flexible plastic
• Polyester laminated with LDPE/HDPE co-extruded film
with HDPE contact inside or Nylon-surylyn co-extruded
film or LD/Nylon/primacore co-extruded film

14. Value Added Fishery Products
Battered and Breaded Products
• Desiccation, discolouration and development of rancidity
• Thermoformed trays made from food-grade plastics
– Materials used for thermoformed trays are Poly Vinyl Chloride
(PVC), High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) and High Density
Polyethylene (HDPE) which remain stable and unaffected during
prolonged frozen storage.
– Plastic films alone are not suitable for these products as they
provide little mechanical protection to the products and as a
result, the products get damaged or broken during handling and
transportation.

15. Fish Curry
 ‘Ready to Serve’
 Canned curry- Retortable flexible pouches - ideal
choice
• offers advantage of low cost, boil-in-bag facility, ease of
opening and reduced weight.
• Suitable flexible laminate is polyester / aluminium foil / cast
polypropylene.
• Laminates of polyester / cast PP can also be adopted
 Frozen curry- Themoformed trays made of
polystyrene or PVC with a transparent over-wrap

16. Canned Fish
• Packaging material should be
– hermetically sealable,
– thermally conductive,
– inert to the contents and
– withstand heat processing at high temperature and
pressure and not affect colour, odour, flavor, texture and
food value of the product.
• Tinplate cans with sulphur-resistant lacquer coating on the
food contact side,
• Aluminium cans made of aluminium alloyed with
maganesium/manganese and inside coated with lacquer,
• Cans made of tin-free steel and
• Retortable pouches of 3-ply material, polyester/aluminium
foil/polypropylene.

17. Surimi
• Suirimi (Japanese term): mechanically deboned fish mince
from white fleshed fish which is generally frozen as
rectangular blocks.
• To prevent spoilage like dehydration and oxidative rancidity
during storage, the packaging materials used should be a
good barrier of water vapour, gases and odour.
• The material should also have good mechanical strength
and should be stable at sub-zero temperature.
• Packaging adopted for block frozen shrimps is considered
suitable for surimi blocks as well.

18. Fish Sausage
• A surimi-based product, identical to the popular pork sausage.
• Homogenized mass is stuffed into PVC casing using stuffer and
ringed at the ends. Cooling follows heating to avoid shrinkage.
• Paperboard carton lined with a plastic film is ideal for short-
term storage at refrigerated conditions, but for longer storage
it is best kept frozen.
• The packaging used for block frozen shrimp can also be used
for packaging fish sausages.

19. Accelerated Freeze Dried (AFD) Products
• Has low moisture content, generally <2%.
• Is very fragile
• prone to deterioration due to
– moisture absorption, oxidation and colour changes.
• The packaging should have
• low water vapour and oxygen permeabilities
• sufficient mechanical strength.
• Laminates of paper / aluminium foil / polyethylene or
metallised polyester / polyethylene pouches -suitable.
Fish Soup Powder
• Highly hygroscopic
• 12μ polyester laminated with co-extruded LD-HDPE or a five
layered co-extruded film of 90-100μ LD-BA-Nylon-BA-Primocor
identified suitable
• Ensures a safe storage of the product up to 180 days.

20. Shark Fin Rays
• Dried shark fin is a traditionally exported item from India.
• Moisture resistant packaging having good puncture resistance
and sufficient mechanical strength to withstand the hazards
of transportation
• Polyester/polyethylene laminates or nylon based five-layered
co-extruded films having good puncture resistance are
suitable.

21. Recent Advances
• Smart/Intelligent Packaging
• Modified Atmospheric Packaging
• Active Packaging
• Vacuum packaging

22. Modified atmospheric packaging
• Flexible films of nylon/surlyn laminates, PVC moulded trays
laminated with polythene, polyester/low density polythene film
• For lean fish, 30 % (Oxygen): 40 % (Carbon dioxide): 30 %
(Nitrogen) is recommended.
• More CO2 is used for fatty and oily fish with a comparable
reduction in O2 in mixture leading to 40-60 % N2.
– Development of oxidative rancidity in fatty fish is slowed by exclusion of O2
• Oxygen can inhibit the growth of
strictly anaerobic bacteria like C.
botulinum although there is a very
wide variation in the sensitivity of
anaerobes to O2
.

23. Active Packaging
• A type of packaging that changes the condition of the packaging
and maintains these conditions throughout the storage period
to extend shelf-life or to improve safety or sensory properties
while maintaining the quality of packaged food.
• Scavenging or emitting systems added to emit (e.g., N2, CO2,
ethanol, antimicrobials, antioxidants) and/or to remove (e.g.,
O2, CO2, odour, ethylene) gases during packaging, storage and
distribution.
• Active packaging systems with dual functionality (combination
of oxygen scavengers with carbon dioxide and/or
antimicrobial/antioxidant substances are available.
• There is potential of colour containing films, light absorbing or
regulating system, gas permeable/breathable films, anti-fogging
films and insect repellant package.

24. Vacuum packaging
• Removal of air from the package and the application of
a hermetic seal.
• Vacuum packed foods
– maintain their freshness and flavor 3-5 times longer than with
conventional storage methods as they don't come in contact with
oxygen.
– maintain their texture and appearance, because microorganisms
such as bacteria mold and yeast cannot grow in a vacuum.
– freezer burn is eliminated, because foods no longer become
dehydrated from contact with cold, dry air.
– Fatty fish won't become rancid, as there is no available oxygen

25. Packing of Fish Fry and Fingerlings

26. Limit of numbers to be packed for transportation
in <12 hrs.

27. for your attention