AIMS AND OBJECTIVES PACKAGING To understand why food needs to be packaged. To look at the different materials used for food packaging. To understand the environmental implications of packaging.

Why do you think we need food packaging? There are 5 main reasons, can you think what they might be?

FUNCTIONS OF PACKAGING The main purposes are to: Transport Inform Preserve Protect Promote

TRANSPORT To make it easier to carry food either from the factory to the shop or from the shop to home.

INFORM We will look at this in more detail when we talk about labelling in the next lesson.

PRESERVE Canning prolongs shelf life by removing oxygen and then heating the can and its contents to very high temperatures to kill off bacteria. Vacuum packaging prevents bacteria that need oxygen contaminating the food. Modified-Atmosphere Packaging (MAP). Food is put in plastic bags or containers, and a mix of gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide & nitrogen) is pumped in to prolong the shelf-life until the package is opened.

PROTECT To protect the product from accidental or malicious damage (where someone damages the product on purpose)

PROMOTE To make the product more attractive to the consumer so they want to buy yours and not another one.

YOUR TASK In your kitchen pairs: You are to produce a presentation about your packaging. Your talk should include information about Transportation – does the type of packaging help? Information – does it give lots of information? Protection – how does it protect the product? Preservation – how does it preserve the product? Promotion – how well do you think it promotes the product? You will have 10 minutes to prepare

To get top marks Your talk should be clear and informative, brief and to the point It should explain why your food product has been packaged in the way it has. Use the 5 reasons for packaging as headings Include information about the material the packaging is made from (there is information in your kitchens to help you) Make comparisons with other products if that helps

How you will be marked I will pick 4 groups at random to give their presentation so you must all be prepared Each group will be assessed by the rest of the class Was the presentation clear? (Did you understand it)? Did it cover all the necessary points? Did you learn anything? We will use your planners for scoring Green page Yes Yellow page Sort of Red page Not really

THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF PACKAGING Food packaging makes up a huge percent of the waste that ends up in landfill sites. It cannot always be recycled. It cannot always be reused. It is not always biodegradable. It uses up natural resources (oil, metal, trees) It’s production causes air, land & water pollution

GREEN PACKAGING Green packaging causes less damage to the environment than other forms of packaging - it is 'environmentally friendly'. There are three types of green packaging.

REUSABLE PACKAGING Can be cleaned and re-used to store the same food or something else. Examples are glass and some plastic.

BIODEGRADABLE PACKAGING Easily breaks down and disappears into the soil or the atmosphere, without causing damage.

Glass, some plastic, metals, card & paper. RECYCLABLE PACKAGING Made from materials that can be used again, usually after processing, for packaging or some other purpose. Glass, some plastic, metals, card & paper.

WHAT DO YOU THINK FOOD MANUFACTURERS SHOULD DO TO REDUCE THE ENRIVONMENTAL IMPACT OF PACKAGING? Use recyclable and biodegradable materials Ensure consumers know what is recyclable Use less packaging Stop pointless packaging Make packaging lighter weight or thinner

WHAT DO YOU THINK WE CAN DO? Choose products that have no packaging, or come in recyclable or biodegradable packaging Recycle as much as we can. Currently we recycle 33%, but 70% is recyclable. Buy single larger sizes of a product rather than lots of smaller ones (e.g. yoghurt) Use our own shopping bags, not plastic bags

Is your packaging recyclable, reusable or biodegradable?