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Packaging Technology and Engineering
Packaging Technology and Engineering

Pharmaceutical, Medical and Food Applications

DIPAK K. SARKER
University of Brighton
UK
This edition first published 2020
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Sarker, Dipak K., author.

Title: Packaging technology and engineering : pharmaceutical, medical and
food applications / Dipak Kumar Sarker.
Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2020. | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020009981 (print) | LCCN 2020009982 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119213918 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119213895 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781119213901 (epub)
Subjects: MESH: Drug Packaging | Technology, Pharmaceutical | Food
Packaging | Food Technology
Classification: LCC RS159.5 (print) | LCC RS159.5 (ebook) | NLM QV 825 |
DDC 615.1/8–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020009981
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020009982

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: Courtesy of Dipak K. Sarker

Set in 9.5/12.5pt STIXTwoText by SPi Global, Chennai, India

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedicated to my two bombastic, gorgeously inquisitive, and vociferous sons – Hugh and
Noah.
 vii

Contents

List of Figures xi
List of Tables xv
About the Author xvii
Preface xix

Section I Scientific and Technological Background to Materials 1

1 Historical Perspective and Evolution 3

1.1 Introduction 3
1.1.1 The Chronology of Packaging Development 3
1.1.2 The Origins of Commercial Packaging 6
1.1.3 Closures, Films, and Plastics 6
1.1.4 Major Types of Packaging 7
1.2 Survey of Packaging Use 9
1.2.1 Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Packaging 13
1.2.2 Types of Packaging: An Overview and the Basics 14
1.2.2.1 The Meaning of Symbols on Packaging 16
1.2.2.2 Glass Packaging 17
1.2.2.3 Metal Packaging 18
1.2.2.4 Paper and Cardboard Packaging 19
1.2.2.5 Wooden Packaging 20
1.2.2.6 Plastic Packaging 20
1.2.2.7 Composite Packaging 22
1.2.2.8 Novel Materials: Bioplastics and Oxo-Degradable Polymers 22
References 24

2 Chemical Engineering of Packaging Materials 27

2.1 Introduction 27
2.2 Building Blocks, Extraction, and Raw Materials 30
2.3 Industrial Processes, Wood-Pulping, Processing, and Smelting 33
2.3.1 Refining Ores 33
2.3.2 Forming and Sheet-Making 35
2.4 Making Glass 36
References 41
viii Contents

3 Material Science and Chemistry 43

3.1 Introduction 44
3.2 Glasses 44
3.3 Metallic Materials 48
3.3.1 Aluminium, Tinplate, Steel, and Brass 49
3.4 Polymeric Materials 56
3.4.1 Polyolefins, Cellulosics, and Polyisoprenes 64
3.4.2 Thermosets and Thermoforming Plastics 68
3.4.3 Laminates 74
3.4.4 Expanded Materials 79
3.4.5 Paper and Paperboard 80
3.5 Colorants, Opacifiers, and Colouring 84
3.5.1 Coal Tar Dyes, Lakes, and Pigments 90
3.6 Plasticisers and Other Additives 92
3.6.1 Anti-Oxidants and Preservatives 98
3.6.2 Oxidations by Numerous Processes 98
3.7 Barriers, Barrier Properties, and Product Modification 105
3.7.1 Resistant Coatings 105
3.7.2 Ageing and Degradation 109
3.7.3 Chemical Breach and Leaching 112
3.7.4 Water and Gas Penetration 114
3.8 Estimating the Shelf Life of Packaging 126
3.9 Chemical Testing 134
3.10 Contemporary Issues and Controversies with Modern Packaging Materials 138
References 151

4 The Physics of Packaging Materials 161

4.1 Introduction 161
4.2 Characterisation of Packaging Substrates 165
4.2.1 Surface and Structural Morphology 167
4.2.1.1 Printing 175
4.2.2 Wettability, Polymorphism, Crystallinity and Crystallites, Melting, and Phase
Behaviour 179
4.2.3 Toughness, Tensile Strength, and Young’s Modulus 185
4.2.4 Brittleness, Hardness, and the Mohs Scale 187
4.2.5 Puncture Resistance and Slip 189
4.3 Test Methods 190
References 193

5 Engineering of the Product: Design, Formation, and Machining 197

5.1 Introduction 197
5.2 Fourdrinier Processing and Paper-Making 199
5.3 Sheeting, Injection Moulding, Thermoforming, Welding, Extrusion, Plasma
Treatment, Annealing, and Curing 214
5.3.1 Bodies and Closures 221
 Contents ix

5.3.2 Seals, Bungs, and the Septum 225

5.4 Classification of Moulded Packaging Forms 226
5.4.1 Bottles 229
5.4.2 Dosators 230
5.4.3 Pouches, Trays, Wallets, and Cartons 230
References 232

Section II Application and Processing 239

6 Packaging for Various Applications 241

6.1 Introduction 242
6.2 Hermetically Sealed Containers and Developments 248
6.2.1 The Tin-Plated Steel Can 251
6.2.1.1 Cans 254
6.2.2 Napoleon and Nicolas Appert: ‘The Father of Canning’ 256
6.3 Modern Sterilisation and Pasteurisation Procedures and the Effects of
Chemistry, Temperature, Pressure, and Irradiation on the Product and
Pack 264
6.3.1 Retorting and High-Pressure Steam 283
6.3.2 Radappertisation, Radurisation, and Radicisation 289
6.3.3 Ethylene Oxide 294
6.3.4 Hyperbaric Treatment 295
6.3.5
6.4
Sterilised Pouches and the Tetra Pak
Metered Therapeutic Dose Devices 299
® 297

6.5 Heat-Sealed Goods and Modified Atmosphere 300

6.6 Childproof and Easy-Open Packaging 308
6.7 Multi-Dose Pharmaceutical Bottles 310
References 310

7 Food, Pharmaceutical, and Medical Packaging 317

7.1 Introduction 317
7.2 Food Packaging 320
7.2.1 Restrictions and Key Criteria Relevant to Foods and Beverages 327
7.3 Pharmaceutical Packaging 332
7.3.1 Restrictions and Key Criteria Relevant to Therapeutics 340
7.4 Medical Device Packaging 347
7.4.1 Restrictions and Key Criteria Relevant to Devices 354
References 359

Section III Quality, Integrity, and Traceability 367

8 Suppliers and Manufacturers of Packaging 369

8.1 Introduction 370
x Contents

8.2 Environmental Concerns and Sustainability 370

8.3 Recycling and After-Use 373
8.4 Tracing, Anti-Counterfeiting Technology, and Anti-Fraud Devices 388
8.4.1 Chemical Watermarks 391
8.4.2 Radiofrequency Identification and Tracking 393
8.4.3 Barcoding, Overt, and Covert Identifiers 394
8.4.4 History and Environmental Logging 399
8.4.4.1 Intelligent Packaging 404
8.5 Accelerated Testing 417
8.6 The Distribution Chain and Transport Logistics 431
8.7 Packaging Regulations and Guidelines 436
8.7.1 Labelling and Information 438
8.8 Safety, Health, and Practicality 442
8.8.1 New Trends and Opportunities 444
8.8.2 The Future 456
References 464

Section IV Revision and Information 475

Problems: Questions, Calculations, Estimates, and Dilemmas 477

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) 477
Short Answer Questions (SAQs); Worth 4 Marks 486
Very Short Answer Questions (VSAQs); Worth 2 Marks 487
Calculation Questions; Worth 20–30 Marks 488
Calculation Questions; Worth 5 Marks 490
Answers to Problems 490
References 497

Appendices, Glossary of Terms, and Abbreviations 499

Glossary of Terms and Acronyms 499
Periodic Table of Chemical Elements and Fundamental Chemistry 501
Chemical Symbols and Abbreviations 504
Scientific and Engineering Symbols 505
Unit Prefixes 508

Index 509
 xi

List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Packaging of the past. 5

Figure 1.2 Survey of packaging use: the needs fulfilled by packaging. 11
Figure 2.1 Packaging materials chemical engineering unit operations. (a)
Organogram of unit operations involved in the life cycle of commercial
packaging. (b) Raw materials. 28
Figure 2.2 Commodities and principal types of raw materials used for packaging. 31
Figure 2.3 Making metal, glass, and paper packaging raw materials, where all
processes end with inspection and testing. 34
Figure 2.4 Types of glasses used in packaging applications. 37
Figure 3.1 Types of common glass bottles: clear or ‘flint’ (a, d, f), amber (b, e), and
green (c) for foods and medicines. 46
Figure 3.2 (a–e) Tinplate structural profiles and chemical composition (not drawn to
scale). 52
Figure 3.3 Tin cans using tin-plated steel (a) and manufactured in two ways (b).
‘Crown’ top of a beer bottle (c). Also using tin-plated steel, a key-opened
spam can showing the soldering line (d). The two means, drawn and
wall-ironed (DWI) and drawn and redrawn (DRD), of fabricating the can
body and rib-making to plate for additional strength (e). 55
Figure 3.4 (a–c) Polymeric materials, percentage use, and applications. HDPE,
high-density polyethylene; LDPE, low-density polyethylene; PET,
polyethylene terephthalate; PP, polypropylene; PS, polystyrene; PVC,
polyvinyl chloride. 57
Figure 3.5 (a–c) Examples of structure, composition, formation, and degradation of
polymers. 59
Figure 3.6 (a–c) Polymeric materials and physicochemical properties. 65
Figure 3.7 Plastic packaging for general recycling (a), mixed recycling (b), and
non-recycling (c) from a vertical fill, form, and seal (VFFS) machine.
LLDPE, linear low-density polyethylene; PE, polyethylene; PET,
xii List of Figures

polyethylene terephthalate; PP, polypropylene; PVC, polyvinyl chloride;

PVdC, polyvinylidene chloride. 69
Figure 3.8 The cross-sectional structure of plastic laminates, bottles, and trays. PET,
polyethylene terephthalate. 72
Figure 3.9 (a–c) The make-up of the major fractions of paper fibre materials. 74
Figure 3.10 Chemical composition (a) and physical properties (b) of wood pulp. 82
Figure 3.11 Colours, opacifiers, and colorants. 85
Figure 3.12 Anthrone and derivative compound colours used in packaging (subtle
changes to structure and functionality yield different colours). 87
Figure 3.13 Opacification (a) and surface-reflecting (b) finishes. 89
Figure 3.14 Plasticisers, alloying agents, and intercalation agents. 93
Figure 3.15 Anti-oxidants and preservatives used in packaging materials. DEHP,
di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate; DEHS, di-2-ethylhexyl sebacate; EDTA,
ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid; EVOH, ethylene vinyl alcohol. 95
Figure 3.16 Water and gas penetration. 117
Figure 3.17 Inducement of chemical change and leaching. (a) Inducement of chemical
change and leaching. (b) Fundamental chemical and material tests used to
follow product alteration. 119
Figure 3.18 The burst pressure apparatus used with foil lidding and heat or pressure-
sealed laminate blister packs. CFF, cold-form filling; COC, cyclic olefin
copolymer; gsm, grams per metre squared; LDPE, low-density
polyethylene; OPA, oriented polyamide; PCTFE, polychloro-
trifluoroethylene; PE, polyethylene; PETG, glycol-modified polyethylene
terephthalate; PP, polypropylene; PVC, polyvinyl chloride; PVdC,
polyvinylidene chloride. 129
Figure 3.19 Contemporary issues in packaging. 139
Figure 4.1 Physics of packaging materials: key elements (a), mechanical parameters
(b), and graphical comparison of indices (c). CB, cardboard; HDPE,
high-density polyethylene; PC, polycarbonate; WLP, white-lined
paperboard. 163
Figure 4.2 Packaging: surface and structural morphology. (a) Surface-whitened,
treated cream paperboard fibres. (b) Unbleached brown paperboard fibres.
(c) Oiled outer surface tin-coated steel can roughness. (d) Bleached and
sized smooth white paper. 167
Figure 4.3 Surface form and texture. (a) Wetting phenomena with examples. (b)
Packaging surface modification by wax coating. PE, polyethylene; PET,
polyethylene terephthalate; PMMA, poly(methyl methacrylate); PP,
polypropylene; SEM, scanning electron microscopy. 168
Figure 4.4 Packaging: surface pigmentation and printability. WLBPB, white-lined,
bleached-pulp paperboard; WLMPB, white-lined, mechanical-pulp
paperboard. 169
 List of Figures xiii

Figure 4.5 Packaging: high-resolution evaluation of the surface. 3D, three-

dimensional; AFM, atomic force microscope/microscopy. 171
Figure 4.6 Wettability, melting, polymorphism, and crystallites. OPP, oriented
polypropylene; PCTFE, polychlorotrifluoroethylene. 172
Figure 4.7 Crush, piercing, and tear tests for the toughness of paper-, polymer-,
metal-, and glass-based packaging. PP, polypropylene; PS,
polystyrene. 187
Figure 5.1 The process of making paper pulp. 200
Figure 5.2 The modern Fourdrinier process of making paper. 202
Figure 5.3 The mechanical and physicochemical properties of paper: tensile index,
tensile strength (Technical Association of the Paper and Pulp Industry
[TAPPI] method T494), thickness, density, and grammage according to
I’Anson et al. [15] and Nicholson and Page [16]. 204
Figure 5.4 Thermal interventions: manufacture of blister pack or ‘pop-out’ medicines.
PVC, polyvinyl chloride; T m , melting point; T s , softening point (or
softening temperature). 216
Figure 5.5 Corona discharge: plasma treatment, curing, and printability
enhancement. 219
Figure 5.6 Bottles and jars. (a) Bodies and closures based on differing formats and
materials (i–vii). (b) Casting of containers by blow moulding, injection
moulding, and thermoforming of a variety of bottles. PET, polyethylene
terephthalate. 222
Figure 5.7 (a–f) Pouches, trays, and wallets. MAP, modified atmosphere packaging;
PET, polyethylene terephthalate. 228
Figure 6.1 Packaging for various applications. (a) Sample requirements and the
demands placed on the container. (b) Pharmaceutical blister pack design,
damage, and degradation (i–viii). PE, polyethylene. 247
Figure 6.2 The hermetically sealed tin can. 249
Figure 6.3 Can lacquers: an absence of lacquer on the outer surface (a), standard
epoxy-phenolic lacquer for non-acidic contents (b), zinc oxide-containing
epoxy-phenolic lacquer (c) for high-sulfur foods or those with acidic
contents, and an epoxy-lacquered drawn and wall-ironed aluminium soft
drinks can (d). 255
Figure 6.4 Nicolas Appert, the inventor of routine hermetic preservation of food in the
first detailed ‘canning’ process using bottles in the Napoleonic era (1800s).
He described canning in his seminal work as a means of routine
preservation. 258
Figure 6.5 Metered filling operations by volume or by weight. FFS, fill, form, and
seal. 263
Figure 6.6 Modern sterilisation and pasteurisation: the effect of heat treatment on the
product. (a) Thermal deactivation of microbes and initiation of
xiv List of Figures

physicochemical change. (b) The sterilisation process and amassed

lethality by calculation of the lethality of a process (F-value). (c) The
processes initiated during thermal treatment. 267
Figure 6.7 Retorting and high-pressure steam treatment. The Fahrenheit scale
continues to be widely used; for reference purposes Fahrenheit and Celsius
can be converted as (∘ F = (∘ C × 1.8) + 32). 271
Figure 6.8 Cobalt-60 (60 Co) and gamma-irradiation facility. 293
Figure 6.9 Hyperbaric sterilisation and treatment. 296
Figure 6.10 Metered therapeutic devices: the metered dose inhaler device. 300
Figure 6.11 Childproof closures and easy-open packaging. 309
Figure 7.1 Food-specific packaging requirements. 322
Figure 7.2 Pharmaceutical product-specific packaging requirements. 333
Figure 7.3 Medical device-specific packaging requirements. 349
Figure 7.4 Prefilled insulin syringe packaging. (a) Insulin autoinjector and case. (b)
Protective packaging designs for medical devices. HDPE, high-density
polyethylene; MDPE, medium-density polyethylene; PE, polyethylene; PP,
polypropylene; PS, polystyrene. 352
Figure 8.1 Environmental concerns and sustainability. 372
Figure 8.2 (a) Recycling and after-use with on-packaging indicators. (b) Urban litter
and coastal packaging pollution. FTIR, Fourier transform infrared; HDPE,
high-density polyethylene; LDPE, low-density polyethylene; MDPE,
medium-density polyethylene; PET, polyethylene terephthalate; PP,
polypropylene; PS, polystyrene. 375
Figure 8.3 Tracing, anti-counterfeiting, and anti-fraud devices and technology. PET,
polyethylene terephthalate; RFID, radiofrequency identification. 389
Figure 8.4 Barcoding and covert identifiers. QR, quick response. 394
Figure 8.5 History and environmental logging indicators. 400
Figure 8.6 The simplified product distribution chain. 433
Figure 8.7 Labelling and information (foods). 439
Figure 8.8 Labelling and information (medicines) with Braille visual impairment
identification. 440
Figure 8.9 New trends and opportunities. 445
Figure 8.10 The future and the demands of the consumer, manufacturer, and
regulator. 456
 xv

List of Tables

Table 1.1 Packaging: contains, protects, preserves, transports, ‘informs’, and

‘sells’. 13
Table 1.2 Accepted international identity and recycling codes from the American
Society for the Testing of Materials D7611 International Resin Identification
Coding system, the recycling symbols of the American National Standards
Institute, and the European Commission/Union identification of packaging
materials for recycling (94/62/EC and 2008/98/EC). 15
Table 3.1 Metals and their use in packaging. 50
Table 3.2 The elemental composition (by percentage) of common metals used in
packaging. 51
Table 3.3 Types of polymer packaging: polyolefins, cellulosics, and
polyisoprenes. 66
Table 3.4 Polyethylene types and properties. 66
Table 3.5 Laminates for use in packaging for gas and water barrier properties,
mechanical strength, lightweight characteristics, and low
dimensionality. 75
Table 3.6 Coal tar dyes, lakes, and pigments. 88
Table 3.7 Resistant coatings to protect packaging and product. 106
Table 3.8 Packaging permeability for gases and water vapour recalculated and based
in part on Farber et al. [33]. 108
Table 3.9 Physicochemical testing of packaging. 130
Table 4.1 Surface energy and wetting of packaging materials. 179
Table 4.2 Brittleness, hardness, and Mohs scale. 186
Table 4.3 Puncture and slip test methods. 191
Table 6.1 Fundamental requirements of packaging. 243
Table 6.2 Napoleon’s influence and the history time line from the early years of
canning to the modern era. 259
Table 6.3 Thermal conductivity and heat transfer data for a range of packaging
materials and packed commodities. 286
xvi List of Tables

Table 6.4
® from Tetra
Cartons, sterilised pouches, and the aseptic Tetra Brik
Pak. 299
Table 6.5 Heat-sealed goods and modified atmosphere (MA) systems. 303
Table 7.1 Food packaging restrictions and key criteria. 324
Table 7.2 Common packaging starting materials. 336
Table 7.3 Webbing materials. 339
Table 7.4 Pharmaceutical packaging restrictions and key criteria. 342
Table 7.5 Medical device packaging restrictions and key criteria. 354
Table 8.1 Suppliers and manufacturers of packaging. 371
Table 8.2 Recycling and after-use. 380
Table 8.3 Chemical watermarks and event markers. 392
Table 8.4 Accelerated testing and shelf life prediction. 425
Table 8.5 Packaging regulations and guidelines, examples of guidelines, and aspects
covered in the World Health Organization (WHO)-compliant countries of
the world: the USA, the UK, and the European Union (EU). 426
 xvii

About the Author

Dipak Sarker is a principal lecturer, a qualification related to expert teaching skills. He

has a long history of academic instruction and scholarly activity – through teaching,
study coordination, and peer-reviewed publication – that extends over the last 25 years.
He gained a PhD in physics in 1995 from the University of East Anglia (UK), having
worked at the Max-Planck Institute in Berlin, Germany; the Biophysics Group at the
Institute of Food Research in Norwich, UK; the University of East Anglia in Norwich,
UK; the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Nantes, France; and the École
Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. He has also taught and managed staff during his
employment in industry and during his current industrial collaborative research. His areas
of expertise traverse process engineering and analytical chemistry to materials sciences
and the physics of simple and complex materials and industrial dispersions. He also has a
wealth of experience based around pharmaceutical technology, medical devices, and the
processing of foods. He has worked as a process and development scientist for some of the
most significant global manufacturers of foods, medicines, and medical devices (Unilever,
Hoffmann-La Roche, and GSK). He has supervised approximately 17 doctoral students and
postdoctoral researchers and more than 40 masters students over the period of 25 years,
with countless numbers of undergraduate research projects. He has collaborated with
researchers, and supervised, taught, and trained postgraduates across Europe and Asia.
He has also presented his works at a large number of international conferences (from
Vietnam to the USA). He is the editor of two advanced drug delivery and nanotechnology
journals and is on the editorial board of more than other 10 journals covering food
science, materials, engineering, physics, nanotechnology, and drug delivery science and
device technology. He has authored two complete books and three book chapters. He has
always worked across disciplines and, despite working in the School of Pharmacy and
Biomolecular Sciences, has research students and postdoctoral researchers traversing,
for example, physics, chemistry, and engineering, including computational modelling of
impacting droplets, process optimisation for commercial medicines, soft matter, complex
fluid physics, delivery of drugs and anti-cancer nanoparticles, plasma physics, recycling of
cotton and plastic waste materials, and cleaning technology for automobiles. He currently
collaborates with academics and industrialists in the UK, India, China, France, the USA,
Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Italy.
 xix

Preface

During the writing of two other books covering processing standards and the colloid science
involved in making medicinal products, I wanted to cover more of the technology of the pro-
cess of manufacture and the materials used to contain and secure these very expensive and
potentially hazardous materials – and this idea began in my mind more than 10 years ago.
In addition to taking an interest in fashioning a food or pharmaceutical product through
chemistry, I am also interested in the starting materials used in the design and fabrication
of a product and its container. In a range of industrial activities and research programmes
with companies, other than the fundamental medical science and technology where I do
much of my research, I cover packaging and non-pharmaceutical or food materials and
their design, potential reuse, and recycling.
This book is targeted at a wide-ranging audience yet with specific interests relevant to a
programme of study of routine handling, use, and testing of packaging forms or packag-
ing materials. Most people are acquainted with packaging at some level but this book does
not deal with everyday concepts; rather, it provides an insight into areas of interest where
specific scientific and technological knowledge of packaging is needed for what essentially
constitutes ‘consumed’ products. The book, however, is pragmatically broader in its remit
than this and also details common and rarer packaging types and their properties and rel-
evant technologies of manufacture, method of forming, and design for purpose. The three
major fields covered are those of pharmaceutical, food, and medical device packaging (pack,
seals, and closures) and the underlying processes used to create them. The book is simul-
taneously intended as a technical reference and as a study aid. To this end there are some
calculations, problems, and dilemmas at the end of the book to help users in what is now a
tried, tested, and popular format and a form of subject revision. This book should be useful
for undergraduates and postgraduates alike in that it covers three of the top six big industries
that make use of or derive products (medicines, food, medical devices, agriculture, petro-
chemical, electronics) and that are likely to be faced by modern science graduates with
a suitable ‘flavouring’ of current research and some experimental data to cut across pre-
liminary and advanced study. Naturally, being of interest to postgraduates means that this
book will also be of interest to industry experts, although I would not profess to provide an
authoritative guide to individual material or packaging forms in the mere several hundred
pages provided here. The unique nature of this book lies in the simultaneous discussion of
inter-related fields and of chemistry, physics, engineering, and therapeutic aspects within
xx Preface

the same volume. Foods, pharmaceuticals and medical devices and the packaging that pro-
tects them account for more than half of all the packaging needs of the Western world. I
use my expertise in nano-materials, physics, biomaterials, chemistry, chemical engineer-
ing, manufacturing, industrial practice, medicine, and food technology to populate this
book more appropriately to the reader covered by the remit as indicated primarily in the
full title.
The book’s strengths lie in its accessible format and design that covers key topics that
feature in so many professional and specific modular courses cover this subject theme.
Unfortunately, many books only discuss small aspects of a larger picture; where they do
describe the range of products they often miss out on application. My interest, along with
most industrialists, is in emphasising the applicability of various aspects of packaging sci-
ence and technology, yet illustrating that final use is dictated by the quality and chemical
nature of the raw materials (ore, oil, minerals, and biomaterials) or starting materials (plas-
tics, tinplate, glass, and paper) and the means of evaluating their suitability (quality indices,
performance, and stability testing). I consider that a major asset of this book is its univer-
sality in such a synopsis of a broad yet specific content. The book is aimed primarily at all
pharmaceutical, medical science and food technology courses at undergraduate and post-
graduate level and ‘packaging industry’ professionals needing referential information and
rapid exposure to ‘packaging and application’ relevant information at the graduate and post-
graduate level. Special physical features include problems and solutions, numerical values,
assertions and projections, illustrations, and an attempt at simplification along with a suit-
able degree of technical content.
The idea for this book came to me some time ago during discussions with my dear
long-standing friends and former colleagues – Dr James O’Reilly, Dr Ewen Brierley, Dr
Martin Wickham, Dr Michel Cornec, Dr Romain Briandet, Professor Reinhard Miller,
Dr David Clark, Professor Brian Robinson, Professor Peter Wilde, Yves Popineau, and
Professor Daniel Bonn – during a brief period when we worked together in the UK,
Germany, and France. Our discussions – both serious and jocular – prompted me to
start thinking about a technical book worthy of writing that might combine chemistry,
physics, and engineering with my more newly discovered and passionate area of interest
of sustainability and recycling in the context of industrial processes. More than 20 years
on and after writing two ‘pharmaceutical technology’ books en route, I finally got around
to writing a book covering materials, processes, and design applications despite some very
serious health hiccoughs along the way. The person who got me through this most difficult
spell and barrage of illnesses, ultimately achieving complete recovery, was my wonderful
wife, Dr Ralitza Valtcheva-Sarker. I guess part of the credit for pushing me to write this
book also has to go to colleagues past and those present at my current place of employment
in the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences at the University of Brighton, UK.
My colleagues shared out new lectures in medical and pharmaceutical packaging and
pharmaceutical and medical device technology to me and, therefore, pushed me into an
area not studied at length before.

Brighton Dipak K. Sarker

2020
 1

Section I

Scientific and Technological Background to Materials

 3

Historical Perspective and Evolution

CHAPTER MENU

Introduction, 3
Survey of Packaging Use, 9

Abstract

This chapter covers a brief chronology of the development of packaging materials and types of
packaging containers through time. The chapter goes on to survey packaging use in terms of
containment or collation of units. Following on from this is the fundamental classification of
packaging and its role in terms of providing information. The chapter then moves on to a brief
description of the various types and subtypes of packaging materials.

Keywords use; application; marketing; benefits; classification; identity; novel materials

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 The Chronology of Packaging Development

The use of packaging is often thought of as an industrial-age concept but this is entirely
untrue. In more ancient times products of economic or nutritional value were always
wrapped in a suitable material to convey the need to protect the contents. The Roman
emperors and Byzantine kings frequently wrapped precious goods in all manner of
materials from woven rattan baskets to carved and gilded in-laid ebony boxes. Expen-
sive luxury goods such as chalices and ceremonial goods are almost always stored in a
suitable presentation case that demonstrates the value of the product contained within.
Perfumes, chrism oils, and ceremonial jewellery have always been contained in sculpted
and carved lidded boxes and glazed pottery. However, the use of bespoke packaging is
really a modern-age phenomenon. Packaging use began with leaves and birch bark and
other natural materials. In antiquity and prehistoric times humans wrapped their foods in
crudely fashioned carriers and containers and also pelts and hides. The mass production
of containers later involved woven materials (e.g. rushes and reeds) to create baskets

Packaging Technology and Engineering: Pharmaceutical, Medical and Food Applications, First Edition.
Dipak K. Sarker.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
4 1 Historical Perspective and Evolution

and carriers and also textiles, pottery, and bronze amphora and carved objects (e.g. ivory,
antler horn, and wood). Recent estimates place ‘crude glass’ or vitrified materials and
wood packaging use to at least 3000 BCE and these artefacts come from the Indus Valley
civilisations and Mesopotamia.
In the modern era, that is, since the early 1900s, paper and cardboard have become
extremely important packaging materials. Following the invention of plastics, the emerg-
ing industries making commercial packaging substituted plastic for paper as a primary
packaging material. Many modern environmentalists hanker back to the times of the
English Georgian and Victorian periods when forms of waxed paper were commonly used
to wrap foods, such as cheese, butter, or meat, and pharmaceutical products, such as dried
forms of poultices, pills (comprimés), and lozenges or oral dosage forms. A revolutionary
step in packaging occurred in 1810 when Peter Durand, a British merchant, obtained a
patent (UK no. 3372) for the first metal can. This can was for preservation packaging
made from sheet metal to create a ‘cylindrical canister’. The actual invention of the ‘tin
can’ is put down to Philippe de Girard of France, from whence the idea was taken up
by Peter Durand. The idea of using hermetically sealed ‘canning’ containers, based on
ab initio food preservation work in glass containers, had been proposed initially by the
inventor Nicolas Appert in 1809. Appert’s outstanding work, looking at increasing the
nutritional and microbiological safety of foods, pioneered sterilisation technology and
glass bottle preservation. Durand went on in 1812 to sell his patent to two entrepreneurs,
Bryan Donkin and John Hall, who refined the process and product. Donkin and Hall
established the world’s first commercial canning factory in Southwark Park Road, London,
UK. Unfortunately, the earliest tin cans were sealed by soldering based on a tin–lead alloy.
A cumulative poisoning causing persistent ingestion did occur after a period owing to the
toxic nature of the lead in the solder, which was particularly enhanced when the contents
of the can were mildly acidic. As a result, a double-seamed three-piece can began to be
used from 1900. In later times the lead-based solder was replaced with arc welding of the
sheet ‘tinplate’.
Tinplate became widely popular as it represented a stable, long-lasting, and impenetra-
ble means of packaging for foods. The choice of packaging used conveys information as
to the value of the product. For example, since approximately 2015 (and unchanged as
of 2019), and depending on the source, glass is valued at US$0.1–0.6/kg (recovered glass
US$0.02/kg), aluminium is valued at US$2–4/kg, tinplate is valued at US$0.7–1.1/kg, and
higher grade paperboard is valued at US$0.3–0.6/kg; these contrast with most routine poly-
olefins (cheaper plastics, such as polypropylene [PP] and polyethylene [PE]), which are
valued at US$0.1–0.5/kg. Therefore, choosing glass, which is dense (2.5–3.4 times that of
paper and plastic), with a prerequisite for a greater than 0.2 cm wall thickness for strength,
in the modern era suggests a high-value content since glass is both expensive and heavy
and, therefore, has associated increased shipping costs. For many premium products the
additional cost may be deflected by the large cost of the contents. For example, the cost of
a can of green beans versus the cost of a bottle of champagne. In the former the can cost is
approximately £0.02–0.05, whereas in the latter the bottle cost is approximately £0.50–1.00;
this is because in the latter the contents cost at least 500 times more.
A series of different types of pharmaceutical packaging from across a 100 year period are
shown in Figure 1.1. Amber glassware represents about 30% of medicine bottles. Modern
 1.1 Introduction 5

(a) (b)

(c)

(d) (e)

(f)

Figure 1.1 Packaging of the past.

medicine bottles are often fabricated from polyester tinted to mimic the old-style amber
glass bottles. A blue-tinted bottle is shown in the insert in Figure 1.1a. Other forms of bot-
tles, such as frosted or tinted vessels, were also used across products in the past; in modern
times, these are used to aid product promotion. Figure 1.1b shows all-aluminium screw-top
medicine cans that were used in the past but are used much less in the modern era. These
have been superseded in many respects by the push-out or ‘blister pack’ form of medicines.
Figure 1.1c shows a very old cork-topped bottle and a Victorian–Edwardian steel box for
pills, which are practically never seen in the modern era, except for marketing promotions.
Figure 1.1 shows a range of mid-twentieth century, Edwardian, Victorian, and earlier pack-
aging materials used for medicines. The containers cover green chromium glass, iron oxide
amber glass, flint glass, and other common forms seen more routinely today, such as paper-
board cartons and aluminium closures. The ‘earthenware’ pottery vessel used in the past for
medicine, milk, beer, and oil is rarely used in contemporary society but does find a place in
speciality products as a marketing tool used to infer tradition and antiquity. Looking care-
fully at the range of packaging and comparing it with that seen customarily in pharmacies,
artisanal, ‘24 hour’, and mini-mart shops and supermarkets used mostly today there is a
stark contrast and difference in Figure 1.1 by virtue of the absence of plastic packaging in
the period before 1950 [1].
6 1 Historical Perspective and Evolution

1.1.2 The Origins of Commercial Packaging

Andreas Bernhardt began wrapping products in paper and waxed paper for water retention
stamped with his name and identification in Germany in 1551. Packaging uses and require-
ments have changed a lot in the modern era and most spectacularly over the last 150 or so
years of purpose-crafted commercial containment. The diversity of past packaging can be
seen in Figure 1.1, with examples of flint, amber, green, and blue glass pharmaceutical sam-
ple bottles and a range of aluminium cans, paper, card, and pottery primary and secondary
packaging. Some of the samples in Figure 1.1 date from the 1960s and 1970s but others date
back to the Victorian and Edwardian periods (1870s–1900s). The sometimes perceived as
‘modern-era’ plastics industry actually started with John Wesley Hyatt, who invented mod-
ified cellulose in 1869, and, Leo Hendrik Baekeland, who invented resinous early plastic in
1907 in the USA. Other product examples include the ubiquitous tobacco snuff box (Man-
der Brothers) of the 1800s, the Beechams pills carton (UK) of the Victorian era in the 1840s,
and the Lyons loose tea can (Ireland) and Laymon’s aspirin tin (USA) of the Edwardian
era in the 1900s. The more familiar forms of plastic containment that first appeared in the
1950s–1970s include the detergent and – the now infamous – mass-produced carbonated
drinks polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle. The tin can means of excluding air, light,
and water for tea leaves is still used by many companies such as Jin Jun Mei (China), Whit-
tard (UK), Tafelgut (Germany), and Twinings (UK), as part of a value-adding marketing tool
and for protection of delicate flavours and volatile oils. The sea-change position of the use of
tin-plated steel (tinplate) and the tin can as a standard form of packaging will be discussed
in Chapter 3.

1.1.3 Closures, Films, and Plastics

Rubber used in sealings and liddings became a mainstay of commercial packaging when,
in 1849, Charles Goodyear and Thomas Hancock developed a method that destroyed the
‘tacky–sticky’ property of the material and added extra elasticity to natural rubber. In 1851
hard rubber, often referred to as ebonite, became commercially available in the Western
world. A completely new revolutionary form of packaging was created in the invention of
plastic. The innovative original artificial plastic was created by Alexander Parker in 1838
and was displayed at the Grand International Fair in London in 1862. This ‘parkesin’ rigid
‘resin’ was thought to be able to replace natural materials such as hardwoods and ivory. In
1892 William Painter patented the still ubiquitously used ‘crown cap’ closure (see Figure
3.3c) for bottles shaped from glass [1], which kept air (containing degrading oxygen) out
and product flavours locked in. Also, in 1870 Hyatt took out a patent for ‘celluloid’ produced
from cellulose in highly controlled conditions, under high pressure and temperatures. This
created a polymer with low nitrate content for many different types of product wrappings.
This discovery is now thought of as the first commercialised plastic and remained the only
‘plastic’ until 1907, when Baekeland produced ‘Bakelite’ (also spelt as Baekelite). Bakelite
was universally used until the 1970s but was replaced by a new wave of plastics. A more
exact understanding of plastics arose in 1920, when Hermann Staudinger’s revolutionary
idea was extolled and the notion of a plastic as a physical property rather than a chemical
class came into fruition. All plastics, rubber, and cellulose are polymers or macromolecules
 1.1 Introduction 7

but notably some do not show significant plasticity or deformability without brittle rupture.
Staudinger’s pioneering work concerning ‘polymer science’ was awarded the Nobel Prize
in 1953.

1.1.4 Major Types of Packaging

Plastic packaging had begun to be used widely across the globe after the 1950s and this has
led to the present ‘mountains’ of undegraded waste that are still added to. Polyvinylidene
®
chloride, or Saran , was first used as a moisture barrier in 1946. In 1960 the two-piece
drawn and wall-ironed (DWI) can was developed and in 1967 the ring-pull opening was
invented. Towards the end of the 1970s the plastic packaging sector had begun to grow, with
the blow-moulded PET bottle invented by DuPont. It was not until after the Second World
War that general use of plastics in packaging applications started at a significant level. PE
was mass produced during this period in Europe and became an easily obtained material
from the late 1940s. At the beginning of this period it was a substitute for the wax paper
used in bread packaging and still observed until the 1980s. The growth in plastic packag-
ing use has accelerated at an astonishing pace since the 1970s. The technology available
today and the requirements for a non-perishable nature mean that many previously used
materials (e.g. waxed paper) have been replaced by more suitable and economically viable
materials such as glass, metal, plastic, paper, and cardboard. Before the 1950s packaging
was essentially only used to protect the product during transport and storage. However,
with the plethora of newer materials it has also begun to be used to advertise the prod-
uct with the form, colour, printing, including fonts, and logos being a major part of the
marketing process. This is simply because form-differentiated packaging creates a distinc-
tion between the same types of products placed side by side on outlet shelves. The modern
practice of favouring plastic as the packaging material of choice is, however, not without sig-
nificant environmental concerns, with some amount greater than 15 million tonnes being
present in the seas in 2017 and possibly as much as 30 million tonnes in 2019 according
to recent estimates. The USA and Western European countries in 2000 consumed about
24% each of the world’s plastics. Plastics such as PP are thought (based on chemical mod-
elling and accelerated ageing study tests) to be able to persist in landfill for approximately
500 years. Single-use plastics, which are discarded after one use (incinerated or sent for
landfill), accounted for approximately 50% of all plastic packaging in 2019.
Glass-based packaging is a form of packaging that has stood the test of time. This type
of packaging first began to be used around 1500 BCE by artisans in Egypt. Glass, an amor-
phous silicate matrix, was first used in the form of a pot or vessel. Its fabrication starts
when limestone, soda, sand, and silicates are co-melted and shaped during the fluid phase
at a temperature of many hundreds of degrees Celsius and allowed to cool into glass pack-
aging. From about 1200 BCE, pots and containers started to be made from moulded glass on
a semi-commercial basis. Completely transparent glass was invented in the centuries fol-
lowing the development of reproducible blowing and with the aid of a ‘drawing pipe’ by the
Phoenicians in 300 BCE. During the two millennia that followed, the development of clear
(flint) glass, via augmented glass production techniques, has been incrementally improved
and expanded to all manner of products. To date, the development of the automated rotary
glass-manufacturing machine in 1889 affected industrial-scale glass manufacturing and,
8 1 Historical Perspective and Evolution

therefore, packaging the most of any of these innovations. Surprisingly, given its cost, after
the 1970s glass packaging began to be used ubiquitously for the protection of high- and
low-value products and to aid the visibility of pack contents. It continues to demonstrate
a wide variety of uses today and remains a form of packaging that can be recycled; in the
modern era this is an important consideration.
Metal packaging, used in antiquity in the form of gold, silver, and pewter boxes as well as
strong alloys such as bronze and brass for coverings and to protect many products, is find-
ing new uses in modern packaging technology. Tin – an essential part of tin-plated steel, the
basis of almost all food cans – became a viable surface treatment following the production
of tin in sheet form in Bohemia from 1200. Later, at the beginning of the 1300s, metal cans
were first used to store food. These cans were different from those of the modern era but
remained an unwritten ‘secret’ until the 1600s. William Underwood aided in the further
development of the food can by the development of an improved process for fabricating
steel plate. The notions of food cans and of canning were pushed to the forefront of pub-
lic awareness in 1809 when Napoleon Bonaparte offered a reward of 12 000 French Francs
(∼£1000), a huge prize in that period, to any inventor who could develop a method to protect
army food supplies during envisioned military excursions and campaigns. The opportunity
was seized by Nicolas Appert, a confectioner from Paris (portrayed in Figure 6.4), who pre-
sented a selection of pasteurised lidded glass jars, following on from initial investigations.
He found that a steel can covered with a fine layer of tin was able to preserve food post heat-
ing in an aseptic process and without the can container rusting in the damp. A year later
Englishman Peter Durand patented the familiar-shaped cylindrical can with his coated tin-
plate as an invention. This development spawned a host of subsequent modifications and
adaptations. The first printed box was made in the USA in 1866 but went on to be used for
containment of many types of product. Fast-forwarding to 1910, the tin box was found in
commercial environments ubiquitously until the point when aluminium in a suitable form
became available. The aluminium foil box was developed in the early part of 1950, and in
1959 the first aluminium can-based food became available.
In the nineteenth century sharp objects combined with hammers were used to open metal
packaging and tin cans, which was a highly unsatisfactory state of affairs. Later on and
at least until the middle of the twentieth century, the ‘pig-stick’ tin can opener – a brutal
spear-looking object, based on a steel spike and sliding blade – was used to open food prod-
ucts. The routine use of the pig-stick device and the sharp serrated edge it created resulted
in many hand injuries. The pivoting can opener was developed by E.J. Warner in 1858, fol-
lowed by the ‘church key’ of 1892. The pivoting can opener was improved on in 1925 by
the Star Can Opener Company, and yet further improved in the now familiar pliers-form
Bunker-type modern can opener first developed in 1931 by the Bunker Clancy Company.
Electric can openers were developed in the late 1950s and the side can opener was devel-
oped in the 1980s. Packaging with tear-open lids was first developed in 1966 and has become
increasingly evident in use over the last five decades.
Paper, which is still used universally in the present times, is the oldest conveniently
reshaped packaging material available. In ancient Egypt in 5000 BCE, papyrus – a material
based on marsh reeds – was used to wrap foods and hold objects together. Many millennia
later in China, mulberry tree bark, reconstituted as paper, was used in the first and second
centuries BCE to pack food. Paper-making methodologies and techniques improved during
 1.2 Survey of Packaging Use 9

the subsequent 15 centuries. These high-quality papers and products and technological
know-how were then transferred to the Middle East. From there paper-making techniques
reached Europe, and then from Western Europe they reached England in 1310 and
subsequently America in 1609. In 1817 the first commercial cardboard box was produced
in England, almost 200 years after being made in a basic and simplistic form in China.
The corrugated form of cardboard was invented in the 1850s, gradually replacing wooden
boxes in the trade and transportation of goods such as fruit to the point at which, today
wooden boxes are barely seen for food products. Selected examples of continuing wooden
box or crate use do persist but these are relatively rare. The twentieth century has been the
most prominent period for universal paper and cardboard use with the added advantage
of recyclability and biodegradability. This is an important consideration since, in the
UK in 2013 alone, approximately 750 000 tonnes of household waste, rich in plastic and
paperboard materials, went for landfill disposal.

1.2 Survey of Packaging Use

Consumers demand convenience from their packaging, so packages can have features that
add convenience in distribution, handling, stacking, display, sale, opening, reclosing, use,
and reuse. Packaging materials are used for a host of commercial product-containment
purposes. These traverse informatics and IT, such as CD or USB stick packaging, through
to the diverse range of degradable (e.g. cooked meat) and non-degradable (e.g. retorted
canned fish) foods and also the protective and containing roles of packaging used for
over-the-counter and prescription-only medicines, surgical aids, or emergency medicines,
and to safeguard the consumer against accidental consumption or contamination. Every-
thing from furniture to garden centre compost and on to mobile phone devices is enveloped
in an informative and protective sheath of packaging. In this book, topics centre on foods,
medicines, and medical devices but these still account for only approximately 45–50% of
global packaging use. Packaging accounts for about one-third of the use of all polymeric
materials and is by far the single biggest use of the materials. Medicine bottles and closures
alone, for example, account for about one-third of pharmaceutical packaging use.
A definition of the meaning of packaging indicates that packaging fulfils at least five roles.
The first of these is the socioeconomic role of packaging; since the packaging has a value
of its own this is not simply attributable to the contents being of significant value. Conse-
quently, a good definition suggests that packaging is a precious material that protects the
product within, allows the product to reach the customer in the most hygienic and safest
form, and makes it easier to transport and store the product after delivery. The socioeco-
nomic influences on packaging form are technological, political, sociocultural, availability
(being at hand), ecological, economic, and demographic. Packaging has often been referred
to as originating as a consequence of these socioeconomic influences, as the ‘silent sales-
man’, and both has managed to enter the commercial sphere and is used as a vehicle in the
marketing arena in the form of the ‘8P’s’ or ‘holy octet’ concept. The holy octet involves the
product itself as well as aspects of pricing, placement, promotion, participant involvement,
physical form, process of use, and finally a notion of personal targeting, all obtained from
the idea of a malleable marketing mix to appeal to the customer [2]. The other four criteria
10 1 Historical Perspective and Evolution

that define packaging cover the basic functions of any packaging, which can be effectively
summarised as relating to the provision of a description (information, salesmanship, and
promotion) of the product, very important containment, equally important protection for
storage capability, and the ability to be successfully transported or shipped across the globe.
The reasons for adherence to packaging use are manifold but are based on the ability of
the materials to reduce wastage and, in doing so, because of scarcity or perishable status,
reduce the product cost. A crude estimate suggests that 30–50% of ‘thrown food’ and medic-
inal products are disposed of because of inadequate storage; therefore, extending shelf life
by a means that requires passive storage without energy consumption consequently saves
energy (need for freezing/refrigeration/cooling). The pack itself also has a very important
mechanical role in that it reduces damage while presenting the product in an aesthetically
pleasing form. For a number of products that require a guarantee of microbial security, the
pack also serves as a means to avoid pack tampering (see Chapter 8). At the same time the
pack must provide information (safety, nutrition, dosage strength, mode of operation) to
the customer and, therefore, aid selection or choice-making. When well designed, a pack-
age can provide convenience, as in the case of ring-pull or easy-opening closures, and may
in the presentation of an easily recognisable form aid the marketing of goods. However, the
complexity and sheer number of layers of packaging in composite materials combined with
the non-biodegradable nature of some forms of packaging (plastic, laminated paper, glass)
have contributed enormously to concerns raised over packaging persistence in the envi-
ronment, unsightly littering, and global pollution. These then lead to angst over after-use,
disposal in terms of the cost, and the extent of ‘effective’ disposal or energy recovery. These
more negative aspects have led to a perception of overpackaging among the general public
for products such as oven-ready foods and pharmaceutical packages.
An often misunderstood but very obvious purpose of packaging is its use in marketing
and recognition, through which, by application of careful tactical and market opportunity
surveillance, a specific design that means market-leading capability can be crafted. Brand-
ing and brand identity have very powerful roles in marketing of the product (food, medicine,
device) and an assurance to engage the customer. Where this is not done successfully, the
best an organisation can hope for is simply market-leader following. Consequently, all suc-
cessful design considerations take into account product uniqueness, distinctiveness, and
functionality; without the last a customer purchases the product only once and is discour-
aged by the awkwardness of the product. For pharmaceuticals and medical devices pack-
aging is a fundamental and key part of current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) and
also part of good distribution practice (GDP); cGMP and GDP are enshrined in the interna-
tional standard British Standard (BS)-European Norm (EN)-International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) 9001:2008 and are intimately associated with the assurance of quality
and, by implication, safety. The stringent label requirements of packaging serve to ‘protect
and inform’ the recipient with the provision of important information, such as dosing and
dosage strength, adverse effects, and allergenicity, reinforced by the legal aspects of com-
mercial activity. The form of the pack and its performance, such as ease of bottle opening
or ease of dispensing of a tablet from a push-out pack or blister pack, need to be consis-
tent with mass manufacture and distribution, but this is not achieved without appropriate
production testing and the associated higher cost of producing consistently high quality.
 1.2 Survey of Packaging Use 11

Role of packaging

Technological

Legal and political Social and cultural

Economic

Easily sourced Demographic

Environmental

Figure 1.2 Survey of packaging use: the needs fulfilled by packaging.

Figure 1.2 shows that the role of packaging is associated with a cluster of needs. The
packaging needs include technological requirements that fit societal or speciality require-
ments, such as multiple opening and resealing. Legal requirements and political compli-
ance include wastage and recycling guidelines; social and cultural requirements are also
important, often mapping to creeds and cultures such as halal or kosher foods (and the
guarantee of freedom from animal-derived materials, e.g. gelatin or dairy produce). Fur-
ther needs for most packaging also involve cost minimisation, which is linked to finan-
cial accessibility and economic drivers [3], and ubiquitously sourced materials with no
restrictions on availability. Demographic requirements, which might include easy access
or restriction-to-access packaging for the elderly and infants, often define the needs for
some high-risk products. Finally, and of increasingly important decision-informing status,
concerns about environmental impact, issues covering material sustainability, and efforts
to recycle and reuse without impact on the anthrosphere, geosphere, or biosphere have a
powerful role in product engineering and composition. All these needs amalgamate to dic-
tate the overall requirements placed on packaging materials and their routine use in the
commercial sector.
Central to the use of various types of packaging are the pivotal notions of their role (pri-
mary, secondary, and tertiary) and what type of environment might be appropriate for the
packaging (Figure 1.2). For example, plastic may be the best first choice but then, given the
informing nature of the container, use of printed paperboard may present the best financial
choice. The selection of packaging use is modelled against maintenance of standards, con-
veyance of identity, mechanical strength, product quality (both required and obtainable),
and the purity required of the contained goods (particularly true of medicines). A good
pack, therefore, needs to provide full information, be familiar or instantly recognisable, be
12 1 Historical Perspective and Evolution

based on a design for frequent or intermittent use (as required), and demonstrate suitabil-
ity for its intended use. Additionally, where portioning of the product is required, such as
multi-vitamins, infant formula, dietary or meal replacements, or traditional pharmaceuti-
cals, careful control of doses leads to medical and therapeutic compliance. Marketing and
identity, aligned with matching product trends in pack volume, size, and form, are often
indicators of product success. Because of the nature of the commercial sector packages need
to be able to conform to high-output manufacturing but also need some thought embedded
in the design as a ‘superior’ quality product can have an associated cost. Reliable packaging
universally prevents water and humidity breach and demonstrates mechanical resistance
(shock, strength), chemical resistance (absorption; corrosion; air and gas exclusion; chem-
ical, sterilant, or pH resistivity), microbial resistance, ease of handling, ease of repeated
processing, and light exclusion. Regulation adherence of the materials used and framed
pragmatically within the commercial goals of high-numbered product sales must consider
materials, product manufacture, and logistical cost – this usually means the pack should be
lightweight, easily packed, and yet physically robust. The unit cost of the product given its
manufacturing and shipping costs gives rise to the idea of lean manufacturing and cost trim-
ming, some of which might arise from contact with a regular supplier and specific business
approaches, such as just-in-time manufacturing.
In order to satisfy the requirements of intimate contact with the contents, all pack-
aging should ideally be chemically inert, unreactive, non-additive, non-absorptive, and,
therefore, does not add to or corrupt the pack contents. Additionally, the package is
required by the manufacturer and customer alike to offer protection against deterioration
and contamination during handling and transport. Storage and transport conditions are
likely to vary considerably and will include alterations in freezer conditions, cold-room
conditions, and ambient or room temperature handling. Strict control of the physical and
spatial separation of packs is needed during storage as this may encourage temperature
and pressure gradients in the pack, possibly leading to weaknesses, pinholes, tears, and
cracks. A regular part of the development of commercial products will, therefore, consist of
inspections, history-marking steps, label scrutiny, sampling procedures, establishment of
non-conformance or rejection criteria, record-keeping for shipments, and product security
during transportation and the distribution chain. As a ‘protector’ of the product within,
the packaging has a key role in resisting physical impacts, such as is seen with perishables
in the squashing, wetting, and bruising of shipped fruit. Packaging, therefore, allows for
the product to reach the consumer in the most economical and ideal way possible despite
the transit time and variable conditions experienced during shipment and storage. As a
result of modern societal changes, including changes in family dynamics and time spent
in traditional activities, such as cooking, there have been a number of changes required for
commercial products, such as foods. Highly packaged goods are often preferred in modern
times because people have less time to pursue ‘traditional’ preparatory activities in the
household and there is a higher need for convenience but with the guarantee of safety and
hygiene. Consequently, packaging consumption is higher in developed than in developing
countries, the latter of which in turn consume more packaging than underdeveloped
countries. This must be balanced against sociopolitical notions, such as global warming
(from incineration and refining), recycling, and environmental pollution, which are more
evident and higher on the political agenda in the developed world.
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