MOISTURE BARRIER BEHAVIOR OF POLYMER FILMS ON FOOD PACKAGING PLASTIC MATERIALS

This paper deals with experimental studies on the effect of relative humidity and temperature on plastic films that are currently being used as primary and secondary packaging materials for food products at different environmental conditions. The analysis was done on four plastic films include ethylene vinyl alcohol EVOH, polypropylene and polyethylene bases. The water vapor transmission rates were determined at accelerated conditions of 80% relative humidity and at 40oC temperature as per the ASTM standard. The rate of moisture absorption increases linearly with time until a certain point, after which it becomes constant. The polypropylene film had better moisture barrier properties with good mechanical structural integrity and is the most economical. The multi-layered film of 200 μm showed good results, however, it is not very coherent when posed as a second layer packaging material at accelerated conditions in the stability chamber.