Variety of multifunctional plastic food packaging materials

As people's demands for quality of life and food safety continue to increase, more and more requirements and higher and higher standards are also put forward for the function of food packaging. Under this circumstance, the development of new varieties of plastic film for food packaging in various countries around the world is also very active to meet the individual needs of the market to the utmost. France introduced two new packaging films processed from ordinary PVC materials to the market, which can be used to identify whether the packaged food uses genetically modified raw materials. Using this specially treated PVC film for packaging, it is possible to identify whether the package contents such as soybean oil are processed from the genetically modified soybean material, even for soybean foods containing only 5 to 10% of the genetically modified components. France also introduced to the market a double-layer superimposed film dedicated to the packaging of meat. The outer layer is an HDPE film with special structure and properties, and the inner layer is edible paper. Packaging the meat with the film can solve the problem that ordinary materials packaged meat will be immersed in bleeding and grease, and will not easily separate on the meat and cause the surface to form a hard skin, so as to maintain the original color, fragrance and taste of the meat.

Recently, a British company successfully developed a new type of plastic food packaging, which has a passive and active barrier function, can effectively inhibit the infiltration of oxygen, even after the food bag cooking, the role will not be reduced. The new plastic food packaging can not only extend the storage period of the product, but also can directly use the microwave heating, especially suitable for convenient food packaging. This new package, called the sum of the barriers, is a composite of 6 layers of different materials. The first layer is PP. It is a polymeric material with high oil resistance. The second and fourth layers are adhesive glues. It is an oxygen-blocking polymeric material EVOH; the fifth layer is an oxygen scavenger mixture known as an active barrier that not only prevents the ingress of foreign oxygen molecules, but also absorbs oxygen in the package; the last layer is a PP material. In the new package, the oxygen scavenger maintains its activity even in the presence of moisture, thus extending the shelf life of the food.

Switzerland has recently developed, produced and introduced to the market a special cover film for use in microwave products - Simkashin. The film is not only resistant to high pressure, but also has good anti-fog properties. The use of this cover film is particularly useful for heating various dishes in a microwave oven, which can be quickly and conveniently heated for food. During the heating process, the pressure generated by water vapor can be safely released through the membrane. A plastics processing company in Switzerland has developed a chemically self-destructive plastic that can gradually dissolve and no longer pollute the environment. This chemically self-destroying plastic is sprayed with a specially formulated solvent that reacts with the plastic to gradually dissolve the plastic and become a non-hazardous substance that can be washed away by water. After the composite plastic film produced from this new type of plastic is packaged into food and beverages, once the package is torn, the inner layer coated with special reagents absorbs moisture in the air and reacts with the polymer with reactive groups. It is slowly broken down like a perforation.

In December 2004, German scientists successfully developed resistant plastic food packaging using medical expertise. The packaging is suitable for the packaging of liquid beverages such as milk and is an important change in the field of food packaging technology. Researchers at the German Processing Factory and Packaging Technology Association used coating technology to apply a layer of antiseptic and antibacterial material to the plastic packaging film instead of adding preservatives to the food. This kind of coating can be realized by a composite resin or other based material and special technology.