Acid preserves: foods that have a high acid content to stop spoilage.
Adulteration: deliberate contamination of foods with materials of low quality or value.
Average-weight system: a known percentage of all filled packs must have a fill weight above that shown on the package.
Barrier properties: resistance of a packaging material to moisture, air, light, micro-organisms or physical damage.
Biodegradable: a material that breaks down under the natural action of micro-organisms, light, air and water.
Bulk density: volume per unit weight of a material.
Capital costs: the money spent on buildings, equipment and other long lasting items for production.
Consumer packs: the package that customers buy their food in .
Contamination: materials such as leaves, dirt, wood, glass, etc., accidentally included with a food.
Critical faults: those faults that would injure a customer or cause significant financial loss to a producer.
Enzymes: natural complex chemicals in foods that can cause changes to flavour, color or texture of a food.
Exhausting: removing the air from the headspace of a can or jar and replacing it with steam.
Feasibility study: a study of the technical factors, the economic factors and the marketing factors that affect a business.
Fermented preserves: foods that have an increased acid content which is produced by safe micro-organisms.
Fill weight: the weight of food placed in a package (also net weight on a package).
Flexible packaging: plastic, papers, foil, cloth and other materials that are made into bags, wraps and sacks.
Form-fill-seal equipment: machines that make up a bag then fill it with food and heat seal it.
Hazards: influences such as heat, crushing, microorganisms that can damage a food.
Headspace: the gap between the top of a food in a can or jar and the lid.
Heat seal: two layers of plastic film melted together.
Hermetic seal: an airtight, moistureproof and microorganism resistant seal.
Humidity: the amount of water vapour in air.
Impermeable: proverbs the passage of (e.g. a film is impermeable to air if it prevents the air from passing to the food).
Inert: does not react with anything.
Lacquer: a type of varnish on the inside of a can.
Laminates: packaging made from two or more materials glued together.
Low-acid: foods that have a low acid content and can contain food poisoning bacteria
Major faults: those faults that would cause a financial loss to a producer.
Market survey: a study of the demand for a food, including who buys it, where it is sold, how much is bought and how often.
Metailized films: plastic films coated with a very thin layer of aluminium metal.
Micro-organisms: very small creatures (invisible until they group together) which includes yeasts, bacteria and moulds.
Minimum-weight system: all filled packages must have a fill weight above that shown on the package.
Minor faults: those faults that affect the appearance of a pack but do not stop it being used.
Moulded paper packaging: trays and dishes made from dried paper pulp.
Net weight: the amount of food filled into a package.
Nomogram: a drawing which can be used instead of a calculation.
Operating costs -fixed: those costs that do not change when the amount of production changes.
Operating costs - variable: those costs that increase or decrease as the level of productions increases or decreases.
Oxygen Transmission Rate (OTR) the amount of water that passes through a known area of packaging material in a 24-hour period.
Paperboard: general name for different types of package made from wood pulp.
Pectin: a natural gelling material found in some fruits.
Physical damage (or mechanical damage): crushing, splitting, cracking, squashing, rubbing.
Rancidity: development of off-flavours in fatty foods.
Shelf-life: the time of storage of a processed food before changes in flavour, color or number of micro-organisms make it unacceptable.
Shipping container: box or bag that protects foods or other smaller containers during transport and distribution.
Shrinkwrapping: polythene film that is shrunk tightly around packages by hot air.
Sodium metabisulphate: a chemical preservative or disinfectant.
Sterile: in strict sence means no micro-organisms present. In food processing usually means the risk of micro-organisms being present is low.
Stretchwrapping: special polythene film that sticks to itself but not to other packs or foods. It is used to wrap other packages tightly.
Sugar preserves: foods that have a high sugar content to stop spoilage.
Tamperproof: a pack that stops people opening it and reclosing it before it is sold (also a pack that shows evidence of being opened).
Thermoplastic: plastic that melts when heated and solidifies again on cooking.
Vacuum packaging: removing most of the air from a bag and then sealing it.
Water Vapour Transmission Rate (WVTR): the amount of water that passes through a known area of packaging material in a 24 hour period.
Working capital the amount of money needed to buy raw materials, packaging, etc., before income is received from production.
Yield: the area of a film or paper that weighs 1 kg.