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Food Packaging
Food packaging involves the technology that deals with the enclosure of food product for purposes of holding, protection and or branding. According to Codex Alimentarius the package of food exists to preserve the quality and freshness whiles facilitating its storage and distribution to the end user

Serving as a barrier between the external environment and the food matrix, food packages ensure the prevention of physical, chemical or microbial contamination of food products. These contaminants be it physical, chemical or microbial have the potential of posing food safety risks and quality issues to consumers. The package of food may also serve as a source of information to consumers in helping them make informed choices.

History
Packaging of food products have seen a vast transformation in technology usage and application from the stone age to the industrial revolution

7000 BC: The adoption of pottery and glass which saw industrialization around 1500 BC

1800: Nicolas Appert in response to extending shelf life of food for the French Army employed the use of glass bottles in thermal food treatment which was later replaced by metal cans

1870:  The use of paper board was launched and  corrugated materials patented

1880s: First cereal packaged in a folding box by Quaker Oats

1890s: Crown cap for glass bottles was patented by William Painter

1940s: Aerosol was first used by the marines during the world war II in pesticides application

1960s: Development of the two-piece drawn and wall-ironed metal cans in the USA, the ring- pull opener and the Tetra Brik Aseptic carton package

1970s: 1970 Bar code system was introduced in the retail and manufacturing industry. PET plastic blow-mold bottle technology widely used in the beverage industry was introduced

1990s: The application of digital printing on food packages became widely adopted

Plastic packaging saw its inaugural use during the world war II even though materials employed in its manufacturing such as cellulose nitrate, styrene and vinyl chloride were discovered in the 1800’s