Group+6+v2

__ A History of Packaging __
=__Introduction __ = ​​This page is all about packaging (particularly food packaging) in the past, the present and the future. On this page you will find a timeline of different types of packaging, an interview on what it used to be like and a section on the future and technology of packaging. We hope that you find this information interesting and helpful and that you enjoy our work! ​

=__Timeline __ = ​​__**Interview about packaging in the past **__
 * Period of Time || Packaging || Preserving || Transport || Source ||
 * Neanderthals || Neanderthals used animal skin and large leaves to protect their food. || They left fruit on rocks to dry in the sun but ate the meat straight away. || They didn’t transport their food. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">They found their food in the forests and environment around them. ||
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Ancient Egyptians || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">Ancient Egyptians used various types of pottery to eat and store their food. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">They preserved their meat buy using salt and they dried out their fish in the sun. They also made small bottles out of glass for storing drinks. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">They transported their food in sacks or baskets by foot or on animal's backs. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">The Egyptians used to buy their meat from a butcher just like we do today but they grew crops to trad for things they couldn’t grow or make themselves. ||
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Romans || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">Romans used to keep their food stored in baskets and sacks. They would keep drink in large barrels in the cellar. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">They used glass for packaging and preserving food and drink. They also salted and smoked their meat for preservation. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">They transported their food on wagons or by foot. They also used ships and barges in the summer months. They moved food in sacks and baskets. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">The lower class Romans worked on farms and hunted for their food, but if they had money, were able to buy food from market places. ||
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Medieval || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">Medieval food was kept in baskets, sacks and large clay pots. They usually had a well in the villages. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">To help preserve their foods they, smoked, pickled and salted their meat. They also dried their fruit. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">Travelling was slow in the Middle Ages with only the options of horseback, ship or walking so most people would either grow or hunt for their food. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">Food in medieval time was either hunted or grown by farmers and peasants. Only the rich had it brought to them. ||
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Today || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">Today we use all sorts of different packaging, for example: cans, jars, plastic, boxes and more. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">We use many ways to preserve our food but the main ones are: drying, freezing, vacuum-packing , canning , preserving in syrup, smoking and salting. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 110%;">Canvas bags are used totake food home but to transport them to places further away we use trucks, planes and boats. || <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Today we buy our food from local supermarkets but some people still prefer to grow their own vegetables and herbs. ||

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Georgia,serif;">media type="file" key="Interview.mp3" width="293" height="111" = __<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Future of Packaging __ =

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The future for environmental healthy packaging is bright with many plans to make 100% compostable packaging, meaning fewer greenhouses gas emissions. The future of food packaging will most likely be as green as possibly, using materials such as cotton and paper. One new promising material, polylactic acid (PLA), is made purely from renewable corn. PLA is also compostable in principle, meaning that it will breakdown under certain conditions into harmless natural compounds. Another popular green material is sugar cane fiber, fully renewable and with no waste. Within the next ten years we will start to see more environmentally friendly products and less plastics<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">, but only in developed countries. The third world will most likely be using oil based plastics for the forseeable future, as living in poverty profit will most likely prevail over the thought of helping the envioment.





Food Packaging Manufactured from Sugar Cane Fibre

= = =<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">__Food Packaging Materials Investigation Part 1__ =




 * **Student** || **Fresh food** || **Staple** || **Prepared food** || **Beverages** || **Take-away** ||
 * **Amy** || You don’t package fresh food but you do store it in plastic bags to keep it together in the same place. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Flour- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">flour comes in a cardboard box which can be recycled with a plastic bag inside to stop weevils and things getting into it and the flour from airing out too much. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Two minute noodles- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">They come in plastic bags to help preserve them longer or sometimes they come in Styrofoam cup things that can use as a bowl.  || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Coke- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">coke can come in glass or plastic bottle with metal or plastic lids or in a aluminium can.  || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Fish and chips- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Fish and chips usually come packed in two layers of paper wrapped around a waxed piece of paper so the grease doesn’t get through.  ||
 * **Jed** || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Banana- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Protected in a natural skin, it will decompose into compost. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Loaf of bread- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Packaged in a plastic bag, keeping it fresh but not very enviromentallyfriendly because of the oil used.  || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Fried Rice- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Packaged in a plastic take away box, not very enviromentally friendly.  || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">A Can of Coke- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Packaged in an aluminium can, which is recycable.  || To come ||
 * **Zach** || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Avocado- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">The avocado has natural protection. Its skin is 100% biodegradable, meaning it will decompose quicker. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Bread- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">The breads packaging is plastic. Being plastic it won’t break down quickly so it isn’t environmentally friendly.  || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Baked beans- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">The baked beans are stored in aluminium tin, it enviro friendly because it can be recyled.  || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Milk- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">The bottle is not very environmentally friendly because it is made with oil.  || Noodles(take away)-The noodles are stored in a carboard box that can be recycled. ||
 * **Holly** || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Strawberries- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">This piece of fruit is packaged in plastic punnets which, have been designed to keep them fresh and so we can see how ripe they are. || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Sugar- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Sugar usually comes in paper or plastic bags that are recyclable.  || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Nutella- <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">Comes in a plastic jar that once washed is recycable and can be made into other things.  || <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Soy Milk <span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 8pt;">-Is stored in a cardboard carton with a plastic coating to stop the beverage from soaking through. It can be easily recycled.  || Pizza-<span style="font-family: 'Georgia','serif'; font-size: 9pt;">Pizza is packaged in a cardboard box that is easy to carry and recyclable.  ||

=__Part 4: A__=

1:
 * Information

Type || Chemistry || Other Info (Recyclable etc.) || Types of Foods Packaged || Advantages + Disadvantages ||
 * a)Plastic Bags (PP) || Thermoplastic made from petroleum.Low Density Polyethylene, also known as LDPE, is unreactive at room temperature and can withstand temperature up to 80°C for a continuous period of time. LDPE contains the elements carbon and hydrogen. || The bags can be reused as they are but they are bad for the environment and not biodegradable. || Carrier Bag, Frozen Foods, Rubbish Bag || They are bad for the environment and can harm animals if swallowed by them but they are cheap and convenient for the human population. ||
 * b) Cardboard || Cardboard is made out of recycled materials and woods which are mixed together into a pulp to make a flat layer of cardboard. Cardboard is a completely natural substance. || It is Recyclable but because it is thicker/ stronger than paper it takes longer to break down though essentially it is also biodegradable given time. || Breakfast Cereal Box, Chocolate Box + Milk Cartons || It is quite light and has good strength if dry. It is better to use for the environment than plastics. ||
 * c) Styrofoam Cup || Styrofoam is approximately 98% air. Styrofoam or Polystyrene is made up of hydrocarbon. Styrofoam is chemically unreactive, a good choice for transporting and containing products. || They are not biodegradable and not easily recycled. Things like that usually end up in the trash with no other purpose except to be rubbish. || Meat Trays, Microwave Dinner Trays + Cheap Coffee Cups || It is good at keeping things warm and very convenient. They are not good for the environment however and can leach harmful chemicals into the food. It retains it shape when wet and is also very cheap. ||
 * d) Aluminum || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 96%;">Aluminum is a naturally occuring element which is non-magnetic, non-sparking and, in metal form, ​non-toxic. It's melting point of 660.4 degrees C and a boiling point of 2467 degrees C . || Cans can be recycled and reused, made into other things etc. They are not biodegradable. || Aerosol Cans, Coke Cans + Canned Food || They are quite strong, easy to recycle and compact. However aerosols are very bad for environment and are often littered. ||
 * e) Paper || Paper is made in a similar way to cardboard except that it is much thinner and more refined. Paper is not made with recycled materials however, just wood and grasses. || Paper is both Recyclable and Biodegradable || Wrapping Paper + Easy Packaging || It is not very strong but it is flexible and environmentally friendly. ||

**__​__**

=__**Part 4: B**__=

​ Packaging of the future will need to be green, and although not alot of packaging is green at the moment, companies are currently investing millions researching it. In years to come nanotechnology could very well be the future of packaging.

=__ Part 5 __= Chip Packet Report Introduction: For task 5 our group split into pairs to find and record information on our respective chip packets. Jed and Zach had a box containing 15, 19g chip packets. Holly and Amy had a 175g chip packet. The purpose of the task was to a) find out the volume and surface area, b) gauge the ability of the packaging to protect the product, c) work out the quantity per unit and d) compare the two so that we can make a decision on the better design. The results are as follows: Holly and Amy’s Packet:
 * 175g Salt & Vinegar ($2.99) + Box of 15 pkts Salt & Vinegar ($5.06)**

Jed and Zach’s Packet: The Smiths, Salt and Vinegar multipack chips are contained in individual bags contained in a cardboard box. The individual packets had a width of 14.3cm, a length of 14.5cm, a height of 3cm, a surface area of 414.7cm2 and a volume of 622.05. The box’s length is 24cm, the width is 10.3, the height 28.6, the surface area 1769cm2 and the volume is 7069.92cm3. The volume per gram for the individual packets is 32.73cm3 and the surface per gram is 21.82cm2. Using a cardboard as container for the chips means that if it gets wet it will disintegrate, although it provides better protection than a plastic bag and is easier to store and carry. The individual plastic bags provide good protection and keep the chips fresh; it also means that the packets are very cheap to produce.

Holly and Amy did our study on the 175g Polypropylene (PP) plastic chip packet. This chip packet had the surface area of 36 960cm and the volume of chips in it was 4620cm 3 which serves seven people if each serving is 25g. First we measured the chip packet, the length was 30cm, the width was 22cm and the depth was 7cm. Next we tested how good the packing is by dropping it down a flight of stairs. We then opened the packet and found that at least half the chips had been damaged and our theory is that the chips that were placed around the edges broke because they didn’t have anything to cushion them but the chips that were in the middle had other chips and air to cushion their fall. A disadvantage for using this material for packaging is that the packet will degrade if left in direct sunlight, and an advantage is that it is cheap to use compared to other product.

Conclusion: