Current trends in packaging:
Single-serving and individual-portion packages, adapted to changes in household size.
Convenience: prepared meals, takeout, microwaveable, self-heating…Plastic materials used in the food industry:
• Polyethylene terephthalate
• High-, medium-, and low-density polyethylene
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
• Polypropylene
• Polystyrene
• Copolymers: EVOH, PVdC…
Bioplastics: naturally occurring biopolymers derived from renewable sources.
Biodegradable plastic:
At the end of its useful life, it is discarded and begins to undergo chemical changes due to environmental factors, which break it down into simple substances or smaller components that are eventually absorbed by the environment.
A plastic is biodegradable when, by harnessing the energy requirements of various microorganisms found in a wide range of environmental settings, we are able to effectively break down the various products made from that plastic material within an appropriate timeframe and under safe conditions.
Source: Paula Fajardo Bernárdez, ANFACO-CECOPESCA, New Preservation Technologies.