PACKAGING TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE VOL 7 99-100 (1994)

Book Reviews

A Handbook of Food Packaging, 2nd edn

F. A . Paine and H . Y. Paine Blackie Academic and Professional, London (1992), ISBN 0-216-93210-6, xiv + 497 pp. Price: €95.

In days of yore, before food chemists (yours truly and the like) turned into food scientists and technologists, it was the food that commanded almost all of professional attention. Packaging, being mostly brown or blue paper bags, waxed glassine paper, tins or glass, was very largely ignored-except perhaps by canners preoccupied with seaming efficiencies. Today, all is very differ- ent. The range of foods marketed is substantially greater, prepackaging predominates, the pattern of distribution and sale has changed nationally and internationally, new processes have come along, consumers call for ever more convenience in handling and preparing foods both domestically and in catering, quality standards are higher and more demanding, food safety has become a sensitive issue. One outcome has been to place considerable importance on food packaging, which now has to fulful a variety of roles, and can directly influence the success or failure of a product; as some companies have found out the hard way.

Packaging and food interact in several important ways and so food technologists must have more than a simple understanding of pack- aging, and packaging technologists must know more than a little something about food. Fortu- nately, in this country we have two experts, Frank and Heather Paine-father and daughter-who have a firm grasp of the needs of both sets of tech- nologists. The first ‘Paine’ handbook of food packaging, published 10 years ago, set a standard that has not really been bettered, except now by their second edition, which takes account of the considerable advances in this field made in recent y,ears.

All that the food technologist needs to know- and more-about food packaging is covered in 18 chapters. Each a mine of information lucidly, interestingly and accurately written and supported by some very useful tables. The first chapter not only sets the scene but it also provides an overview not to be ignored, even by older hands at the game. Immediately succeeding chapters deal in detail with topics such as graphics and package design, packaging materials and machinery, packaging for physical distribution, spoilage and deterioration indices. The rest of the book approaches packaging from the food end, with foods very largely classified on a process basis. I suspect that many food technologists would learn something from the food process detail provided and not just from the analysis and consideration of the packaging requirements for the different types of food. To add value, there are several though-provoking nuggets in the book. One that stopped me in my tracks deals with the problems of food classification.

Chapters that food development technologists will particularly value focus on developing packs for food and on using barrier materials effectively-not forgetting the economics of packaging. QC managers and BS5750 buffs will appreciate the chapters on specification and quality control. Legislation is relegated to a handful of pages in two short appendices. Wisely so, because it is a topic for another set of specialists, although it is appropriate for the Handbook to outline the main thrust of EC, and hence UK, packaging legislation. Relevant USA law is shrugged off in a page and a half so that its inclusion is very questionable.

All in all, a book to be firmly recommended, and to be enjoyed. Not only because of the wealth of information and detail it provides, but also because of the common sense and sheer apprecia- tion of packaging practice that shines throughout. Worth the money? To both food and packaging technologists, a resounding yes!

Alan Turner

0 1994 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.