Plastic film packaging

The preservation of a food product packed in a plastic firm mainly depends on the maintaining of its original quality by protecting it against external deterioration influences.

This achieved through the barrier properties of the packaging material.

From the early 1960s, to now, polymer film has been dominant film packaging material in the snack food, bakery and candy industries.

The majority of plastic films are transparent and not easily colored by dyeing or adding pigments. In order to develop opacity, films can be cavitated during film manufacture.

The films are heat-sealable and they have the advantages of being grease and oil resistant for the protection of the contents.

The required protection of the foodstuff may be achieved with a single layer of polymer or necessitates the use of multilayered films including different polymers, coating and metal foils.

The barrier properties, hence the protecting capacity of a package, mainly originate from its permeability to gases and vapors that are noxious to the quality of the product.

A loss of water may lead to undesirable drying detrimental to both the texture of the product and the purse of the manufacturer.

The film is used because of it excellent moisture barrier properties, stiffness, gloss, printability and crispness. When needed, special coatings provide excellent oxygen barrier property as well.

Generally, films are by definitions less than 1oo um thick. Film is used to warp products, to overwrap packaging to make sachets, bags and pouches and is combined with other plastics and other materials in laminates, which in turn are converted into packaging.
Plastic film packaging