Packaging materials snack foods

Food packaging materials used for snack and takeaway foods... 

Table 19.1 Materials used to package snack foods ...

Snack food type Description of the packaging materials identified for each snack food type... 

In the absence of specific legislation for the other (non-plastic) food contact materials used in take-away and snack food packaging then the plastics legislation is used as a guide, although limits are not taken as presumptive standards. Where possible, in the absence of specific migration limits (SMLs), levels found are related back to exposure restrictions such as tolerable daily intake (TDl) or acceptable daily intake (ADI). 

PET is used for packaging food, distilled spirits, carbonated soft drinks, noncar-bonated beverages, and toiletries. Typical food products include, for example, mustard, peanut butter, spices, edible oil, syrups, and cocktail mixers. Its crystallized form (CPET) is the basic material for microwavable containers for frozen meals. Biaxially oriented PET is used in meat and cheese packaging and as a base for snack food laminations. PET coating on paperboard produces ovenable board for use in applications such as frozen dinners. PET pouches are used for boil-in-bag frozen foods, and for sterilizable pouches for medical applications. 

Resins and plastics also can be combined with inorganic substances to make hybrid materials that combine the desirable properties of the dissimilar materials. Examples include safety glass (glass / poly vinylbutyral / glass laminate), carbon fly rods (carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite), snack food packaging... 

Evolving urban life styles (eating out, snacks, microwavable or ready to eat food) inevitably leads to an increase in material surfaces in contact with food, times in contact with materials (Figure 13.1(a)) and therefore exposure to packaging substances from early life stages (e g. baby food shown in Figure 13.1(b)). 

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