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. 2019 Oct;56(10):4391-4403.
doi: 10.1007/s13197-019-03950-z. Epub 2019 Jul 23.

An overview of paper and paper based food packaging materials: health safety and environmental concerns

Gaurav Kr Deshwal  1 , Narender Raju Panjagari  1 , Tanweer Alam  2
Affiliations

An overview of paper and paper based food packaging materials: health safety and environmental concerns

Gaurav Kr Deshwal et al. J Food Sci Technol. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Pulp and paper industry is one of the major sector in every country of the globe contributing not only to Gross Domestic Product but surprisingly to environmental pollution and health hazards also. Paper and paperboard based material is the one of the earliest and largest used packaging form for food products like milk and milk based products, beverages, dry powders, confectionary, bakery products etc. owing to its eco-friendly hallmark. Various toxic chemicals like printing inks, phthalates, surfactants, bleaching agents, hydrocarbons etc. are incorporated in the paper during its development process which leaches into the food chain during paper production, food consumption and recycling through water discharges. Recycling is considered the best option for replenishing the loss to environment but paper can be recycled maximum six to seven times and paper industry waste is very diverse in nature and composition. Various paper disposal methods like incineration, landfilling, pyrolysis and composting are available but their process optimization becomes a barrier. This review article aims at discussing in detail the use of paper and paper based packaging materials for food applications and painting a wide picture of various health and environmental issues related to the usage of paper and paper based packaging material in food industry. A brief comparison of the environmental aspects of paper production, recycling and its disposal options (incineration and land filling) had also been discussed.

Keywords: Environmental; Food packaging; Health safety; Paper; Paperboard; Recycling.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestAuthors declare that there have been no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram for paper preparation process
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Paper and paperboard based packaging materials used for food packaging application, a biscuits packed in paper based boxes, b egg crates, an example of moulded pulp packaging material, c paperboard based rigid box containing traditional Indian dairy sweet Burfi, d ice-cream cone, e vegetable parchment paper containing butter, f corrugated fibre board, g composite cans containing crackers, h fibre drum
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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