The history of packaging

One of the basic concerns that has always existed since the past is the quality preservation (high-quality storage) of food including fruits, vegetables, meat and other protein products during storage and transportation. Improvements in technology have paved the way to address this issue. Currently, food preservation and storage have been turned to a desirable topic by technology advancement and integration of knowledge with various industries. I would like to kindly ask you to follow up the upcoming article on Karya Polymer website to investigate the changes in this industry from the past to the present and review the history of packaging

What is the origin of packaging requirement?

Since humans settled down, food preservation has become vital. They had to travel long distances to hunt. They also needed to keep their previous hunt in good condition until they got a new one. At first, they used methods such as salting the meat, putting fresh meat in the fat casing, drying fruits and vegetables, etc.

بسته بندی های قرون اولیه

With increasing food diversity and the appearance of migration and movement, food storage has become important for human. According to the mentioned requirements, the need for food packaging can be investigated through two aspects:

Preservation: Helping to maintain the quality of the product during the storage period until reaching the end consumer

Transportation: helping to facilitate the transportation of goods from the place of production to wholesales, retails and to the final consumer.

Due to the expansion of urbanization and the advancement of technology, the need to find efficient methods for packaging was felt more than ever. Therefore, industry and technology are developing and expanding in order to improve the packaging mechanism in the fields of storage and transportation.

The short history of packaging and the effective factors in the development of this industry can be seen in the following picture.

packing history

Definition of packaging

Packaging is the process of creating a cover for a product, including the design and producing of packaging. Precisely, packaging can be considered as a technical and cost-effective practice that minimizes the cost of delivering goods. Also, this process increases sales and, as a result, profits.

In recent years, packaging has helped the marketing and branding process a lot. Because it can easily send the manufacturer’s message to the customer and establish a proper communication between them.

Advantages of packaging

The use of appropriate packaging for products has advantages that can be summarized as:

  • More sales
  • Waste reduction
  • Reducing the possibility of theft
  • Higher efficiency and ease of use
  • Physical and chemical protection
  • Easy transportation and distribution
  • Helping the customer to make an informed purchase

Other features were considered in packaging because of the introduction of printing systems in this industry, including the following:

  • Branding of products through naming the packaging
  • The added value because of the named product

Packaging and existing structures in this industry

When storing any food product, we face two issues:

  • Transferring environmental pollution to the product (microbes, insects, etc.)
  • Biological interactions of the product (metabolism, etc.)

According to the mentioned items concerning the preservation of products, various solutions have been provided in recent years to solve these two issues. The presented methods in this issue have led to the creation of a new structure based on the material type and appearance of the packaging.

Categorized structure based on the type of material and appearance of the packaging are as follows:

  • Rigid
  • Flexible
Packaging and existing structures in this industry

Different categories can be considered for each type of structures according to the consumer:

  • Consumer packaging:
    • Designed for convenience and appeal request, marketing and display
    • The main emphasis in marketing
  • Industrial packaging:
    • Focus on ease of transportation and protection during production
    • The main emphasis on logistics

Novel methods the packaging industry

One of the most effective solutions that can answer the mentioned challenges in the field of product storage is atmosphere control inside the package.
Therefore, new solutions have been provided according to the type of product, volume, and storage method. We will introduce them in this section.
Storage:
1. Controlled atmosphere method (CA)
Packaging and transportation:
1. Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)
2. Vacuum packaging

روش MAP

Methods, which focus on the atmosphere control inside the package, minimize the possibility of growth and living of environmental and external factors inside the package. Also, the speed of reactions inside the packaging is minimized by not providing the requirements of chemical reactions in the product.
In this article, we tried to focus on the history of packaging and the reasons for the introduction of this industry. Also, we provided the novel methods that exist in this industry.
Karya Polymer is a polymer company working in the field of flexible packaging. Follow our website to learn more about packaging and its impact on the economy of the family and the country.

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