Reuse and Recycling of Food Packaging - Odour Related Aspects of the Use and Misuse of PET Beverage Bottles
(2005)- Abstract
- The reuse and closed-loop recycling of food packaging was studied in order to assess consumer safety and the sensory quality (e.g. taste and smell) of packaged food. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles that were refillable or that contained recycled material, either in direct contact or with a functional barrier protecting the food, were investigated with focus on odorous compounds from normal use or from misuse.
Used refillable PET bottles were analysed for suspected misuse, i.e. when consumers store something other than the original beverage in a refillable bottle before returning it for reuse. Two different types of bottles were investigated to represent contaminated bottles which the in-line detection... (More) - The reuse and closed-loop recycling of food packaging was studied in order to assess consumer safety and the sensory quality (e.g. taste and smell) of packaged food. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles that were refillable or that contained recycled material, either in direct contact or with a functional barrier protecting the food, were investigated with focus on odorous compounds from normal use or from misuse.
Used refillable PET bottles were analysed for suspected misuse, i.e. when consumers store something other than the original beverage in a refillable bottle before returning it for reuse. Two different types of bottles were investigated to represent contaminated bottles which the in-line detection system both did and did not detect, i.e. sniffer-rejected and consumer complaint bottles. Previously, only a few of the compounds detected in post-consumer PET material had been suggested to originate from consumer misuse. In the studies presented here, a wide range of more than 50 possible misuse contaminants were identified in post-consumer refillable PET beverage bottles. A total of 29 different contamination categories were detected, including misuse by both food and non-food products.
For refillable bottles, the inertness of the bottle material is an important property in order to avoid transfer of aroma compounds from one product to the next product filled in the bottle. A threshold odour number (TON) determination method was developed in order to characterise the inertness of refillable bottle materials. The method successfully differentiated between polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials. The materials were further analysed chemically using headspace gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to compare the aroma transfer potential. The results showed that the use of polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) instead of PET would lead to less off-odour problems in refillable beverage bottles.
Multilayer PET bottles containing intentionally contaminated material simulating recycled PET were produced. Different combinations of contaminated and non-contaminated material in the three layers enabled investigation of contaminant migration both when the food was in direct contact with the recycled material and when it was protected by a functional barrier, i.e. a non-contaminated inner layer. Migration of four model contaminants from the produced bottles into three different food simulants, at two different storage temperatures was followed during 1 year. Additionally, bottles made from preforms stored at 40°C for 6 months prior to production of bottles were also studied. Storage conditions, type of model contaminant and type of food simulant were shown to greatly affect migration. The functional barrier succeeded in protecting the food from any detectable migration during 1 year of storage even under extreme conditions. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Vatten- och läskflaskor av polyetylentereftalat, PET, kan både återanvändas (återfyllbara flaskor) och/eller återvinnas. Vid återvinning kan materialet användas för tillverkning av nya flaskor, sk closed-loop recycling. I både återfyllbara flaskor och flaskor som innehåller återvunnet material kan det förekomma ämnen som tidigare trängt in i plasten. Dessa kan antingen härröra från tidigare produkter eller från konsumenters felanvändning, dvs. att konsumenten använt flaskan till förvaring av något annat än den ursprungliga drycken.
Med syfte att säkerställa konsumentsäkerhet och produktkvalitet (t.ex. lukt och smak) hos dryck förpackad i PET flaskor gjordes en rad studier. Både... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Vatten- och läskflaskor av polyetylentereftalat, PET, kan både återanvändas (återfyllbara flaskor) och/eller återvinnas. Vid återvinning kan materialet användas för tillverkning av nya flaskor, sk closed-loop recycling. I både återfyllbara flaskor och flaskor som innehåller återvunnet material kan det förekomma ämnen som tidigare trängt in i plasten. Dessa kan antingen härröra från tidigare produkter eller från konsumenters felanvändning, dvs. att konsumenten använt flaskan till förvaring av något annat än den ursprungliga drycken.
Med syfte att säkerställa konsumentsäkerhet och produktkvalitet (t.ex. lukt och smak) hos dryck förpackad i PET flaskor gjordes en rad studier. Både återfyllbara flaskor samt flaskor som innehöll simulerat återvunnet material, antingen i direktkontakt med livsmedlet eller med en funktionell barriär som skydd mellan drycken och det kontaminerade materialet, undersöktes med fokus på luktande ämnen.
Innehållet i använda återfyllbara flaskor analyserades för att identifiera ämnen som härrörde från konsumenters felanvändning. Två olika flasktyper undersöktes för att finna ämnen som kontrollsystemen, inklusive de så kallade sniffrarna, både hade lyckats (utsorterade flaskor) och inte hade lyckats (reklamerade produkter) sortera bort innan flaskan återanvändes på nytt. Tidigare studier har enbart funnit ett fåtal ämnen i använt PET material som föreslagits härstamma från konsumenters felanvändning. I de två studier som presenteras här har ett brett spektrum av mer än 50 ämnen identifierats där ursprunget föreslås vara konsumenters felanvändning. Totalt 29 olika produktkategorier tros vara orsaken, och de består både av livsmedel och av icke-livsmedel.
För återfyllbara flaskor är det viktigt att flaskmaterialet är ?inert? så att det inte tar upp ämnen från en produkt och överför det till nästa produkt som förvaras i flaskan. En sensorisk metod som bestämde ett lukttröskelvärde togs fram för att kunna karaktärisera hur inert ett material för återfyllbara flaskor är. Metoden kunde skilja mellan PET och PEN (polyetylennaftalat) material. Även kemisk analys med gaskromatografi kopplad med masspektrometri användes för att jämföra aromöverföringen från de olika materialen. Resultaten visade att PEN hade mycket lägre aromöverföringen än PET, vilket tyder på att PEN skulle passa bättre som material i återfyllbara flaskor.
PET flaskor med inblandning av avsiktligt kontaminerat material tillverkades för att simulera återvunnet material. Det kontaminerade materialet fanns antingen i hela flaskan eller bara i mittenlagret, så att livsmedlet antingen skulle vara i direktkontakt med det kontaminerade materialet eller skyddas av ett lager okontaminerad plast, en så kallad funktionell barriär. Migrationen av kontaminanterna från flaskan till tre olika livsmedelssimulanter studerades under lagring vid två olika temperaturer under 1 år. För att undersöka om lagring av preformarna, från vilka flaskorna tillverkas, påverkar migrationen lagrades preformar i 6 månader vid 40°C innan flaskorna tillverkades och fylldes med livsmedelssimulant. Migrationen påverkades både av lagringsbetingelser, typ av livsmedel samt typ av kontaminant. Dock lyckades den funktionella barriären förhindra detekterbara mängder av kontaminater från att migrera in till livsmedlet även under sådana för läskedryck extrema lagringsförhållanden som 1 år vid 40°C. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/545041
- author
- Widén, Heléne LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Nerín, Cristina, University of Zaragoza, Spain
- organization
- publishing date
- 2005
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Livsmedelsteknik, Food and drink technology, aroma transfer, reuse, recycling, migration, contaminants, post consumer material, food packaging, polyethylene terephthalate (PET)
- pages
- 150 pages
- publisher
- Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Lund University
- defense location
- Room K:C, Center of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Getingevägen 60, Lund Institute of Technology
- defense date
- 2005-06-10 10:30:00
- ISBN
- 91-7422-080-2
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry (011001300)
- id
- b7473ff4-c439-4695-a0b5-8bf4fd803c1f (old id 545041)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 11:56:11
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 21:08:03
@phdthesis{b7473ff4-c439-4695-a0b5-8bf4fd803c1f,
abstract = {{The reuse and closed-loop recycling of food packaging was studied in order to assess consumer safety and the sensory quality (e.g. taste and smell) of packaged food. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beverage bottles that were refillable or that contained recycled material, either in direct contact or with a functional barrier protecting the food, were investigated with focus on odorous compounds from normal use or from misuse.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Used refillable PET bottles were analysed for suspected misuse, i.e. when consumers store something other than the original beverage in a refillable bottle before returning it for reuse. Two different types of bottles were investigated to represent contaminated bottles which the in-line detection system both did and did not detect, i.e. sniffer-rejected and consumer complaint bottles. Previously, only a few of the compounds detected in post-consumer PET material had been suggested to originate from consumer misuse. In the studies presented here, a wide range of more than 50 possible misuse contaminants were identified in post-consumer refillable PET beverage bottles. A total of 29 different contamination categories were detected, including misuse by both food and non-food products.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
For refillable bottles, the inertness of the bottle material is an important property in order to avoid transfer of aroma compounds from one product to the next product filled in the bottle. A threshold odour number (TON) determination method was developed in order to characterise the inertness of refillable bottle materials. The method successfully differentiated between polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) materials. The materials were further analysed chemically using headspace gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to compare the aroma transfer potential. The results showed that the use of polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) instead of PET would lead to less off-odour problems in refillable beverage bottles.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Multilayer PET bottles containing intentionally contaminated material simulating recycled PET were produced. Different combinations of contaminated and non-contaminated material in the three layers enabled investigation of contaminant migration both when the food was in direct contact with the recycled material and when it was protected by a functional barrier, i.e. a non-contaminated inner layer. Migration of four model contaminants from the produced bottles into three different food simulants, at two different storage temperatures was followed during 1 year. Additionally, bottles made from preforms stored at 40°C for 6 months prior to production of bottles were also studied. Storage conditions, type of model contaminant and type of food simulant were shown to greatly affect migration. The functional barrier succeeded in protecting the food from any detectable migration during 1 year of storage even under extreme conditions.}},
author = {{Widén, Heléne}},
isbn = {{91-7422-080-2}},
keywords = {{Livsmedelsteknik; Food and drink technology; aroma transfer; reuse; recycling; migration; contaminants; post consumer material; food packaging; polyethylene terephthalate (PET)}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Reuse and Recycling of Food Packaging - Odour Related Aspects of the Use and Misuse of PET Beverage Bottles}},
year = {{2005}},
}