Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi PREFACE 1 INTRODUCTION 2 1 The importance of packaging 3 Principles of packaging 4 Health and safety 6 Types of packaging materials 7 Constraints to adequate packaging 7 Packaged food classification 8 Socio-economic considerations 9 2 Traditional food packaging systems 12 Plant materials 12 Animal-based containers 16 Earthenware 16 Wood 16 3 New packaging materials and techniques 18 Paper packaging 18 Metal containers 21 Glass containers 23 Caps and closures 24 Plastics 27 Summary 31 4 Case studies 33 Packaging kitul treacle, Sri Lanka 33 Yoghurt packaging, Sri Lanka 34 Packaging of tea, Peru 34 Cashew nut packaging, Honduras 35 Fruit juice and jam packaging, Ghana 36 Appendix 38 Alternative trading organizations 38 Packaging research institutes 39 Other useful addresses 41 BIBLIOGRAPHY 42

About the Author

UNIFEM was established in 1976, and is an autonomous body associated since 1984 with the United Nations Development Programme. UNIFEM seeks to free women from underproductive tasks and augment the productivity of their work as a means of accelerating the development process