Food liquids - Packagings, conditioning and characteristics

Filling a liquid food product involves taking a certain quantity of the liquid and placing it in an enclosure, which is then sealed after filling. This is the most general case.

In the consumer's mind, packaging will be relatively small, on the order of liters or kilograms, and some multiples and sub-multiples of these units. It will then be :

• narrow-necked bottles ;

• wide-neck bottles;

• jars and cans;

• composite bricks.

This packaging, in direct contact with the liquid, is called "primary packaging", and its function is to isolate the contents from the outside world, and to protect them by making them as tamper-proof as possible.

A set of these primary packages can be grouped together in batches in a secondary package offered to consumers at the point of sale. Among the most commonly used secondary packaging, the following stand out:

• PACKAGES ;

• film-wrapped bundles ;

• returnable plastic crates ;

• cardboard boxes.

To meet logistics requirements, these primary and/or secondary packages are themselves assembled into tertiary packages for transport, handling or storage.

In addition to their protective role, primary and secondary packaging must identify the product and inform the consumer of the volume or weight of liquid contained, the identity of the manufacturer and/or pre-packer, give details of the product's sell-by date (DLV), best-before date (DLUO) or use-by date (DLC), and provide information on its composition, energy value, alcohol content and any stabilizing additives used. This information, some of which is compulsory and specified by the legislator, will be mentioned on the label or, at the very most, printed directly on the packaging or its sealing system.

Liquid foods are characterized by physical, chemical and biological criteria that justify specific treatments during packaging, and call for packaging well adapted to these treatments. Packaging should be based on the following criteria:

• flat or gaseous ;

• whether or not they belong to the field of acid bacteriology;

• Aw of potential contaminants ;

• with or without sensitivity to oxidation ;

• with or without heat treatment for stabilization;

• with specific chemical elements in their...