'An Appraisal of Attitudes to the Environmental and Chemical Hazards of Plastic Food Packaging', Anne Hayden MSc.

From: 'An Appraisal of Attitudes to the Environmental and Chemical Hazards of Plastic Food Packaging', Anne Hayden MSc.

Chapter 1
Introduction
"Plastic food wrapping is a fast growing industry, both in Ireland and abroad. This project reviews previous research conducted and engages research on the current attitudes of both consumers and industry on plastic food wrapping. The plastic wrapping that is used for food wrapping is a low-density polyethylene (LDPE). There are advantages of using plastic food wrapping as it prevents tampering, maintains freshness, enhances marketing and extends shelf life. The disadvantages are that food may become contaminated by the additives in plastic food packaging. This project focuses on analysing the food industries and consumers’ perceptions when supplying and purchasing food products wrapped in LDPE from the information gathered in the questionnaires and the elite interview.

Waste from food packaging is a growing problem (Hawkins, 2012). The issue of food waste cannot be addressed alone without examining the increasing use of plastic food packaging (Hawkins, 2012). Food protection with packaging is important, but a balance must be emphasised between effective food packaging and the environmental and chemical hazards of plastic food packaging (Hawkins, 2012).

The use of plastic food packaging has increased in recent years, and this is leading to major waste management problems (Hawkins, 2012). Food packaging helps to maintain the quality, safe delivery, preservation and the prevention of contamination of food products (Robertson, 2010). There are health concerns associated with plastic food wrapping, and yet the use of plastic food packaging has increased in recent years (Bugusu & Marsh, 2007)..."

Plastic food packaging consists of LDPE and is commonly referred to as wrapping film (Hitchcock, 2000). The plastic wrapping market was estimated to be worth $4.65 billion in 2015 and $10.6 billion by 2020 to the world economy, with a 45% share of the total market in Europe (Research and Markets, 2015). Food products deteriorate from the farm to the consumer due to the physical, chemical and biological changes (Han, 2014). The quality and safety of food products has improved due to food packaging and their extended shelf life (Han, 2014). 

Food packaging is a marketing tool for food products as it benefits marketing with improved packaging and design (Han, 2014). Marketing increases sales as consumers are attracted to the products that have labels containing details about the product source, ingredients, expiry date, nutritional value and net weight(Bugusu & Marsh, 2007). Plastic food packaging has advantages for the food producers as products can be sold all over Ireland, Europe and the world by extending the shelf life and maintaining the freshness of the food products (Bugusu & Marsh, 2007).

Plastic food packaging has environmental and chemical hazards. Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is widely used in food packaging as it is a low-cost material and has many advantages that benefit the suppliers and consumers of food, such as different sizes and shapes, products are visible and hygienically protected (Bugusu & Marsh, 2007). LDPE is derived from the "chemical process for developed synthetic polymers (plastics)" (Kumar Sen & Raut, 2015). LDPE is manufactured by the polyaddition of monomer units where molecules link with double or treble carbon bonds to form a large molecule. LDPE is mass-produced all over the world as it is easy to seal, strong, transparent and moisture resistant (Bugusu & Marsh, 2007). The food- producing companies use this plastic for food wrapping when supplying products to retail outlets also, such as chicken, apples, ham, salads, beef and bacon.  

All types of plastic have a resin code and the most common plastic packaging for food products is the #4 resin code referred to as LDPE (Bugusu & Marsh, 2007). The resin codes range from #1 to #7 and this helps with the recycling process as the resin types have to be separated (Bugusu & Marsh, 2007). There are many benefits of using plastic food packaging and disadvantages, which have negative effects on the consumer as the additives from the plastic food packaging can be absorbed into the food (Bugusu & Marsh, 2007). The environmental impact of  the manufacturing of plastic wrapping creates by-products, emissions and the issue of the disposal of the food packaging waste (Lindh, Olsson & Williams, 2016). 

From the 1st January 2016, the EU has issued new food plastic regulations (FSAI, 2016) and all plastic which has contact with food must be tested in order to determine that "the migration of substances is within the specified or overall migration limits" so as to ensure that no harmful chemicals are released into the food (FSAI, 2016). All food contact materials must be tested under the EU Food Stimulant Regulation (EC No 10/2011). This new regulation is more stringent than previous directives as it now tests dry foods as well as liquid foods. In Ireland, the EU Food Stimulant Regulation is enforced by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland along with the National Standards Authority of Ireland (FSAI, 2016).  

*'An Appraisal of Attitudes to the Environmental and Chemical Hazards of Plastic Food Packaging', by Anne Hayden MSc is available to purchase from Amazon.