FOOD AND PACKAGING

INTRODUCTION
Any type of container has got advantages and disadvantages. Advantages: It contributes to protect food from bacterial contaminations and it regulates the water content or moisture of the food.

Disadvantages: We must have into consideration that using too many containers means a real danger for the environment and dont forget our proyect deals with the environment protection: Hand in Hand for the Environment Protection

TYPES OF FOOD CONTAINERS

The containers for food and drinks can be classified as follows:

GLASS

PAPER AND CARDBOARD

METAL (STEEL AND ALUMINIUM)

PLASTIC

GLASS
Advantages: It can be recycled lots of times, it preserves food for a long time. Disadvantages: Its main drawback is that it needs high temperatures to be processed, which means a high energy cost.

PAPER AND CARDBOARD

Advantages: It preserves the products contained in it very well, avoidind the damage which could take place during its transportation; it preserves the quality of the products. It also announces, promotes and identifies the product from its origin until it reaches the consumer and it has got a low cost.

PLASTIC
Advantages: It ensures maximum protection for food, it is an inert material, it is easy to sanitize and can be recycled endlessly. Disadvantages: It is one of the most expensive materials, it requires too much energy in its production process and it can lead to some dangerous handling.

METAL (STEEL AND ALUMINIUM)

Advantages: Thermal stability, tightness, magnetic quality and chemical integrity. Disadvantages: It is a quite expensive material and recycling it implies a high energetic cost.

Plsticos sintticos
Se producen a partir de polmeros sintticos. Se caracteriza por su bajo coste de produccin. Se pueden procesar fcilmente en las mquinas.

Plsticos biodegradables
Existen varios tipos de plsticos biodegradables que son mezclas de polmeros sintticos como en el almidn.

Materiales compuestos (laminados)

Son films compuestos por varias capas delgadas de varios materiales (metal, plstico y papel).

Nanocompuestos
Envases de nueva generacin con propiedades especficas. Contiene pequeas cantidades de minerales de relleno..

Materiales de envasado activos e inteligentes

La causa ms frecuente de alteracin de la mayora de alimentos frescos o procesados es el crecimiento bacteriano. El sistemas ms empleado en la actualidad es el eliminador de oxgeno.

LOS EMBALAJES COMO RESIDUOS

-Envases reutilizables

-Envases destinados al reciclado material o qumico

-Envases destinados a la incineracin

-Envases degradables de un solo uso

-Envases de vertedero

ENVASES EN ESPAA

Los consumidores espaoles tambin se muestran favorables a la utilizacin del vidrio como material de envasado segn revela el estudio The European Packaing Survey.

Esta decisin debera ser tomada no solo por lo productores sino tambin los consumidores, los cual se encuentra interesados en la proteccin del medio ambiente.