4. Propose adequate packaging that meet food quality and safety
requirements
The objective: is to protect the tea contents in the bag as it goes from the factory till
the hands of the consumer, against any deteriorating influences. It is to provide a
suitable packaging to the product that is appealing to the eye of the purchaser and
also facilitate good handling of the product.
The tea flavour is highly sensitive and unstable as it vaporizes by itself and reoxidizes to bring about an undesirable flavour change. Tea has a tendency to absorb
moisture thus harming the quality. Light, oxygen and higher temperatures are other
factors, which affect the quality of the tea and hence the shelf life of the tea is
relatively much lesser than the other dried products.
The changes in food packaging in particular are remarkable due to the development
of packaging material and machines used in the recent times. Some of the materials
used for packaging are cellophane paper, polyethylene, polypropylene,
polyvinylidene chloride, vinylon and aluminium foils. Each of the above-mentioned
have merits and demerits thus by using them in the laminated forms, their
combinations can complement each other. Therefore, an appropriate packaging
system is of prime importance to retain the quality of the manufactured product. Use
of adequate packaging materials and the suitable systems have known to extend the
shelf life. This task provides the description of the packing that includes the primary,
secondary and tertiary packaging and the outlines the chosen systems, which meets
the shelf-life requirements.
The ground brown rice and red beans have a longer shelf life due to its roasting
(heat treatment).
The best storage conditions for saving the quality of cereal tea (after packaging) is
by keeping in dark and lowering the temperature, humidity and oxygen level.
Cereal and pulse based Green tea - Packaging
1. Primary packaging -Tea bag and Chrysanthemum flower pack
Tea bag
This tea bag is small sealed bag, which contains green tea leaves, brown rice and
red beans. Once the tea has been brewed, it makes it easier to dispose the
tealeaves, cereals and pulses. It performs the same function as a tea infuser. The
infusion sachets containing the tea ingredients are produced from either ‘heat seal’
or ‘non heat seal’ fibrous porous web material. The heat seal paper generally
comprises of 2 layers the filtration layer and the sealing layer. The sealing layer
includes the feasible polymeric fibres that would allow the 2 layers of the paper to be
sealed in the production of infusion bags, while the other layer acts as an insulating
layer to prevent the polymer sticking to the other material.
1st layer: comprises mainly of the vegetable fibres
2nd layer: comprises mainly of the hardwood fibres
1st layer accounts for about 50-70% of the web material weight. The fibres generally
have the length of 0.8mm to 0.9mm. Apart from the use of vegetable fibres we can
also use sisal, jute or softwood. For the 2nd layer it accounts for 20-40% of the web
material weight. The hard wood fibres would generally have 0.25mm to 2.5mm in
length. The width is approximately 10 to 25 microns. The fibres of the 2nd layer,
which are chosen, are finer and shorter than the 1st layer i.e. this layer has shorter
pores. This plays a significant role as it provides a good pattern definition, lower
cohesiveness and greater ease of movement when compared to the longer fibres of
the 1st layer.
The tea bags are attached with a piece of string along with a paper label at the top
(may contain the company logo or design). This assists in removing the bag after
infusion and also in identifying the brand.

Specification of the type of material
Tea bag filter – The widely used material for tea bag is filter paper, silk or
porous paper. The tea bag is heat sealed after the ingredients are placed. They
usually have heat sealable thermoplastics (polypropylene or pvc) on the inner side of
the tea bag surface.

Packaging format
Figure 1: Tea bag shape
Chrysanthemum flower pack
A single flower bag contains 2
chrysanthemum flowers (weighed
approximately 0.4g) the materials used
for the bag aids in preserving the nature of the dried flower; the bag is sealed by
thermo-sealable plastic.

Specification of the type of material
Clear medium duty polythene bag is used to pack the flower and seal thermal
sealing machine.

Packaging format
Figure 2: Chrysanthemum
flower packaging
2. Secondary packaging -Aluminium sachet
In order to extend the product shelf life and to trap the spread of aroma, the tea bag
and the chrysanthemum flower pack is sealed into an aluminium sachet.

Specification of the type of material
For the material used in the secondary packaging, there are three layers of the
sachet. The first layer is OPP layer that is used to be a container of the tea bag. OPP,
oriented polypropylene, is a flexible material derived from melting and orienting
(stretching!) a polymer called polypropylene. OPP films are very versatile, can be
adapted for many diverse uses and are suitable for many types of packaging
machines. Because of their physical and barrier properties especially when coated OPP films are used in labelling and packaging for a large range of consumer
products such as biscuits, snack foods, confectionery, bakery goods, soft drinks,
aerosol cans and overwrap applications.
The aluminium foil and MPET were considered to be second layer due to the ability
of product extending shelf life and the cost. The MPET is suitable to retain the 6-12
months shelf-life.
The last layer that is in contact with the tea bag and the flower pack is Linear lowdensity polyethylene (LLDPE) is a substantially linear polymer (polyethylene). It is
very flexible and elongates under stress. It can be used to make thinner films, with
better environmental stress cracking resistance. It has good resistance to chemicals
and to ultraviolet radiation. It has good electrical properties.

Packaging format
Figure 3: Tea
sachet packaging
3. Tertiary packaging -Carton box
The 20 sachets of tea and 20 packs of Chrysanthemum flower are packed into the
carton box, which is labelled with the brand, and nutrition fact, which meet the
required packaging standards. The carton box is then sealed by laminated plastic
that overwraps the outer carton confirming to the consumer that the product inside
has not been touched since it left the factory.

Specification of the type of material
Paper printable box is used for carton packing
OPP film for overwrapping - Laminating films is available in gloss, matt, anti-static,
UV (Ultra Violet) protection.

Packaging format
Figure 4: Carton box
of rainbow tea
References
http://www.mardenedwards.com/tea-coffee.asp
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Tea-bag.htm
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_OPP
http://www.transpack.co.uk/category.asp?cat=1
http://www.o-cha.net/english/cup/pdf/29.pdf
http://www.patsnap.com/patents/view/EP0842043A1.html
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PC_O7u1NPZEC&pg=PA991&lpg=PA991&dq=i
mproper+packaging+and+green+tea&source=bl&ots=pqVO3cRCwO&sig=eqbH5QIZ
K3MCIsqrkC6mgxn9JjU&hl=en&ei=WRAnTvPbFNO6hAeklPjCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAw#v=onepage
&q=improper%20packaging%20and%20green%20tea&f=false