ABSTRACT
The materials used to manufacture food packaging comprise a heterogeneous group that includes glass, metals, plastics and paper with a corresponding range of performance characteristics that can have a signi˜cant impact on shelf life [1]. This chapter focuses on paper, the general term for a wide range of matted or felted webs of vegetable ˜bers (mainly based on ˜bers from cultured woods) used for the production of paper, paperboard, corrugated board, and similar products. Since it is obtained from plant ˜ber it is therefore a renewable resource. The properties of an individual paper or paperboard are extremely dependent on the properties of the pulps used (e.g., whether from hardwood or softwood species). These pulps may be used bleached or unbleached to varying degrees by various techniques. Paper strength results from the hydrogen bonding between the individual ˜bers, and, in certain cases, it is enhanced by the addition of starch or wet-strength additives. The hydrogen bonds are loosened by rewetting the paper which allows easy recycling [2].
