Book review

Food packaging: testing methods andapplicationsEdited by Sara J Risch.American Chemical Society, Washington DC, 2000pp viii�166, price £76.00 ISBN 0-8412-3617-8

The papers presented at this ACS Symposium cover

an important area of polymer science, in which

development is determined by the requirements of

the food industry, regulatory agencies and environ-

mental groups. Regulatory agencies require that

materials under development meet standards so that

products are not contaminated by materials in which

they are packaged. In addition, there is pressure to use

less packaging material and to ensure that this material

can be reused or recycled as appropriate.

This slender (and rather expensive) volume contains

13 chapters discussing novel packaging ®lms and other

materials which present possible improvements for

particular requirements. Many different materials

have been suggested for bottles. Some of these can

be recycled, and others have particular advantages,

usually in their moisture and gas barrier properties (in

some cases a reduction in permeability by a factor of

10 can be achieved). Multi-layer bottles have also been

developed for beer and carbonated drinks.

High permeability ®lms have been used for packa-

ging prepared vegetables and salads, which have

markedly different respiration rates. For this purpose,

®lms made from the recently commercialised poly

(lactic acid)polymers (d- and l-) available in different,

controllable, ratios are of interest, although prices are

relatively high (in passing, it is noted that the lactic

acid is mainly produced from corn, but in Germany,

`anti-genetically modi®ed' sentiments have made it

necessary to use imported beet sugar at signi®cantly

greater cost).

These examples indicate some aspects of the `state

of the art' in the production and application of

packaging ®lms. Other factors, also considered,

include discussion of testing procedures: what model

simulants can be used to investigate physical proper-

ties? What mechanisms occur in aroma transfer

through ®lms? What test methods can be used for

highly permeable ®lms? These are found in a most

interesting compilation which provides an important

commentary on applications in an expanding industry.

CA Finch

Polymer International Polym Int 50:360 (2001)

# 2001 Society of Chemical Industry. Polym Int 0959±8103/2001/$30.00 360