On the costs and benefits of using triangles in packaging design

We investigate the factors that influence the visual search for bottles displaying a triangular label whose orientation differs from that of background distractors, using shampoo bottles as stimuli. In Experiments 1 and 2, the participants had to find a bottle having a triangular label in a different orientation from the others displayed as rapidly as possible. The results consistently demonstrated that searching for a trapezoidal-shaped bottle with a downward-pointing triangular label was faster than searching for the same bottle with an upward-pointing triangular label instead. In Experiment 3, participants rated the valence and bottle-label congruency for all of the packaging exemplars used in Experiments 1 and 2. The results revealed that the participants rated a downward-pointing triangular-shaped label as being more incongruent with trapezoidal-shaped bottles than an upward-pointing label. Our findings reveal that the downward-pointing triangle superiority (DPTS) effect elicited by the triangular-shaped label is also influenced by the silhouette of the bottle (which presumably provides a reference frame). Such interactions between label and silhouette have direct implications for packaging design.     

水产品活性包装和智能包装技术的研究进展

水产品贮藏品质对加工保藏技术的要求以及国内消费者对水产品加工食品质量安全的存疑促进了水产品活性包装和智能包装技术的发展。活性包装技术通过包装材料吸收不利保藏的成分,或释放有利保藏的成分,或发挥涂膜抗菌、抗氧化作用,对水产品起到防腐保鲜的作用。智能包装技术通过标签指示剂、信息溯源提高产业链管理效率以及减少消费者对水产品品质和安全的担心。虽然国内外在水果、蔬菜、奶制品等食品上已有新包装技术的应用,但是我国水产品活性包装和智能包装的工业化尚在起步阶段。本文总结了主要的活性包装和智能包装技术,并总结了新包装技术在国外水产品上的应用,以期为我国未来水产品新包装的发展提供借鉴参考。     

Analysis of food packaging UV inks for chemicals with potential to migrate into food simulants

Ultraviolet (UV) inks are an alternative formulation system to the more usual paste or liquid inks (oils or solvents based) that dry mainly by evaporation or penetration into the printed substrate. Based on acrylic acid chemistry, UV inks dry (the exact term is 'curing') by the chemical process of photopolymerization. Their composition (acrylate monomers and oligomers together with photo-initiators) exposed to UV emission lamps on the printing press units enable the transformation of the freshly printed ink layer into a tack-free film. For UV inks intended for primary food packaging, special care has to be paid to potential migrating species like small photo-initiator molecules and acrylate monomers not cross-linked in the formed network. The paper presents chromatographic methods to ascertain the level of ink ingredients potentially available to migrate into food simulants (migration tests). GC/MS was employed to quantify the levels of photo-initiators or acrylic esters (acrylates).     

脉冲光杀菌新技术在食品及包装中的应用

脉冲光是一高强度、宽光谱的白色闪光，用于包装材料及各种食品的杀菌，可显著延长产品货架期，是一种有效、经济和安全的杀菌新技术。     

Tests of potential functional barriers for laminated multilayer food packages. Part II: Medium molecular weight permeants

Experiments were performed to characterize the kinetics of the permeation of different medium molecular weight model permeants: bisphenol A, warfarin and anthracene, from liquid paraffin, through a surrogate potential functional barrier (25 microns-thick orientated polypropylene--OPP) into the food simulants olive oil and 3% (w/v) acetic acid. The characterization of permeation kinetics generally observed the permeation models previously reported to explain the experimental permeation results obtained for a low molecular weight group of model permeants. In general, the model permeants exhibited behaviour consistent with their relative molecular weights with respect to (a) the time taken to attain steady-state permeation into the food simulant in which they were more soluble, (b) their subsequent steady-state permeation rates, and (c) their partition between liquid paraffin and the OPP membrane.     

Crossmodal correspondences between taste and shape,and their implications for product packaging: A review

A growing body of empirical research now demonstrates that people associate different basic tastes and taste words with specific packaging shapes. While it may be obvious that semantic knowledge concerning products, based on the packaging and/or design elements (e.g., typeface, logo, label, images), can guide the taste expectations that consumers generate in relation to a given product, here we demonstrate that there are also more fundamental correspondences that operate even with unfamiliar stimuli. Specifically, shape features (e.g., straight vs. curvy, or symmetrical vs. asymmetrical) have been shown to influence the taste that people naturally associate with a given shape. The evidence suggests that, at least to a certain extent, people match such shape dimensions with tastes on the basis of their common affective connotation. Here, we critically review the literature on these seemingly arbitrary, yet systematic, crossmodal correspondences between tastes and shape features. We suggest that they can inform the design process when it comes to product packages and labels with the aim of conveying taste information more effectively. This review is relevant to those researchers interested in taste-vision correspondences as well as to food marketers, and those designers interested in the communication and influence of taste information.     

Emotional responses towards food packaging: A joint application of self-report and physiological measures of emotion

In this paper we investigate consumers’ emotional responses to food packaging. More specifically, we use self-report and physiological measures to jointly assess emotional responses to three typical food packaging elements: colours (low-wavelength vs. high-wavelength), images (positive vs. negative) and typefaces (simple vs. ornate). A sample of 120 participants was exposed to mock package design concepts of chocolate blocks. The results suggest that images generate an emotional response that can be measured by both self-report and physiological measures, whereas colours and typefaces generate emotional response that can only be measured by self-report measures. We propose that a joint application of self-report and physiological measures can lead to richer information and wider interpretation of consumer emotional responses to food packaging elements than using either measure alone.     

An internet compendium of analytical methods and spectroscopic information for monomers and additives used in food packaging plastics

An internet website (http://cpf.jrc.it/smt/) has been produced as a means of dissemination of methods of analysis and supporting spectroscopic information on monomers and additives used for food contact materials (principally packaging). The site which is aimed primarily at assisting food control laboratories in the European Union contains analytical information on monomers, starting substances and additives used in the manufacture of plastics materials. A searchable index is provided giving PM and CAS numbers for each of 255 substances. For each substance a data sheet gives regulatory information, chemical structures, physico-chemical information and background information on the use of the substance in particular plastics, and the food packaging applications. For monomers and starting substances (155 compounds) the infra-red and mass spectra are provided, and for additives (100 compounds); additionally proton NMR are available for about 50% of the entries. Where analytical methods have been developed for determining these substances as residual amounts in plastics or as trace amounts in food simulants these methods are also on the website. All information is provided in portable document file (PDF) format which means that high quality copies can be readily printed, using freely available Adobe Acrobat Reader software. The website will in future be maintained and up-dated by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) as new substances are authorized for use by the European Commission (DG-ENTR formerly DGIII). Where analytical laboratories (food control or other) require reference substances these can be obtained free-ofcharge from a reference collection housed at the JRC and maintained in conjunction with this website compendium.     

Quality and safety aspects of reusable plastic food packaging materials: A European study to underpin future legislation

The objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive package of quality assurance criteria for use by industry and regulatory authorities for ensuring the quality and safety-in-use (sensory, microbiological and chemical) of reused plastics for food packaging. The study included thermal degradation effects, flavour carry-over caused by flavour and off-flavour substances, the influence of washing processes on the materials, and the efficiency of washing processes in removing offflavour substances and surrogate substances representing misuse chemicals as might be put in bottles by consumers. The microbial safety of the refillable plastic articles in relation to commercial washing processes and the industrial procedures applied has also been investigated. Lastly, the suitability of laboratory procedures using strips of bottle material for predicting the sorption and washing properties of refillable plastic bottles has been studied. In general it is concluded that reuse of the articles does not significantly influence any of the properties investigated. Neither the chemical, physical nor surface properties seem to be significantly influenced by repeated washing. It can be concluded, however, that it is very likely that most of the articles investigated will cause flavour carry-over to a new filling if they are contaminated with strongly flavoured products. Finally it can be concluded that the procedures evaluated can serve as a basis for future legislation on refillable articles, but for several procedures (like quick predictive testing with strips) more investigation is required to create a more solid basis.     

Development and validation of analytical methods for monomeric and oligomeric migrants from nylon 12 packaging materials

Analytical methods for the determination of laurolactam--the monomer of nylon 12--as well as the cyclic dimer and trimer were established. High performance liquid chromatography using ultraviolet (HPLC-UV) and mass spectrometric detection (HPLC-MS) were both found suitable to identify and quantify monomer, cyclic dimer and trimer well below the specific migration limit (SML) of laurolactam, being 5 mg/kg of food (simulant). Gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection (GC-FID) showed to be an appropriate method for the detection of only laurolactam in aqueous and fatty food simulants. Food simulants could be analysed directly by all three methods, or after a change of solvents. For olive oil, a method for sample clean-up by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) was established.     

Estimation of exposure to food packaging materials. 1: Development of a food-packaging database

A food-packaging database was developed to provide qualitative information on the types of packaging materials used for foods. Packaging information was collected from a sample of 594 children aged 5-12 years as part of a national children's food survey carried out in Ireland during 2003-04. All the food packaging collected during the survey was forwarded to the coordinating centre for further analysis and entry into the Irish Food Packaging Database. The database was created in Microsoft Access® and stored information on: the brand of the food, the packaging type, the unit weight, the contact layer, the European Union food type (i.e. aqueous, acidic, alcoholic or fatty) and other relevant parameters. Of the 5551 different brand foods consumed by children in the food survey, packaging information was collected on 3441 (62%). As some brand foods had different unit weights and packaging formats, there was duplication of some brand foods in the database to account for this fact. Therefore, there were 3672 packaging entries in the database. Of these, plastics were the most common packaging contact layer (n = 2874, 78.3%). Multimaterial multilayers with a plastic contact layer accounted for 459 (12.5%) entries. Polyethylene was the most frequently used contact layer (n = 941), with polypropylene a close second (n = 809). This database is unique in Europe for the quality and amount of food packaging information it contains and could be used to develop packaging use factors for a more refined exposure assessment to food packaging materials in the European Union.     

Migration of additives from polymers into food simulants: numerical solution of a mathematical model taking into account food and polymer interactions

The principle of a computing program describing precisely the migration of additives from a polymer into a food simulant is presented. As six parameters are used to fit the simulant sorption and additive extraction kinetics, the parameters have been determined by independent experiments. Owing to the complicated coupling between the liquid and additive diffusion processes, migration kinetics cannot be obtained by a mathematical resolution of kinetic equations, but they must be calculated by numerical analysis. The method is applied to a UV absorber in polypropylene migrating into glyceryl tripelargonate, a pure triglyceride, of which behaviour and average molecular weight are similar to official fatty food simulants. Properly designed experiments validate the model used to fit the migration kinetics. The possibility of erasing any parameters is also discussed.     

Fresh from the tree: Implied motion improves food evaluation

The current research explores whether the often-used depiction of foods in motion both on packaging and in marketing campaigns helps improve consumer judgments of food products. In two studies, we show that depictions of food with implied motion lead to enhanced evaluations of both freshness and appeal. This occurs even when motion is merely implied, rather than actual. These findings shed light on the common practice of showing motion in food advertising and in food packaging design. We argue that this phenomenon may relate to an overextension of a primitive link between motion and freshness. This feature can be used to help promote healthier food choices and consumption by increasing their appeal via implied motion.     

Stability testing of selected plastics additives for food contact in EU aqueous, fatty and alternative simulants

Within the framework of the AIR3-CT94-2360 EUproject, the stability of three plastics additives in three EU aqueous and fatty food simulants and in two alternative simulants was studied under various timetemperature conditions. The additives tested were bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate (DEHA), bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and octadecyl 3-(3,5-di- tert -butyl4-hydroxyphenyl) propionate (Irganox 1076). The various test conditions included exposures of 10 days at 40 o C, 1h at reflux temperature for all aqueous simulants, 10 days at 40 o C and 1h 175 o C for the olive oil and 2 days at 20 o C and 3h at 60 o C for the isooctane simulant. Following the exposure, the additive samples were extracted from aqueous simulants with hexane. A sonication step was necessary to ensure maximum extraction of control samples. In the case of the isooctane simulant, the samples were analysed directly from the simulant. The oil samples were extracted by acetonitrile. The extracts of samples exposed to various heat conditions as well as unexposed spiked controls and blanks were analysed by gas chromatography (GC) on a non-polar (5% -phenyl)-methylpolysiloxane capillary column with high temperature capabilities. The results showed that DEHA, DEHP and Irganox 1076 were stable at 40 o C and at reflux temperature in ethanolic or acidic aqueous simulants. The various additives were also stable in the organic isooctane simulant as well as in the fatty simulant olive oil. Studies on the stability of such additives used in food packaging are designed for regulatory purposes as an aid to decide whether the legislation should regulate limits for plasticizers based on a quantity in the food packaging itself or based on an ingested dose by the consumer.     

Potential life cycle carbon savings with low emissivity packaging for refrigerated food on display

The retail of food produces a large amount of carbon, both directly through embodied energy in the food and its packaging, and indirectly through energy use. Supermarkets are large consumers of energy in the UK, accounting for up to 5% of the UK’s total consumption. A large proportion of this energy, up to 50%, is used in refrigeration of food and much of this is used to cool open type display cabinets. However, work at Unilever Research Laboratory in the 1970s indicated that the input energy required for cooling open display refrigerated cabinets could be substantially reduced by applying low emissivity (i.e. high reflectance) materials in food packaging, causing the cabinet heat load and the temperatures of stored foods to be reduced. One drawback was that it was difficult to print on the surface of these materials without reducing their reflective properties. However, subsequent developments in packaging technology and the use of modern manufacturing processes have overcome the earlier disadvantages of these materials, permitting printing onto the external surfaces of low emissivity packaging, while still retaining its reflective properties. This paper presents an update of the Unilever study, in terms of the potential of modern, low emissivity food packaging materials for improving refrigeration system efficiency. The results of the new study indicate that some types of packaging will allow an increase in refrigerator operating temperature of up to 10 K, with no loss of refrigeration performance with respect to the food. This is expected to result in improved refrigeration system efficiency, with reductions of up to 30% in both energy consumption and carbon emissions and a likely significant increase in shelf life for stored foods. In addition, the embodied carbon for the packaging and the life cycle impact of its use, have been evaluated. Packaging having low embodied energy content has been identified, and it has been predicted that significant net savings in both carbon and energy are possible over the life cycle.     

Shelf-life extension of cod fillets with an acetate buffer spray prior to packaging under modified atmospheres

Fresh cod fillets (Gadus morhua) were sprayed with a 10% acetate buffer (pH 5.6), packed with an industrial gas-flushing packaging machine under modified atmospheres (50% CO₂-45% O₂-5% N₂, 2cm³/1g gas/ product ratio) and stored at 7^oC for 12 days. Control cod fillets were directly packed and stored under the same conditions. A reduction of the aerobic plate counts was observed immediately after the cod fillets had been sprayed. During storage under modified atmospheres, there was complete inhibition of H₂S-producing bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae in the treated cod fillets. Production of total volatile bases and trimethylamine (TMA) was inhibited in treated fillets for 10 days' storage under modified atmospheres. Inhibition of TMA production can be attributed to growth inhibition of H₂S-producing bacteria, inhibition of the trimethylamine oxide (TMAO)-dependent metabolism of TMAO-reducing bacteria and the stable pH during storage. The shelf-life, at 7^oC, of treated cod fillets, based on cooked flavour score, was almost 12 days, ca 8 days more than shelf-life of the control fillets.     

Rotating plates: Online study demonstrates the importance of orientation in the plating of food

We report three online experiments designed to assess how the visual composition of the elements of a commercially-successful dish would be perceived by naïve assessors, in terms of their liking and willingness to pay. Experiment 1 showed that an upward orientation of the dish was preferred as compared to when the elements pointed downward/toward the observer, or else pointed to the side. Experiment 2 demonstrates that optimally orienting the plate translates into an increased willingness to pay for the food. In addition, the results also revealed that both a triangle formed by the three principal elements (onions), and the direction in which these v-shaped elements pointed, affected people’s judgments of the ideal orientation of the dish as a whole. Finally, a citizen science experiment (Experiment 3) held at London’s Science Museum provided further support for our findings. These results highlight the potential of a digital (Internet-based) testing methodology to determine the optimal visual presentation of food.     

Optimising the delivery of food allergy information. An assessment of food allergic consumer preferences for different information delivery formats

In this study, the preferences of food allergic consumers for different prototype information delivery tools was examined, with the aim of improving informed product choices. Sixty-two self-reported food allergic participants from the Netherlands and Germany were included in the study. Each tested three prototype information delivery tools (a food label, a handheld electronic scanner, and an information booklet) to access allergy information. Participants rated each tool in terms of perceived convenience, usefulness and confidence. Principal Component Analysis indicated that convenience and usefulness loaded on one construct, namely functionality. The impact of information delivery tool and country on functionality and confidence was analysed with two repeated measures generalised linear models. The highest perceived functionality was found for the label. The electronic scanner was rated as the next most functional method to deliver information, followed by the booklet. Food allergic consumers were equally confident about using all three information delivery tools. The results have implications for developing new policies and legislation concerning information provision to food allergic consumers.     

A review: Breathable films for packaging applications

Various packaging technologies have been developed to meet continuously increasing consumer demand for comfortable and safe use, convenience of use, and fresh quality of packaged products. Porous and breathable films provide various advantages such as the minimization of anaerobiosis originating from the accumulation of CO₂ in packaging and the automatic release of steam in a microwave system. Non-porous breathable films are among the alternative candidates for packaging applications and they can respond to desired and undesired temperature fluctuations by reversibly changing the gas permeability depending on the temperature change. They can also prevent problems related to packaging integrity such as the intrusion of insects and microorganisms through perforations, undesired permeation of moisture, and loss of flavor in agricultural products and food. This review mainly addresses porous and non-porous breathable films that are responsive to stimuli like temperature changes. Further, the importance and possible packaging application areas of non-porous breathable films with temperature-dependent gas permeabilities are briefly identified.     

European consumer response to packaging technologies for improved beef safety

Beef packaging can influence consumer perceptions of beef. Although consumer perceptions and acceptance are considered to be among the most limiting factors in the application of new technologies, there is a lack of knowledge about the acceptability to consumers of beef packaging systems aimed at improved safety. This paper explores European consumers' acceptance levels of different beef packaging technologies. An online consumer survey was conducted in five European countries (n=2520). Acceptance levels among the sample ranged between 23% for packaging releasing preservative additives up to 73% for vacuum packaging. Factor analysis revealed that familiar packaging technologies were clearly preferred over non-familiar technologies. Four consumer segments were identified: the negative (31% of the sample), cautious (30%), conservative (17%) and enthusiast (22%) consumers, which were profiled based on their attitudes and beef consumption behaviour. Differences between consumer acceptance levels should be taken into account while optimising beef packaging and communicating its benefits.