FOOD PACKAGING

UNIT 1 - METALS
 REQUIREMENTS

Preserve and Protect the food product

Resists chemical actions of product

Withstand handling and processing conditions

Withstand external environment conditions

Withstand high temperature treatments

Have correct dimensions and the ability to be practically interchangeable with similar products from
other supply sources (when necessary)
Have required shelf display properties at the point of sale

Give easy opening and simple/safe product removal

Be constructed from recyclable raw materials

 PROPERTIES OF METALS / ADVANTAGES OF METALS AS
PACKAGING MATERIAL
Complete barrier to GTR and WVTR – provides total protection of the contents
100% UV/Light protection
Strong as compared paper, plastic, glass and wood
Highly durable
Reusable and Recyclable – economic
Good machineability – can be produced and filled in high speed machine automatically, Ductility, Malleability
Light in weight as compared to glass
Heat processable/resistance
Printable and Embossable
Convenient for ambient storage and presentation – better protection against insects
Tamperproof
Creates hermetically sealed or aseptic environment
In regard to their opacity, it is an advantage to light sensitive products
 DISADVANTAGES OR DRAWBACKS OF METALS AS PACKAGING
MATERIALS

High cost of metal and high manufacturing cost can make cans expensive as compared to plastic and paper
but not glass

Not completely inert – tendency to interact with contents and environment (internal and external
corrosion). Takes part in chemical reactions leading to rusting and corrosion, leakage

Chance of migration of Tin and Lacquer materials into food

Heavier than other packaging materials except glass, therefore higher transport cost

Completely opaque – contents can’t be seen without opening.

METALS AS PACKAGING MATERIAL

Commonly used metals

• Steel
• Tin
• Aluminium
• Chromium
Composites
• Tin and Steel – Tinplate
• Chromium and Steel – Electrolytically Chromium coated steel (ECCS), or Tin free Steel (TFS)
Soldering
• Lead and Copper – not as a main component but for soldering or welding of a 3 piece can
 TINPLATE - STRUCTURE
 This is also called open top sanitary can.
 It has a base of mild steel plate coated with tin (0.04- 0.1%).
 Steel is easily corroded so is usually in the form of tinplate which consists of mild steel (low carbon
content in the order of 0.1-0.5%) coated on both sides with a layer of tin.
 The tin coating protects the steel from rusting and corroding by forming a tin/iron alloy at the interface
to prevent the attack on the steel base. The base steel plate is also known as black plate which has low
carbon content.
The typical structure is shown in the figure below:
Passivation treatment:

• This stabilizes the surface of tin coating by controlling the growth of natural oxide. The uncontrolled
oxide growth can cause yellow discoloration of the plate surface and effects lacquering and printing
process, i.e. it makes the surface more stable and resistant to atmosphere.
• An electrolytic treatment in a sodium dichromate electrolyte is widely used method. It results in the
formation of thin (<1µm) film consisting of chromium and chromium oxides and tin oxide.

Surface oiling:

• It is designed mainly to lubricate the plate to improve the slip characteristics and reduce surface
scratching and adhesion properties when a plate is subsequently fabricated into container. The amount
of oil used is 5-10 µg. The oils used are Dioctyl Sebacate (DOS), Acetyl- tributyl citrate (ATBC). The level
of oil application must be controlled because excessive oil coating causes decoating of lacquer and
disturbs in printing.
 TIN PLATE - ADVANTAGES

The combination of a Tin and Steel produces a metal that has

Good strength and Barrier properties

Excellent fabrication quality such as ductility and drawability

Good solder and Weldability

Non-toxic in nature

Lubricity

Lacquerability

Provide corrosion resistant surface of bright appearance – most important factor

They tend to be used for higher value products, as the painted tin can looks very attractive
 TYPES OF STEEL FOR PRODUCING TIN PLATE

• Based on corrosion resistance,

Tin cans can be • Based on grades of base plate,
classified on
various bases • Based on size, and
• New system based on ISO diameter.
 TYPES OF STEEL USED IN TINPLATE – 1. BASED ON CORROSION RESISTANCE

Type MR
• This is the most widely used grade for moderately and mildly corrosive products such as peas, apricots, meat,
peaches and grapefruit. Residual elements are not limited except phosphorus which is kept at a low level. Typical
composition contains 0.2% Copper, 0.02% Phosphorus and 0.5% Sulphur.

Type L
• This is used for highly corrosive foods i.e. those that are highly acidic such as apple juice, berries and pickles. In this
type the amount of phosphorus, silicon, copper, nickel, chromium and molybdenum are limited to as low as
practicable, typically 0.06% Copper, 0.015% Phosphorus and 0.05% sulphur.

Type LT
• It is same as L type but has been tested for Corrosion resistant.

Type MC/N
• This has been rephosphorized for extra strength and stiffness. It is suitable for mildly corrosive and non corrosive
products such as peas, meat, fish, dried soups, milk etc. it is used for making high strength tinplate i.e. for can ends
for carbonated beverages where the internal pressure is high.

Type D/M
• For making D & I (Drawn and ironing) can
 2. CLASSIFICATION BASED ON STRENGTH AND DUCTILITY - Grades

Tinplate is graded according to its strength and ductility in a

grading system that refers to each grade as a temper (T)
numbered from 1-6. Each grade has a typical use, such as:
• T1 represents the most ductile but least strong grade; therefore it is easy to mold.
• T6 is nitrogenised steel, very stiff and suitable for ends subjected to high pressure.
• T1 – T3: used for deep draw components, e.g. two piece cans
• T3 – T4: general purpose grades used for can bodies/ends
• T5 – T6: stronger grades used for heavy duty can bodies and ends.
 3. Based on size

American system of nomenclature is used,

e.g., A1 Tall, A2½, etc.

4. NEW SYSTEM BASED ON ISO DIAMETER

ISO diameter system is related to American system of nomenclature.

The A2½ equivalent in this system is 401×411.
 Hot steel ingots (2 mm)
Cold rolling
Pickling (hot, dilute H2SO4 bath)
Steel strip of 0.15-0.5mm
Annealing and temper rolling (to give required
hardness and surface finish)
Coating on both sides (hot dipping or
electrolytic process)
1. The steel plate is made by hot rolling cast steel ingots or
continuous steel strip down to a thickness of 2 mm.
2. It is then treated in a bath of sulphuric acid to remove the
surface layer of iron oxide.
3. Cold rolling follows, reducing the thickness further to 0.15-
0.5 mm.
4. It is heat treated to remove the manufacturing stresses and
to improve ductility in a process known as Annealing. This
can be a continuous or batch type process.
1. Continuous annealing takes the metal to a temperature
between 600-650oC for 1-1.5 minutes.
2. The batch process holds a batch of metal at between
600- 650oC for 7-10 hours in a nitrogen/hydrogen
atmosphere to prevent oxidation.
5. A light rolling follows to achieve the required mechanical
properties and surface finish.
6. Inspection and degreasing follows before the tin is applied.
 TIN COATING 2 Process

1. Hot dipping method

• Traditionally the tin coating was achieved by hot dipping the steel in a batch of tin. Hot dipping produces
thick coating (a minimum of 22 gram per square meter; gsm), i.e. 11 gm tin per square meter on each
plate, which tends to be expensive. It also produces uneven coating and differential coating can’t be
achieved as well.
2. Electroplating/electrotinning process
• This process helps to achieve more controlled and uniform coat weights, which can be adapted to the
product requirements. The tin anode and the steel cathode are immersed in an electrolyte of acidic
stannous (tin) sulphate. The tin dissolves and is deposited on the steel cathode. Electrolytic coating can
give as low as 5.6 gsm, i.e. 2.8 gm tin per square meter of plate. It can also give differential coating such as
D100/50.
• However, the resulting tin plate has a dull finish. A shiny appearance can be produced by a process known
as flow brightening, which produces brightening by heating in hot oil bath or by electrical induction
process. This not only gives bright appearance but also enhances resistance to corrosion. Finally it is
treated with chromic acid, dichromate, perchromate or phosphate solution to stabilize the finish.
 The tin coating may be the same weight on both the sides of the plate or it may be different by using a differential coating
process. The can is more vulnerable to the attack from the pack contents than from the atmosphere, so a thicker tin
coating can be applied internally.Typical coating weights vary from 1.4-11.2 gsm on either side of the steel base.

 The code letter “E” refers to equal coat weight on both the sides whereas “D” refers to different coat weights.

 As tin is very expensive, efforts have been made to reduce the quantity required as in the electroplating method. Double
cold reducing (DCR) involves giving the metal a second rolling process to reduce its thickness by 25-50%, while increasing
the stiffness.This is used to achieve the same strength through thinner and therefore cheaper metals. Another alternative is
the use of cans without tins.
 ELECTROLYTICALLY CHROMIUM COATED STEEL (ECCS) –
called TFS (Tin free Steel)

It consists of :
• Chromium Coating – 0.07-0.15 gsm
• Oxide Layer – 0.03-0.06 gsm

Advantages over Tinplating Disadvantages

• Cheaper than Tin coated plates • Low resistance to Lacquer. So
• Produce surface more acceptable for protective lacquer coating require high degree of lacquer
or printing ink protection
• Due to high melting point (232⁰C), Tin layer show use of high • Can’t be sealed with traditional lead
lacquer stoving temperature. Shortest stoving temperature can or tin solder. Require bonding by
be used for TFS welding or use of organic solvent
 SOLDERING

Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together by melting and
then flowing a filler metal into the joint—the filler metal having a relatively low melting point.
SEAMING OF CANS
LACQUERING OF CANS
DESIGNS OF CANS