**3. The contributions of packaging in the development of food industry**

Food industry is a conglomerate of activities involved in handling agricultural products, which runs, possibly from the farm gate through to the utilization or consumption of the products at an expected condition of consumers' adjudged food value. Food packaging is a process of making fresh or processed food product to be utilized beyond the point of production, which facilitate the link between the producers and the consumers, by ensuring that the products are transported through the distribution channels to the consumers, with unchanged quality, nutritional status and physical/ sensory parameters. The literature recognized food packaging as the champion of identification, anticipation and satisfaction of customers and increasing patronage of food products for productive marketing and gaining of market share. The support of food packaging to the enterprising of food industry is founded on the forgoing as well as in ensuring diversifying patronage of the products through their unitization process. The contributions of food packaging to the development or success of food industry can be considered in terms of primary and secondary roles [22]. The literature mentioned four principal or primary and other ways food packaging promote food industry to include containment, protection/preservation, communication and convenience constituting primary functions and others like temper indication, traceability, portion control/unitization. Some of these functions are discussed below.

### **3.1 Containment**

This role entails holding or containing food products to prevent them from throwing away or scattering during logistic or handling operations. For instance, containment makes movement of the products from the point of production to the point of storage/usage possible or convenient. This indicates that containment is the key factor in either the handling or the usage of the products. According to Shin and Selke [6], containment is the key factor for food packaging functions because products must be contained in a container to get to the consumers. Also, containment facilitates handling of the products in discrete units as an added value to the products. By unitizing the products, containment eases the marketability or distribution of the products and hence, improves revenues realizable from the products. Containment can equally be considered as a fundamental basis for protecting or preserving the products from unnecessary interactions between the products and the outside environmental constituents during handling operations.

#### **3.2 Protection/preservation**

Packaging is the beacon of protection or preservation of food products from physical damage arising from shock, vibration, compressive forces, poor handling (abrasion) etc. during distribution and transportation of the products. It also safeguards the products from other environmental damages that occur due to the influence of water, air, light, environmental odors, microorganisms [6]. The protective function of packaging equally involves shielding products from unacceptable interactions or destructive tendencies of environmental factors such microorganisms, insects/ rodents and others. Packaging process creates conducive micro-climate or environment that enhance shelf-life around food products by putting in place a different formation of oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor etc. other than that obtained in natural atmospheric environment. Marsh and Bugusu [1] stated the protection/ preservation function of food packaging can be considered to be in three dimensions, physical, chemical and biological with the chemical minimizing compositional changes instigated by environmental influences like exposure to gases, moisture and, light (visible, infrared, and ultraviolet); biological, preventing interactions of microorganisms(pathogenic and spoilage agents), insects, rodents and other animals to circumvent spoilage and incidence of diseases.; physical aspects catering for shock, vibration, compressive forces, poor handling (abrasion) etc. during distribution and transportation of the products.

The choice of containers for food packaging, according to the literature, depend on many factors which include the physical condition (liquid, semi-solid and solid), chemical composition of food, physical strength of the material, material' resistance to permeability of liquid, vapor, environmental odor etc. usually, the packaging literature is replete with information on various containers applied in food system as packaging materials. The report indicated the use of natural resources like leaves and other plant materials, animal skins, cement paper bags, jute bags, basket, bamboo, cane basket, and pottery, discarded bottles and jars, old stock of paper prints, broad leaves, empty fluted gourds, fruit shell, coconut shells, maize-sheath, glass-sided boxes, jute sacks, poly sacks, polyethylene bags grouped as traditional packaging materials [15, 22, 23]; that are still used amongst Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas and other tribes of Nigeria in their localities. These material are being used not necessarily for their protective/preservative potential but for their availability at a very low cost, as according to Evivie et al. [15] they are unsuitable for protecting agricultural products or for efficient logistical roles and transportation and thus are inapplicable in industrial settings. The attempt to improve on the functions of traditional packaging evolved modern packaging materials which include paper and paperboard, glass, metals, and plastics in conventional packaging system. Paper and paperboards are used in wide range of forms in food packaging for dried food products like powdered foods, flours, cereals, cereals etc. as well as in production of corrugated boxes, milk cartons, sacks, and paper plates [2]. The protective/preservative properties of plain paper are poor because of its low strength and high permeability to moisture, gases and water vapors [1]. Also, glass containers, which according to Grayhurst and Girling [24], attributed to being chemically inert and odorless, are used to package wide range of food products like food beverages such as beers, wines, spirits, liqueurs, soft drinks and mineral water and others, whether in solid or liquid form. Another aspect of containers used in food packaging are metals. The report of Page et al. [25] indicates that metal containers are strong and impervious to water/liquid, gas, food vapors, environmental odors and are used to package wide variety of foods. The two metals

## *The Place of Packaging System in Advancing Food Preservation for Promoting Food Products'… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.108235*

mostly involved in food packaging are aluminum and steel [1]. While steel is used in making three-piece cans for packaging liquid milk, drinks and processed foods such as beans and peas, aluminum is used to produce two-piece cans (for carbonated drink and seafood), foils and laminated paper [2]. Furthermore, plastic containers appear to dominate other ones afore-mentioned in food packaging because they are valuable in terms of being moldable, heat sealable, inclusive to production processes by having the nature of being produced, filled and sealed as part of production operation [1]. The use of plastic in packaging has facilitated advancement in food packaging that guarantees better maintenance of nutritional and sensorial properties of food products [2]. The emergence of modified atmosphere packaging, active packaging, intelligent and other recently developed novel packaging systems which target at meeting the consumer' desires for fresh-like food products, with unchanging valuable nutrients and sensorial attributes, health promoting potential; was facilitated by packaging containers constituted of plastic and or biodegradable materials.

## **3.3 Communication role**

Packaging passes information about the products, providing what the consumers need to know in terms of the chemical constituents, nutritional characteristics, mode of utilization, shelf-life etc. This information is necessary to draw attentions of consumers or guide them in the choice of products [6]. The communication function of packaging not only includes the information provided by the written texts, but the elements of the packaging designs such as package shape, color, recognized symbols or brands. In this status, packaging performs a role of salesmen employing all its characteristics to entice expected consumers who may instantly recognize the products through appetizing pictures or distinctive brands on the package. The packaging, if transparent, expresses the same nature to lure consumers by giving them opportunity to see the products contained inside the package. Invariably, packaging by its characteristics, passes information to consumers, helps in the marketing and, may be considered a purveyor of food products' retail marketing mix that influence conventional marketing variables such as products, price, promotion, and place.

The communication aspect of the functions also encompasses how food packaging facilitates marketing of specific or well-known or branded food products. It distinguishes products from different organizations to enable the consumers choose amongst similar products present in the market. For instance, it provides information on cocoa food drinks from different companies like Cadbury and Nestle Foods, in Nigeria to enable consumers choose according their interest or appeal. Thus, food producers that introduce food products enclosed with an innovative and exquisite packages that are alluring to consumers will always outsell their competitors in product marketing. This is because the ability to present an outstanding packaging, for products, gives organizations an edge in brand competition. It promotes sales of products by providing prerequisite information consumers need every place and on the shelf, thereby acting as an advertising instrument [1]. For example, such promotional information like free extra products, uniqueness of the products, gifts, reduction in price with bulk purchases are provided to draw attention or command interests of consumers.

#### **3.4 Convenience**

The desire of to avoid burdens or inconveniences in life is equally translated to application of packaging as part of food processing operation. The use of packaging to reduce burden associated with the handling and utilization of processed food products provided element of convenience in food packaging which seem to influence the interests of the users of the products. Packaging makes the use of food products easier and simple for middlemen and consumers. Promoting convenience in the use of food products through packaging relies significantly on the physical characteristics of packaging, which can unavoidably be linked with the concept of communicative dimension of packaging (e.g. shape, size, color, material, graphic applications. Marsh and Bugusu [1] mentioned elements of food packaging that promote convenience to include ease of access, handling, and disposal; product visibility; resealability and microwavability. According to them the forgoing elements unburdens preparation and serving of food, add value and competitive advantages to food products, though may influence the amount and types of package waste requiring disposal.

The convenience aspect of packaging may be using lighter weighted materials as packaging to reduce the burdens of transportation during distribution. Such materials, though are light, must withstand physical pressures, vibrations or shock that may be occasioned by handling, especially the transportation process. The use of PET instead of glass in packaging soft drinks, recently introduced in the beverage industry in Nigeria, typifies packaging for convenience in transportation of food products. The use of lightweight materials as food package which guarantees provision of protective/preservative critical functions reduces weight eases the burden and cost of transportation of food products. Hence, considering convenience, food product's type vis-a vis the potential of the material to resist breakage and permeation of gases, water vapor, environmental odors etc. are mandatory.

#### **3.5 Tamper indication**

Food packaging could also be designed to be tamper resistant to be able to pass information of whether the product enclosed is fondled with or not in the course of movement of the products through distribution channels, marketing to the consumers. According to the literature, this role is registered in food system as tamper evidence or tamper indicator and defined as the characteristic that disclose every unauthorized attempt made by people to access or fiddle with the products. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration [26] defined "tamper- evidence or indication package as one having one or more indicators or barriers to entry which, if breached or missing, can reasonably provide visible evidence to consumers that tampering has occurred" Marsh and Bugusu [1] reported that tamper indication is majorly designed to prevent or reduce adulteration/tampering with the following features such as banding, special membranes, breakaway closures, and special printing on bottle liners or composite cans such as graphics or text that irreversibly change upon opening. The information passed by tamper-indication packaging, not only, assures consumers of the genuineness of the products and hence, contribute immensely in influencing the consumers' decision to choose amongst available similar products and in marketing of the products; but assist to keep organizational brands from being faked. Tamperindication, thus, is a sure way of discouraging adulteration of products and ensuring that products in the market originated from the organizations that produced them. It is therefore necessary to educate consumers on identification of tamper alert by the manufacturers. This is tandem with the report of Rosette [27] that suggested that consumers should be knowledgeable of the characteristics of tamper-packaging and its indications for the products concerned. Tamper-evidence, is designed to provide,

what Kumbhar et al. [28] called visual indication of package integrity of good or reasonable logistic attention given to products from manufacturing through distribution to retailing activities.
