How to Pack Food?

From Howtopedia - english

Jump to: navigation, search

Contents

[edit]

Solids Filling and Packaging - Technical Brief

[edit]

Short Description

  • Problem:
  • Idea:
  • Difficulty:
  • Price Range:
  • Material Needeed:
  • Geographic Area:
  • Competencies:
  • How Many people?
  • How Long does it take?
[edit]

Solids Filling and Packaging

Solid food is either in the form of a large piece (eg butter, whole fruit, fish etc) or particles that can 'flow' like liquid (eg small fruits and vegetables, diced or sliced foods, powders). In general, large pieces are best packed by hand whereas particulate foods can often be filled using similar fillers to those used for liquids.

There is a wide range of packaging materials available to suit the properties of different foods and the expected shelf life. However, the cost of these materials may be very high and thus uneconomic for a small-scale producer. In other cases the packaging may simply not be available. The choice of packaging may therefore be a compromise between what is required and what is available/affordable, the penalty being a reduction in shelf life of the food.

Image:Foodpackaging01.jpg
Figure 1: Dried banana produced in Sudan ©Neil Noble/Practical Action

Different foods require different degrees of protection against:
• Mechanical forces (impact, vibration, compression or abrasion) • Climatic influences that cause physical or chemical changes (light, moisture, air, temperature changes) • Contamination (by micro-organisms, insects or soils) • Pilferage, tampering or adulteration


All solid foods can be packaged to keep items together (in boxes, baskets etc) but these rarely offer protection to the food apart from resistance to crushing. In Table 1, selected types of food are grouped to show which factors should be protected against and suitable types of packaging materials.

Table 1: Packaging requirements of selected foods

Protection needed against

Foods

Moisture loss

Moisture Uptake

Air

Light

Heat

Micro-organisms

Mechanical damage

Odour loss

Odour pickup

Types of packaging

Frozen foods

Fish

*

*

*

*

*

plastic film, pots

Vegetables

*

*

*

*

plastic film, pots

Pastry

*

*

*

*

plastic film, pots

Chilled foods

Fresh foods

Fruit

*

*

*

*

plastic film, paper

Vegetables

*

*

*

*

plastic film, paper

Meat

*

*

*

*

*

plastic film, paper

Cooked or cured meats

*

*

*

*

*

*

plastic film, paper

Dairy products

*

*

*

*

*

*

glass, plastic

Milk

*

*

*

*

*

paper, plastic film, foil

Butter

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

pots, glass

Cheese

Dried foods

*

*

*

*

*

glass, plastic bottles

Squashes

*

*

*

glass, plastic bottles

Baked foods

Bread

*

*

*

*

plastic film

Pies

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

plastic film

Cakes

*

*

*

*

*

paper, plastic film

Biscuits

*

*

*

*

*

paper, plastic film

Sugar confectionery and preserves

*

*

*

*

*

glass, foil, plastic film

Chocolate

*

glass, foil, plastic film

Hard-boiled sweets

*

glass, foil, plastic film

Jams

Carbonated beverages

*

*

*

glass, plastic bottles

Sterilised foods

*

*

*

*

*

*

glass, metal cans

Pasteurised foods

*

*

*

*

*

*

glass, metal cans

[edit]

References and further reading

This Howtopedia entry was derived from the Practical Action Technical Brief Solids Filling and Packaging.
To look at the original document follow this link: http://www.practicalaction.org/?id=technical_briefs_food_processing


Packaging Food in Glass, Technical Brief, Practical Action

Packaging Materials, Technical Brief, Practical Action

Liquids Filling and Packaging, Technical Brief, Practical Action

Small-scale Food Processing: A guide to appropriate equipment Edited by Peter Fellows & Ann Hampton, ITDG Publishing/ CTA 1992

Appropriate Food Packaging by Peter Fellows & Barry Axtell, ILO/TOOL 1993

Packaging, Food Cycle Technology Source Book, ITDG Publishing/ UNIFEM 1996

Small-scale Food Processing: A Directory of Equipment and Methods by Sue Azam-Ali ITDG Publishing, 2003

[edit]

Usefull addresses

Practical Action The Schumacher Centre for Technology & Development, Bourton on Dunsmore, RUGBY, CV23 9QZ, United Kingdom.
Tel.: +44 (0) 1926 634400, Fax: +44 (0) 1926 634401 e-mail:practicalaction@practicalaction.org.uk web:www.practicalaction.org

Image:Pa-logo-200x103.gif

Equipment suppliers

Note: This is a selective list of suppliers and does not imply endorsement by Practical Action.

Alvan Blanch
Chelworth
Malmesbury
SN16 9SG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1666 577333, Fax:+44 (0)1666 577339 Website: http://www.alvanblanch.co.uk, Sealing equipment used for the sealing of plastic bags. Filling equipment

Fisher Scientific UK Ltd.
Bishop Meadow Road, Loughborough, LE11 5RG, United Kingdom, Tel: +44 (0) 1509 231166, Fax: +44 (0) 1509 231893

Website: http://www.fisher.co.uk, Heat sealing equipment producers

Orbit Equipments PVT. Ltd. Block No.1
Venkat Reddy Complex, Tarbund X Roads, Secunderabad - 560 009, India
Tel: +91 (0)40 2817296, Fax: +91 (0)40 2813877
Packaging machines such as heat sealers, carton sealing machines, stretch wrapping machines, case packers and palletisers.

Acufil Machines SF.120/2
Kalapatty
Coimbatore - 641 035
India
Tel: +91 (0)422 866108/866205
Fax: +91 (0)422 572640
Form Fill and Seal Machine used for the sachet packing of all granular food products like dhal, peanuts and cashew nuts.
Capacity: 20-40 sachets/minute Power:
Battery/Electric

Technology & Equipment Development
Centre LIDUTA
360 Bis Ben Van Don St
District 4
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam
Tel: 08 9400906
Fax: 08 9400906
Packaging Equipment for candy, biscuits and other similar foods into pillow form. Size of machine: 3700mm x 800mm x 1500mm.
Vertical and horizontal heater.
Capacity: 100-250 packs/min
Power: Electric

[edit]

Categories:

Retrieved from "http://www.howtopedia.org/en/How_to_Pack_Food%3F"
Personal tools