Page 54 - FoodFocusThailand No.186 September 2021

STREN
STRENGTHEN THE PACKAGINGGTHEN THE PACKAGING

Shelf-life Extension

Packaging

Packaging is the most important part,
which protects food from the external
environment. It is the first thing that the
customer sees and touches before the
product inside. Good packaging can act
as a communication medium and maintain
the food product’s freshness to deliver
quality and safety to consumers.

The fundamental role and key benefits
of food and beverage packaging
Packaging plays the most crucial function in ensuring
food safety. Food safety refers to preventing food from
surrounding like heat, moisture, gas, and microorganism.
Moreover, food packaging can preserve and prevent
physical damages during transportation. A basic role of
the container is shown as follows:
1. Protect food from contamination Packaging
is a material used to wrap food to protect it from physical,
chemical, and biological contamination, including gas
(oxygen), water, and light. This factor can accelerate
the product change, or chemical reaction caused
undesirable appearance, flavor, texture, and taste that
customers will not accept. Moreover, the pathogenic
and spoiling microorganisms which harmful to the body
were also obstructed by food packaging.
2. Reduce the physical damage Packaging is the
outer component that is strong and durable. It can
support and protect against damage due to the potential
risks of distribution. In addition, packaging also prevents
mechanical force deformation or package collapse,
which results in food damage.
3. Maintain the freshness of the food product
Packaging can preserve the freshness and quality of
food during storage in terms of color, flavor, and taste
before reaching consumers. Fresh food, agricultural
products, and minimum process food have the shortest
shelf life of up to one week, so suitable packaging was
selected to reduce spoilage and food waste.
4. Improve the shelf-life of the product
Packaging has to be considered as an integral part of
food preservation and reduced the rate of food
deterioration. The application of technology in
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