Course Title: Food Technology & Safety
Lesson Title: Packaging Red Meat, Poultry, and Fish
TEKS Addressed in Lesson: 4B, 4D, 10E
Lesson Objectives:
The student will be able to:
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2.
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5.
Discuss the importance of packaging.
Identify and describe three different types of food packaging containers.
Discuss factors impacting changes in food packaging.
Identify and describe packaging materials suitable for meats.
Identify and describe characteristics of packaging materials suitable for meats.
Tools and Equipment
1. Examples of red meat, poultry, and/or fish in different packages (i.e. canned, vacuum
packaged, Styrofoam tray with overwrap)
2. PowerPoint Presentation: Packaging Red Meat, Poultry, and Fish
3. Computers with internet access
Key Terms / Vocabulary
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10.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP)
Kraft
Laminated
Polymer Resin
Cellophane
Copolymer
Retortable
Monoglycerides
Permeable
Pliable
Interest Approach/Anticipatory Set
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Show students the examples of meat in different packages.
Have students compare and contrast the packaging materials, appearance, etc.
Question: Why is packing so important?
Solicit student responses and discuss.
Explain that meats must be properly packaged to maintain stability, palatability, and
other important characteristics after processing.
Teaching Plan and Strategy / Presentation of New Material
This lesson was developed in partial fulfilment of the Texas Education Agency Educational
Excellence Project.
© Texas Education Agency, 2014
Using the PowerPoint presentation as a guide, teach the material allowing time for
discussion on each slide.
1. Why is packaging important?
a. Protects food from contamination, light, physical and chemical changes
b. Packaging is almost as important as how food is preserved
i. Poor or damaged packages can undo the benefits of preservation
ii. No matter the preservation method, food can still spoil if
microorganisms or moisture penetrate the package
c. Provide manufacturers an opportunity to market their product without having
to be present
d. Some packages allow consumers to see the product
2. What are the three different types of food packaging containers?
a. Primary Container
i. Any packaging that comes in direct contact with a food product
ii. Example: the plastic bag that holds cereal
b. Secondary Container
i. Container that holds the primary container
ii. Example: the box that holds the inner bag (primary container)
c. Tertiary Container
i. Container that holds several secondary containers together
ii. Example: the shipping box that holds several cereal boxes (secondary
container)
d. Packaging regulations are based on the type of container
3. What factors have caused food packages to change (Mehas & Rodgers, 2006, p. 463)?
a. Safety
i. Packaging needs to be nontoxic
ii. Packaging needs to provide a sanitary, protected environment for the
contents
iii. Packaging must be sturdy enough to withstand shipping and handling so
that seal are not damaged
b. Food Quality
i. Contact with packaging materials can affect food flavors
ii. Some packaging is opaque to protect from light
iii. Some packages must provide protection from odors
c. Convenience
i. Easy to open
ii. Packages that seal and are good for pouring
d. Expense
i. Lower packaging cost means lower production costs for manufacturers
and lower food costs for consumers
e. Environmentally Safe
i. More and more consumers want recyclable containers
This lesson was developed in partial fulfilment of the Texas Education Agency Educational
Excellence Project.
© Texas Education Agency, 2014
f.
Marketing Appeal
i. Attractive to consumers
ii. Room on the outside for information
4. What materials are suitable for packaging meats (Romans, Costello, Carlson, Greaser, &
Jones, 2001)? (Review and extension of content from Lesson 4A Preserving Red Meat,
Poultry, and Fish)
a. Packaging materials refer to any material that comes into contact with a meat
product including cartons, wrapping materials, films, synthetic casings, nettings,
trays, pouches, bags, gases used in Modified Atmosphere Packaging (a type of
reduced oxygen packaging that involving a one-time flushing of a food container
with gas before it is sealed
b. Packages suitable for meats include:
i. Wax- or paraffin treated kraft paper
1. Basically wood pulp papers
2. Kraft is a German word meaning strong
3. Kraft is probably the most often used in wrapping in the home
and by local processors for freezing meat and wrapping
processed meats for refrigerated or dry storage
ii. Aluminum foil
1. Commonly used in home freezing; popularity decreasing with
increased availability of films and bags
2. Advantages: readily available, easy to work with, excellent heat
conductor, can be used as both cooking and storage wrap
3. Disadvantages: easily torn, low resistance to puncture by bones
or other sharp objects, cannot be microwaved
iii. Films
1. Cover a broad range of thin, flexible, and often transparent
materials
2. The first film to be used was cellophane (specially processed
cellulose) although it lost popularity to copolymer (a compound
with 2 or more basic units of molecules fused together to make
one material) films
3. Meat packaging films are generally multi-layer structures that
use a variety of polymer resins (long-chain structural chemical
compounds) and coatings
4. Usually contain 3 or more coextruded layers with each layer
contributing a specific property to the structure
a. Outside layer must be scuff- and abrasion resistant
b. Middle layer generally provides the barrier to oxygen
c. The sealant layer must be capable of being melted and
welded under pressure to the sealant layer of the other
film to make a gastight seal
This lesson was developed in partial fulfilment of the Texas Education Agency Educational
Excellence Project.
© Texas Education Agency, 2014
5. Films are manufactured for many different purposes
a. Some films are designed as oxygen barriers (frozen
meat storage wrap)
b. Some films are designed for high oxygen transmission to
give meats a desirable, oxygenated surface color (selfservice retail meatcase wrap
c. When vacuum-packaged, the seal it critical to prevent
atmospheric oxygen from getting back into the package
iv. Laminated foils
1. Combine the multi-layer concept of films with metallic foil
wrapping
2. The foil is laminated with film(s) to for a multi-layered structure
3. Popular with intermediate-moisture foods such as beef sticks,
jerky, and meat products that are heat sterilized in laminated
foil retortable pouches
4. Advantage: high resistance to puncture and abrasion
v. Food-grade “plastic” dips (Dermatex®)
1. Food-grade monoglycerides (glycerol with one fatty acid
attached at the site of a hydroxyl group) made from highly
distilled monoglycerides from animal fats
2. Approved by the USDA for use as a packaging film in cooked
sausage products such as summer sausage
3. Advantage: shelf life properties similar to vacuum-packaging but
more economical
vi. Cans
1. Canned meat is thermally processed within the package (can)
c. Selection depends upon the function the packaging must perform
i. Protection needed – main function is to act as a barrier between food
and contaminants
ii. Shipping and storage conditions
iii. Processes used to preserve the food
iv. Chemical contents of the food
5. What are the characteristics of materials suitable for packaging meats? (Review of
content from Lesson 4A Preserving Red Meat, Poultry, and Fish)
a. Factors affecting suitability for packaging meat include (Romans et al. , 2001):
i. Have low moisture-vapor transmission
ii. Have differing oxygen permeability
iii. Have good tensile strength and are puncture resistant
iv. Are pliability
v. Will maintain strength and pliability at sub-zero temperatures
vi. Are non-toxic
vii. Are odorless
This lesson was developed in partial fulfilment of the Texas Education Agency Educational
Excellence Project.
© Texas Education Agency, 2014
viii.
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Are easy to mark for identification
Will peel from the meat when frozen (good stripping qualities)
Are greaseproof and stainproof
Provide good sealing properties
Activity/Application/ Student Engagement /Laboratory
1. After completing the lesson, divide students into pairs or small groups (depending on
class size).
2. Have pairs/groups use the Internet to investigate the relative costs for different types of
packaging from a retail perspective. Students could use grocery store sale circulars and
store websites to gather information. Students should develop a chart to record results.
Evaluation / Summary
1. Ask the following questions:
a. Why is packaging an important aspect of food technology and safety?
b. What are some examples of primary package container? Secondary? Tertiary?
c. How have food packages changed over time?
d. What packages are commonly used when packaging red meat, poultry, and fish?
e. What makes a package suitable for use with red meat, poultry, and fish?
References/Additional Materials/Extended Learning Opportunities/Enrichment
Cassens, R. G. (1994). Meat preservation: Preventing losses and assuring safety. Trumbull,
CT: Food & Nutrition Press, Inc.
Mehas, K. Y., & Rodgers, S. L. (2006). Food science: The biochemistry of food and nutrition
(5th ed.). New York, NY: Glencoe/McGraw Hill.
Romans, J. R., Costello, W. J., Carlson, C. W., Greaser, M. L., & Jones, K. W. (2001). The meat
we eat (14th ed.). Danville, IL: Interstate Publishers, Inc.
Ward, J. D. (2015). Principles of food science (4th ed.). Tinley Park, IL: The Goodheart-Wilcox
Company, Inc.
College & Career Readiness Standard
English/Language Arts Standards II.B.1, V.B.1,2,3
Mathematics Standards VIII.A.1, IX.C.1,2,3
Science Standards II.A.7, III.C.1, III.D.1,2
This lesson was developed in partial fulfilment of the Texas Education Agency Educational
Excellence Project.
© Texas Education Agency, 2014