Packaging Materials For Fish Products

Packaging Materials
for Fish Products

Packaging of fish and other
products is defined as a wrapping or
enclosure of fish and other products in
attractive and colorful materials for the purpose
of protection and preservation of products as
well as to give eye appeal to the
consumers/buyers.
Packaging protects the products
from any form or loss, damage,
deterioration, or spoilage and
contamination during handling
and distribution.
Different Packaging Materials for Fish
Products
 1. Hard Plastics- are not flexible or elastic which are used
for retail packaging in the production of trays and form-fill
packs of fishery products.
Polystyrene- this is the transparent and has low
obstruction to water vapor and gasses. When treated with
other materials like synthetic rubber, this can be easily
shaped and molded with pressure.
 Expanded Polystyrene- this is treated with
polystyrene pellets wherein the pellets are heated in
steam to expand the material in order to produce a
cellular shape. This is used for tray molding.
Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC)- there are two types of PVC,

namely, plasticized and rigid.
• Plasticized PVC are soft plastics and used in the making of
films.
• Rigid PVC is hard and is used in the production of trays due
to its water proof and gas barrier properties.
2. Films- are web materials with thickness of 0.25mm. Materials more than 0.25mm thickness are called sheet. In
choosing plastic films for packaging, the specific properties such as tensile strength, puncture resistance, water vapor and
gas barrier, clarity, and gloss and heat sealability. Films are classified into two groups, namely, basic and laminates.
Two Groups of Films
*Basic Films consist of single layer film.

*Laminates contain two or more basic films
glued or bonded together by heat or adhesive.
Different Types of Basic Films
 1. Polyethylene(PE)- PE is also called as polyethylene
and used commonly due to its low cost, relative strength
and flexibility even at low temperature. PE is heat sealable
but cannot be utilized in the manufacture of boil-in-bag
pouches.
 2. Polypropylene(PP)- PP has a better protective
properties because it is resistant to high temperature.
However, it has poor qualities in low temperature and
becomes brittle.
 3. Polyamide(PA)- this is commonly called as nylon PA
which is tough, grease-resistant, less permeable to gasses, and
has a moisture permeability. It also possesses good stretch
properties and is stable over a wide range of temperatures, hence
it can be used in boil-in-bag pouches.
 4. Polyester(PET)- it has excellent gloss, low gas
permeability, low transmission, high tensile strength, and
can be used in a very wide range of temperatures up to
300°C. it is oftentimes laminated with polyethylene due to
its poor heat sealing properties.
 5. Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC)- this is hard and glossy,
but grease resistant and brittle at all temperature. Its
film can be made into shrinkable forms with low
temperature stability by using special treatment
methods.
 6. Polyvinylidine Chloride(PVDC)- this is
commercially known as saranor Cryovacs. This is one
of the most protective films because it is shrinkable
and capable of withstanding low freezing temperature.
 7. Ethylene-vinyl Acetate(EVA)- this
has good impact strength, good
permeability and high cling attributes.
The material is used in the lamination
of frozen products.
Laminates- are made of two or more basics films held
together by adhesives. They provide better protection to
food due to improved barrier properties. They are used in
(1) boil-in-bag, and (2) retort pouch pack.
 1. Boil-in-bags – the suitable material in this type

of container is modified polyethylene with
polyester or nylon lamination. This is commonly
used for light cooking fishery products.
 2. Retort Pouch Pack- this is made from
laminates of polyester/aluminum film and
polyolefine like polyethylene. The layers
are bonded together with glue of high
performance. Its use is preferable due to
less heat damage of texture and nutrient.
Plastic Box Packaging Containers
Plastic is used to characterized a wide range of
materials like polyethylene and polypropylene.
High density polyethylene and polypropylene
are widely used in the manufacture of modern
day containers. Plastic box packaging containers
are classified into (1) polyethylene,
(2) polypropylene, and
(3) polystyrene or styrophore.
 1. Polyethylene- this s classified into low
density(0.910 to 0.925) and high density. High
polyethylene is divided into two types namely, Type III
with density of 0.941 to 0.959 and Type IV with density of
0.960 and above.
-by and large, polyethylene has excellent toughness
being resistant to chemicals, oil and grease, inert to food, and
has extremely low water vapor transmission properties.
 2. Polypropylene- this has high resistance to grease
and most chemicals, provides a good barrier to water
vapor, and can withstand high temperatures due to
high softening point, but has low density around 0.920
and superior processability.
-likewise, polypropylene is lighter, stronger
and more rigid than polyethylene.
 3. Polystyrene or Styrophore- polystyrene are
penetrable to water vapor, oxygen and carbon dioxide
and has a low water absorption around 0.04% to
0.05%.
-normally, polystyrene has density of 1.0 to
1.1. Chemically it is resistant to weak acids like
PH 6.0 to PH 6.5, bases and vegetables oil.
Vacuum Packaging
Vacuum Packaging may be defined as taking off
oxygen from the container during sealing in order to
preserve the products.
Packaging materials like polyamide/polythene
laminates are suitable for vacuum packaging for they
are resistant to pinhole formation.
The advantages of Vacuum-packed products are as
follows:
 1. Vacuum-packed products have longer shelf-life
than ordinary packed products due to non-occurrence
of oxidation.
 2. they have better keeping quality especially on dried
fish wherein no rancidity occurs.
 3. they demand high price in the market.
The disadvantages of Vacuum-packed products are
the following:
 1. Vacuum-packed products are not applicable to fish roe
an mussel meat.
 2. The label of the vacuum–packed products are not
readable due to deformity of the surface of the pack.
 3. Vacuum-packed products should be refrigerated below
3°C or 37.4°F to prevent production of toxin by
clostridium botulinum.
Vacuum Skin Packaging
Vacuum skin packaging is an extension vacuum
packaging which can be applied to both film-to-
film and film-to-tray sealing. The wrapper is
heated and draped over the product, hence, giving
extra “skin”.

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Packaging Materials For Fish Products

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Packaging Materials

for Fish Products

Polyvinyl Chloride(PVC)- there are two types of PVC,

*Basic Films consist of single layer film.

 1. Boil-in-bags – the suitable material in this type

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