Glass or Plastic Cups: Which One is the Best Option for Yogurt and Potted Dessert Packaging?
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Packaging plays an essential role for premium dairy products like commercial yogurt or fresh handmade potted dessert. If you have been a fan of brands such as Pot & Co., or things like Marie Morin you must have attracted by their unique packaging to opt for such kind of single-serve fresh dessert.
Polymers, primarily Polystyrene, have been the preferred option of materials for forming the primary packaging container for dairy products, no matter they are thermoformed inline for an FFS machine or used as form of pre-cups. A seemingly more environmentally friendly packaging, glass container like jars and pots have emerged to be one of the options against plastic ones. A discussion can be found in this article that talks about whether glass is better than plastics if used as packaging.
Potted Dessert
Credit: Mondelez
We will do some comparison and contrast between the two option of packaging material for premium single servo dessert and to spot respectively their advantages and downsides.
The Choice of Dairy Packaging Contains Has more Concerns Apart From Materials
Dairy products like yogurt, cream, milk dessert, cheese and cream are perishable in nature and vulnerable to external factors especially microbial contaminations. [1]
A proper choice of packaging container not only ensures the food safety and preserves the quality of dairy products throughout flow along the supply chain from production facility to the cart of consumers. It also plays a key role for visual appealing, packaging cost-effectiveness, functions. Additionally, the environmental impact of packaging is a significant factor that must be considered, especially as sustainability concerns grow in importance.
Appeal, Transparency and Market Positioning
The high-end segment of the dairy products market overlooks various factors including naturality, organic ingredients, no added sugar, tastes, textures, and among others, transparency is also a strong argument. [2] Glass and plastic containers both offer transparency for dairy product packaging, but they have distinct differences.
Glass is highly transparent, provides excellent barrier properties, and is chemically inert, ensuring product freshness and preventing contamination. It is reusable and recyclable indefinitely, though it is heavier and more fragile, which can complicate handling and transportation. Consumers often perceive glass as a premium material and exactly for such a reason, glass jars and pots are often the preferred packaging option in higher-end market segments.
In contrast, modern plastics like PET offer good transparency, though not as clear as glass, and provide adequate but generally lower barrier properties. Plastics are lightweight, durable, and cheaper to produce and transport, but they can interact chemically with products and present significant environmental concerns due to recycling challenges and pollution.
The choice between glass and plastic depends on specific product requirements, including shelf life, transportation, and consumer preferences.
Chemical Complexity, Migration and Food Safety
Plastics have been a popular choice of packaging dairy products and among them High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) is the primary option in the past.
However, concerns arise because residual monomers, particularly styrene and butadiene, and various additives can migrate from the packaging into the food. Styrene, in particular, is problematic due to its potent sensory activity, which can alter the taste and aroma of food, and its classification by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” [3] Regulatory bodies like the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) mandate strict compliance and extensive migration testing to ensure consumer safety. Despite these regulations, the potential health risks associated with styrene necessitate ongoing evaluation and careful consideration by manufacturers to ensure that HIPS packaging does not compromise the safety or quality of dairy products.
Organic Vanilla in Glass Jars
Credit: Culinaris
Glass, and among others, ceramic, have emerged to be other options for dairy product packaging in the latest market trends. Studies by International research, published in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition [4] has proven that glass and ceramic materials are considered the safest for food contact due to their low chemical complexity and minimal migration of substances into food.
Recyclability
Glass is highly recyclable and can be recycled indefinitely without losing quality or purity.
The recycling process for glass is straightforward, involving collection, sorting by colour, cleaning, crushing into cullet, and melting to form new glass products. This process saves significant energy compared to producing new glass from raw materials, although the melting process still requires substantial energy and emits CO2. In the case of premium dairy products, glass containers can be reused multiple times before recycling and after, further reducing their environmental impact.
ILPRA FFS Machine Forms Yogurt Cups Inline
Credit: ILPRA
Plastic and polymer packaging for dairy products have both benefits and drawbacks in terms of sustainability and recyclability. They are lightweight, reducing transportation costs and emissions, and are durable, minimizing product loss and hazards. However, they are derived from petroleum, contributing to resource depletion and emissions, and their waste persists for centuries. Recycling is challenging due to quality degradation, contamination, and sorting needs, often leading to plastic ending up in landfills.
Discover More Information about Dairy Product Packaging
We have discussed to some basic level the differences, pros and cons between plastics and glass containers for dairy products packaging.
In the case that you would like to acquire more related information about this topic, we suggest you to read the following articles:
Form-Fill-Seal Cups vs. Pre-Formed Cups: Packaging Continer Options for Dairy Products
FFS Yogurt Cup Sleeve Wrapping Machine & Packaging End-of-Line
Bibliography
- [1] Guazzotti V, Hendrich V, Gruner A, Fiedler D, Störmer A, Welle F. Migration of Styrene in Yogurt and Dairy Products Packaged in Polystyrene: Results from Market Samples. Foods. 2022 Jul 17;11(14):2120. doi: 10.3390/foods11142120. PMID: 35885363; PMCID: PMC9323499.
- [2] Huber M., Ruiz J., Chastellain F. Off-flavour release from packaging materials and its prevention: A foods company’s approach. Food Addit. Contam. 2002;19:221–228. doi: 10.1080/02652030110072074
- [3] Geueke, B., Groh, K. J., Maffini, M. V., Martin, O. V., Boucher, J. M., Chiang, Y. T., … Muncke, J. (2022). Systematic evidence on migrating and extractable food contact chemicals: Most chemicals detected in food contact materials are not listed for use. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 63(28), 9425–9435. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2022.2067828
- [4] Premium Yogurt: Glass or PET cup? Apr 27, 2020, Serac, https://www.serac-group.com/packaging/premium-yogurt-glass-or-pet-cup/
