Food Packaging: Quality Characteristics of Selected Food Packaging Materials

Food packaging is an essential technique for preserving food quality and minimizing waste. Packaging of foods helps to protect it from contamination with microorganisms,pests and other contaminants.An effective packaging material which is inexpensive,easily available, safe to use and easily disposable can help homemakers as well as commercial catering establishments to serve food in hygienic manner.The present study was undertaken to determine the quality characteristics of selected food packaging materials.A survey was undertaken to determine the availability and use of food packaging materials among five selected classes of commercial food service establishments.The selected food packaging materials namely Banana leaf,Mandarai leaf,Aluminium foil and High Molecular High Density Polyethylene were analyzed for microbial quality.The effectiveness of the food packaging materials was evaluated by assessing the organoleptic and microbial quality of two food items,one cooked(idli)and one raw(coconut chutney)packed separately in the selected food packaging materials for two hours and four hours.This book is therefore useful for students,researchers and people in general as a whole.

Ms.D.S.Padmini has completed M.Sc.and M.Phil.in Family Resource Management. She worked as Project Fellow in 2 years UGC Scheme at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Madurai, Tamilnadu, India. Currently doing Ph.D. at Avinashilingam University for Women, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India. Published a book in LAP. Many publications of research papers to her credit.