This collection of papers from the third ACS symposium on the interaction between foods and packaging materials focuses on the development of models to predict the diffusion of compounds through different types of packaging. Improvements in such models will greatly benefit package and food product developers, as well as regulators concerned with food safety. Recommended.

From the Preface: “Packaging development has been driven by the demands of the food industry, regulatory agencies, and environmental groups. The food industry wants packaging materials that provide better barriers, that preserve products better, and that help give them longer shelf lives. The regulatory agencies want assurance that the materials, which are being developed, meet the necessary safety standards to insure that products are not contaminated by the materials in which they are packaged. On the environmental side, there are demands for use of less material overall and to reuse or recycle as much of that material as possible...”

Target Audience: Food and packaging scientists and technologists and students of these fields.

Table of Contents:

New Developments in Packaging Materials

Edible Barriers: A Solution to Control Water Migration in Foods

Utilization of Antimicrobial Packaging Films for Inhibition of Selected Microorganisms

Modeling of Additive Diffusion Coefficients in Polyolefins

The Estimation of Partition Coefficients, Solubility Coefficients, and Permeability Coefficients for Organic Molecules in Polymers Using Group Contribution Methods

The Use of Model Substances for Migration Studies

Fatty Food Simulants: Solvents to Mimic the Behavior of Fats in Contact with Packaging Plastics

What Simulant Is Right for My Intended End Use?

Stability of R-PET for Food Contact: Pilot Recycling Studies and Mathematical Confirmation

Recycled Plastics: Experimental Approaches to Regulatory Compliance

New Test Methods for Highly Permeable Materials

Mechanism of Aroma Transfer Through Edible and Plastic Packagings: Are They Complementary to Solve the Problem of Aroma Transfer?

Prediction vs. Equilibrium Testing for Permeation of Organic Volatiles Through Packaging Materials

Index