Bacteria in Indian Food Packaging Papers and Paperboards with Various Contents of Pulp Fiber

The food packaging industry generally uses papers and paperboards (PPBs) especially for disposable products. According to the Framework Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 of the European Union, no transfer of contamination should occur from food packaging material to the food items. The aim of this study was to determine the presence, numbers, source and different kinds of bacteria present in food packaging PPBs with various contents of pulp fiber. The samples were randomly collected from popular confectioners and fast food restaurants in Saharanpur, India. The results indicated the presence of bacteria in all the samples, ranging from 1.3 × 102 to 6.1 × 103 cfu/g. Most of the samples contained bacteria in more than the permitted concentration of 2.5 × 102 cfu/g as set by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The detected bacteria were from genera Bacillacea, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas. According to the FDA declaration, pathogenic bacteria such as B. cereus and S. aureus have been associated with food borne diseases (FBD). Some contaminants in food packaging PPBs were found to be B. subtilis and P. aeroginosa, which produce enzymes like peroxidases and lipoxygenases that are odor generating enzymes.

Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Food Packaging Papers and Paperboards Used in India

In the present study, the varieties of papers and paperboards (PPBs) used in India for food packaging were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed for the heavy metal contamination with the help of ICP-OES (Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry). Total 10 different types of food packaging PPBs were procured from local market and analyzed for 14 heavy metals (Al, As, B, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Te, Ti and V). Quantities of heavy metals in the samples were compared with permitted values published by the European Council. Heavy metals like Al, As, Ba, Cr, Co, Ni, Pb and V were observed in more than the permitted concentration in some of the samples. Heavy metals toxicity in food packaging material is a serious concern as the edible items get exposed to these metals and also generate volatile odorous compounds which considerably impact the quality of food and affect consumer's health.

Dynamic Buffering Performance of the Honeycomb Paperboard Filled with Polyurethane

A new kind of composite buffering material was made by filling the voids of honeycomb paperboard with polyurethane. Drop tests were performed to evaluate the dynamic energy absorption capacity of the material. Based on the tests results, we analyzed the mechanical behaviors of the material under different conditions and obtained the inherent influencing laws of some factors on the material＇s dynamic buffering performance. It was shown that the dynamic buffering performance varied directly with impact velocity, and inversely with the void diameter, thickness and buffeting area of the composite material.

Comparison Studies on Dynamic Packaging Properties of Corrugated Paperboard Pads

Corrugated paperboard is a kind of inexpensive and environmental-friendly packaging material, and may be made into pads of package cushioning to protect products from shock and vibration damage by isolation during distribution. This article deals with the characterization of dynamic packaging properties of corru-gated paperboard pads, such as dynamic cushioning curves, vibration transmissibility and frequency curves. The main feature of article is the evaluation on the dynamic shock cushioning property and vibration trans-missibility of corrugated paperboard pads by a series of experimental studies on the drop shock tester and vibration tester, the establishment of experimental formulas of dynamic cushioning curves, and the analysis of resonance frequencies and vibration transmissibility. By using the fitting polynomial of curve and method of the least mean square, the experimental formulas with third order polynomial function of dynamic cush-ioning curves for corrugated paperboard pads are obtained. By using linear vibration theory with single de-gree of freedom, the resonance frequencies, vibration transmissibility and damping ratios of corrugated pa-perboard pads at different static loads are acquired. All results show the dynamic properties relevant to de-sign applications of corrugated paperboard pads for protective packaging.

Water and Oil Resistance of Special Paperboard for Petroleum Packaging

The influence of different coating formulas and times on the water and oil resistance of paperboard was studied. The water and oil resistance of paperboard coated with a modified butadiene-styrene copolymer latex and fluorinated anion grease-proof agent was better than that coated with modified butadiene-styrene copolymer latex,where the modified butadiene-styrene copolymer latex was used as the pre-coating substrate and the F1516 fluorinated grease-proof agent was used as the top coating material. By coating modified butadiene-styrene copolymer latex with 30% solid content and F1516 fluorinated grease-proof agent with 24% solid content,the oil resistance of paperboard could reach anti-oil grade 12 and the water resistance could increased by98. 64%( compared with the base paperboard without any coating treatment).

Experimental Research on the Dynamic Energy Absorbing Capacity of the Honeycomb Paperboard Filled with Polyurethane

A kind of composite buffering material was made by filling the voids of honeycomb paperboard with polyurethane. Drop tests were performed to evaluate the dynamic energy absorption capacity of the material. Based on the tests results,the mechanical behaviors of the material under low velocity dynamic impact conditions were analyzed. It was shown that the absorbed energy of the composite material varies inversely with the void diameter. The absorbed energy of the composite material is 1- 2 times than that of honeycomb paperboard and polyurethane. The energy absorption efficiency of the composite material is better than those of honeycomb paperboard and polyurethane.

Silica-Based Nanocoating Doped by Layered Double Hydroxides to Enhance the Paperboard Barrier Properties

Paperboard is an environment-friendly multi-layer material widely used for packaging applications. However, for food packaging paperboard lacks essential barrier properties towards oxygen and water vapor. Conventional solutions to enhance these barrier properties (e.g. paperboard film coating with synthetic polymers) require special manufacturing facilities and difficult the end-of-life disposal and recycling of the paperboard. Paperboard coating with silica-based formulations is an eco-friendly alternative hereby disclosed. Silica-nanocoatings were prepared by sol-gel synthesis, with or without the addition of Zn(2)-Al-NO3 layered double hydroxides (LDHs), and applied on the surface (ca 2 g/m2) of industrial paperboard samples by a roll-to-roll technique. The physicochemical features of silica-nanocoatings were studied by FTIR-ATR, SEM/EDS, XRD analysis and surface energy measurements. The barrier properties of uncoated and silica-coated paperboard were accessed by water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) and oxygen permeability (Jo2) measurements. The best barrier results were obtained for paperboard coated with a mixture of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), with and without the incorporation of LDHs.

Numerical analysis of clamping pressure during carton clamp handling of heavyweight corrugated packages

In order to determine the theoretical minimum clamping pressure required in carton clamp handling of heavyweight corrugated package(HCP)such as large packages or unitized agricultural product packages,a numerical model of clamping pressure was developed.To develop the model,the dynamic load factor was measured at the handling test course which was designed on the basis of actual handling environment of the target HCP.Also,the static-frictional coefficients between the HCPs and between the HCP and a rubber contact pad of carton clamp arm were analyzed.The main factors in the developed numerical model of clamping pressure were the handling load weight and the effective contact area of the carton clamp arm.In addition,field tests were performed to validate the theoretical minimum clamping pressure calculated from the model.Averaged slip distance from the single package and two packages handling was estimated as a 3.2 mm through field test,and it is expected that the 3.2 mm slip distance will be acceptable for a safe operation in the handling environment.The suggested analytical approach with the numerical model can be a useful means for estimating the clamping pressure of the carton clamps used to handle the HCP.