In the era of style, versatility and innovation, food packaging is more than meets the eye; it combines all of this with science to present a total package that is used to transport and sell food. In the book HACCP: Essential Tool for Food Safety , it states:

“Packaging design and materials should provide adequate protection to minimise contamination, prevent damage, and accommodate proper labelling. Packaging material must be non-toxic and not pose a threat to the safety and suitability of food under the specified conditions of storage and use.”

There are many options of food products available to consumers in the marketplace; therefore, food business operators must not only consider food packaging for protection, contamination prevention and labelling but also as a marketing tool. The right packaging gives a competitive advantage; it practically propels the product right into the hands of the consumer. This is because it is the packaging that immediately catches the eye; consumers shop with their eyes first.

Importantly, food packaging must be a business decision and part of brand identity. When making this decision, questions such as the following are important: Will this packaging keep my product safe? Is it eye-catching?

I grew up seeing rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide in a certain shape/type of container; personally, seeing other products in those types of containers, especially food, seems wrong and therefore, as a consumer, I will not buy it. This highlights one of the ways that consumers’ perception bias will impact their purchasing options.

Packages that are akin to carrying out a Bank of Jamaica heist, due to the level of difficulty experienced to open, are also a turn-off. Food packages that are too easily opened, or open without the safety features being demonstrated are, too, of concern. Note the counteraction against this in, for example, the PET plastic bottles with products such as syrups and water (including flavoured water). Upon opening the product,the entire cap comes off and the tamper-evident ring is not broken.

The ring is a safety feature of packaging; that is, the cap and seal are placed on the container in one piece. However, once the product is opened by the consumer the cap breaks into two pieces with the ring being separated from the cap. When buying the product, customers look at the seal as a way to check that the product is tamper-proof. If this does not happen, the customer is likely to return the product as they have no confidence that there has not been an occurrence of product tampering. Question: During filling and capping, are you capping your bottles properly?

A combination of versatility, style and marketing is a precursor to the great food packages we see in our marketplace; however, food packaging basics must be the foundation on which this happens: protection (contamination, environment, handling), containment and communication.