Packaging

Packaging, the technology used to contain, protect, and preserve products throughout their distribution, storage, handling, and at the same time to identify them, provide instructions for their use, and promote them. Packaging consists of all those activities involved in developing and providing a container for a product. The package is actually a vital part of the product. It can make the product more versatile, safer, or easier to use.

The estimated value of packaging materials and machinery used for packaging throughout the world is £ 270 billion, of which the European figure is an estimated £ 100 billion. Some 60 per cent of all packaging is used for food and drinks, and it is also essential for cosmetics, domestic chemicals and electrical goods, pharmaceuticals, health care products, agricultural chemicals, seeds, and feeds, and industrial goods of all types, such as motor parts, and computer hardware and software.

Packages have both functional and marketing value. Their primary function is to protect the product, and they should be strong enough to do so.

Packaging must maintain the condition of its contents. If this is a food, for example, it must exclude air to prevent it from becoming unfit for consumption during the period designated as its shelf life and indicated by a sell-by date marked on the pack. The pack must also prevent the product from leaking, especially if there is a corrosive or poisonous chemical inside. The pack must identify the contents and their amount through the use of print and pictures, and, if necessary, provide instructions on use, as well as any hazard warnings. The latter is essential when pack contains pharmaceuticals, or chemicals, either domestic or industrial.

With regard to marketing, packages should be attention-getters if they are to be displayed at the point of sale - as in supermarkets. Various sizes of packages may be used to reach particular target markets. Single- portion food packages for single-person households and the "giant economy size" for large families are examples. Such packages as reusable containers and no-drip bottles may also attract consumers to particular products. See-through plastic packaging allows the consumer to see the product before it is purchased and reduces theft. Now many well-known firms sell fruit juices aseptically packaged in boxes that do not need refrigeration.

Packaging Materials

The basic materials used for packaging are paper and board, plastics, aluminium, steel, glass, wood, regenerated cellulose film, textiles. Forms of packaging include cartons, boxes, cases, wrappings, bags, sacks, trays, bottles, jars, cans, tubes, aerosol spray cans, crates, bulk containers. Opening methods include caps, closures, corks, ring-pulls, and tear-strips.

Labelling

Labelling is the presentation of information on a product or its package. The label is the part that contains the information. It may include the brand name and mark and the registered trademark symbol, package size and contents, product claims, directions for use and safety precautions, a list of ingredients, the name and address of the manufacturer, and the Universal Product Code symbol, which is used for automated checkout and inventory control.

A number of federal regulations specify information that must be included in the labelling for certain products.

12. Garments must be labelled with the name of the manufacturer, country of manufacture, fabric content, and cleaning instructions.

13. Nutrition labelling must be included with any food product for which a nutritional claim is made. This labelling must follow a standard format.

14. Nonedible items such as shampoos and detergents must carry safety precautions as well as instruction for their use.

15. The ingredients of food products must be listed in order, from the ingredient that constitutes the largest percentage of the product down to the one that makes up the least of it.

Such regulations are aimed at protecting the consumer from both misleading product claims and the improper (and thus unsafe) use of products.

Labels may also carry the details of express warranties. An express warranty is a written explanation of the responsibilities of the producer in the event that the product is found to be defective or otherwise unsatisfactory.