Packaging

How it is used

Used for both the materials (packaging material) and the activity (packaging line). People separate primary packaging, which touches the food, secondary packaging such as cartons, and tertiary packaging for transport, like pallets and stretch film. It is uncountable: say 'the packaging', not 'a packaging'.

Example sentences

1. The new packaging uses 30 percent less plastic but still keeps oxygen out.

2. Packaging defects such as leaking seals are recorded on the line check sheet.

Common collocations

• primary packaging
• packaging material
• packaging line
• packaging defect
• flexible packaging

Related terms

• labelThe printed information on a food package, such as the product name, ingredients, allergens, net quantity, date mark, storage instructions and producer details.
• food contact materialAny material that touches food during production, storage, packaging or serving, such as packaging, conveyor belts, gloves, tanks and kitchen tools.
• modified atmosphere packagingPackaging in which the air inside the pack is replaced with a gas mixture, usually of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and sometimes oxygen, to slow down spoilage.
• vacuum packagingPackaging in which the air is removed from the pack before it is sealed, so that the film fits tightly around the product and oxygen is kept away.
• aseptic packagingFilling a commercially sterile product into sterilized containers in a sterile environment and sealing them, so that the food stays safe at room temperature.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• packaging · Marketing

More terms: Packaging and Labeling

• use-by date
• best before date
• nutrition label
• ingredient list
• migration