Dr. V. Prakash
Director
CFTRI, Mysore

Tomorrow’s food processing will depend on the current R&D activities globally, especially related to food grade plastics. The safety aspect will have a pivotal role to play as regards food packaging is concerned.Increased use of safe packing material will be required which will prove to be a challenge for packaging technologists, says Dr. V. Prakash,Director, CFTRI, Mysore, in dialoge with ET Polymers.

Q. How has flexible plastic packaging contributed to the food processing sector?
Flexible packages and retort pouch packages have contributed enormously for convenience food. A historic example has been availability of milk in sachets! This contribution, however, also results in a problem relating to the disposal of flexible packages. It is not by the consumer alone but how the society and systems disposes it off are equally important.

Q. Flexible packaging and polymers today literally dominate the food packaging sector? Please comment.
The dominance here, is not literally, but infact more so practically. This is due to its low weight, recent advances in printing technology (where one can declare content and brand equity) in an attractive form as well as the preservation ability for maintaining quality of food which was earlier a major challenge. Packaging has improved significantly due to the advent of many varities of plastics. There is, however, a need for quality packaging material for example for oil which can only be stored in containers that has to truly qualify for the quality and safety of the product inside.

Q. How do you see the role of plastics in food packaging change in the next 5 years?
Tomorrow’s food processing will depend on the current R&D activities globally, especially related to food grade plastics. The safety aspect will have a pivotal role to play as regards food packaging is concerned.Increased use of safe packing material will be demanded which will prove to be a challenge for packaging technologists. Future would see a lot of analytical techniques come up and a greater demand on quality as the specification become highly specialised and demands lots of attention of chemists and engineers.

Q. For plastics in food packaging, what do you consider as the key driving segments?
There is no doubt in this answer, whatever be the packaging material, the first priority will be on safety. There are a lot of loose products available in the market without packaging. Consumers will, however, question the product safety and thus safety would be the key driving aspect for the growth. Food grade materials will dominate the show as a key driving segment in this area for tomorrow’s growth.

Q. What do you estimate the polymer consumption in the packaging sector (F&B) to be over next 3 years?
It may be difficult to make a prediction,since estimations are subject to many variables. I feel, if Polymer producers provide good quality product with necessary disposal norms and awareness, the quantity could and enhance many times the current production.

People are being increasingly aware of quality. The challenge here lies for the polymer industry to meet the requirements of the food packaging industry than the food packaging industry having to alter itself to suit polymer products available. It is the demand and supply situation.

Q. Is the Indian packaging industry well equipped with qualified professionals? Can you please comment on the academic sector?
The packaging industry is really well organised and comes with a very strong background of polymer chemists and engineers. Chemistry plays a very important role in packaging (e.g. What is the impact if packaged food if exposed to high heat?). Specialised training is important to bring in awareness to the packaging technologists with respect to the chemistry of packaging. This would empower them better for a right decision. CFTRI, IIP and IIT offer a lot of courses for packaging. At CFTRI, courses emphasising on training the trainer are conducted. More such courses in many other Institutes would however benefit a larger population.

Here, the industry plays a very important role too to get their senior management trained. It is important for them to be proactive to get people updated with the latest developments in packaging. Training of new employees is also very ital in today’s context.

Q. What are your views on recent government policies as regards use of plastics in packaging?
There are two main points that need to be emphasised here.
• Safe packaging material is a very important attribute of food packaging. This has to be pushed as a clear agenda and there needs to be a regulation to this effect without too many ambiguities. There is no doubt that the manufacturers should in no way compromise on the safety aspects of the packaging and consumers must be made aware of the safety aspects.
• Disposal of these packaging materials is a very essential attribute which the consumers should keep in mind. There should be an ongoing activity on consumer education so that they can be made aware of disposal of food plastic waste. This has to be a bottom up approach. It has to be explained to the consumer that after food is consumed, how the package travels back into the system for disposal otherwise landfills will increase in volume logarithmically. We should teach people and they would surely follow and spread the message. For this, what is required, today, is a long distance programme of a literacy movement.

Q. Can you please highlight recent advances in polymer materials that could revolutionise the food packaging sector?
There is no single ‘mantra’ for this! Global warming is one agenda to look at it. We have to reduce the carbon footprint in every possible way. Also, it is important to reduce the energy consumption of the manufacturing processes of the food grade plastic by cutting the several unnecessary steps in the process by dynamically revisiting it.

There is going to be an increased demand on polymer materials which are eco-friendly. One of the approaches being biodegradable plastics, which would provide a challenge for scientists today.

Tomorrow’s technology on polymer material can provide a full story on the state of the product inside through sensors. Nano materials could work towards more convenience for the consumer through sensor, and this would result in a change in policy matters also.

Printing inks on the polymers is another area that would be looked at so as to ensure that the ink does not get into the package and the product. This area should also undergo a lot of development which is normally neglected. Inks should also be made eco-friendly (from the recycling point of view as well) or else the whole effort of an ecofriendly polymer is completely lost. These things will only come at a cost and ultimately we have to address the issue of cost very clearly.

Q. There are many myths regarding the safety of usage of plastics packaging for food items.What are your comments on this?
Myths are everywhere in many areas of life not just in Food and Food Processing. What is important is that these should be addressed based on science. It is also important to remove apprehensions that a consumer has in his mind. Myths need to be addressed and resolved, else it will continue to be a myth! Here, the industry has a large role to play and this has to be done through different forums. I wish to emphasise here, that the industry and associations should address the myths and help people use the product with confidence. It is important to clarify these questions on a scientific basis and these could also be questions for scientists to address and really source for our advance thinking. So, they should be solved through technology, science, hard work and answers which are convincing, not just ‘me too’ answers!

Q. How can premier institutes like CFTRI lead and guide research in the area of plastic packaging for the food industry?
CFTRI has a four pronged approach in this regard.

• To work on fundamental aspects of Food Processing and Packaging. To understand the science of the packaging material, the science of the product to be packed, concepts of taste, flavour etc. Significant funds are required for this on an ongoing basis and the industry here has to play a very proactive role and not a passive role.
• New technologies that are currently being used for non-food items should be well explored so as to evaluate whether they could be used for food packaging as well with a guaranteed lable of safety. We also have to explore the use of polymer chemistry in bulk packaging.
• To have a clear and definite way to bring safety for both, the consumer and manufacturer, activities to spread awareness from voluntary organisations, NGOs etc. is important so as to ensure that all are kept updated on recent happenings in the advancements.
• To have a clear mandate of openness and transparency of material used for food packaging. For e.g. Have a marking to signify an eco-friendly package. The industry and association network is required to make this happen.Can we do? 

I feel India is well poised to achieve this with the help of three major things, Intellect, Innovation and Introspection to correct ourselves and quantum jump through incremental technologies we can be proud to move forward, with the many food products getting the label as ‘safe’ which is so important in Food Processing and Food Packaging.