外文翻译--包装对食品发展的影响.doc

。FOODPACKINGTECHNOLOGYPackagingiscriticaltoaconsumersfirstimpressionofaproduct,communi-catingdesirability,acceptability,healthyeatingimageetc.Foodisavailableinawiderangeofproductandpackcombinationsthatconveytheirownprocessedimageperceptiontotheconsumere.g.freshlypacked/prepared,chilled,frozen,ultra-heattreated(UHT)aseptic,in-cansterilisedanddriedproducts.Oneofthemostimportantqualityattributesoffood,affectinghumansen-soryperception,isitsflavour,i.e.tasteandsmell.Flavourcanbesignificantlydegradedbyprocessingand/orextendedstorage.Otherqualityattributesthatmayalsobeaffectedincludecolour,textureandnutritionalcontent.Thequalityofafooddependsnotonlyonthequalityofrawingredients,additives,methodsofprocessingandpackaging,butalsoondistributionandstorageconditionsencounteredduringitsexpectedshelflife.Increasingcompetitionamongstfoodproducers,retailersandpackagingsuppliers;andqualityauditsofsuppliershaveresultedinsignificantimprovementsinfoodqualityaswellasadramaticincreaseinthechoiceofpackagedfood.Theseimprovementshavealsobeenaidedbytightertemperaturecontrolinthecoldchainandamorediscerningconsumer.Onedefinitionofshelflifeis:thetimeduringwhichacombinationoffoodprocessingandpackagingcanmaintainsatisfactoryeatingqualityundertheparticularsystembywhichthefoodisdistributedinthecontainersandtheconditionsatthepointofsale.Shelflifecanbeusedasamarketingtoolforpromotingtheconceptoffreshness.Extendedorlongshelflifeproductsalsoprovidetheconsumerand/orretailerwiththetimeconvenienceofproductuseaswellasareducedriskoffoodwastage.ThesubjectofPackagedproductqualityandshelflifeisdiscussedindetailinChapter3.Packagingprovidestheconsumerwithimportantinformationabouttheproductand,inmanycases,useofthepackand/orproduct.Theseincludefactssuchasweight,volume,ingredients,themanufacturersdetails,nutritionalvalue,cookingandopeninginstructions.Inadditiontolegalguidelinesontheminimumsizeofletteringandnumbers,therearedefinitionsforthevarioustypesofproduct.Consumersareseekingmoredetailednformationaboutproductsand,atthesametime,manylabelshavebecomemultilingual.Legibilityoflabelsisanissueforthevisuallyimpairedandthisislikelytobecomemoreimportantwithanincreasinglyelderlypopulation.Amajordriveroffoodchoiceandpackaginginnovationistheconsumerdemandforconvenience.Therearemanyconvenienceattributesofferedbymodernpackaging.Theseincludeeaseofaccessandopening,disposalandhandling,productvisibility,resealability,microwaveability,prolongedshelflifeetc.DemographictrendsintheageprofileoftheUKandotheradvancedeconomiesrevealadecliningbirthrateandrapidgrowthofarelativelyafflu-entelderlypopulation.They,alongwithamoredemandingyoungconsumer,willrequireandexpectimprovedpackfunctionality,suchaseaseofpackopening(TheInstituteofGroceryDistribution,IGD).Thereisahighcosttosupplyingandservicingtheretailersshelf.Failuretostockasufficientvarietyofproductorreplenishstockintime,especiallyforstaplefoodssuchasfreshmilk,canleadtocustomerdissatisfactionanddefectiontoacompetitorsstore,whereproductavailabilityisassured.Mod-erndistributionandpackagingsystemsallowconsumerstobuyfoodwhenandwheretheywantthem.Consumerchoicehasexpandeddramaticallyinrecentyears.IntheUK,forexample,betweenthe1960sand1990sthenumberofproductlinesintheaveragesupermarketrosefromaround2000toover18000.Sincethe1970s,foodhealthandsafetyhavebecomeincreasinglymajorconcernsanddriversoffoodchoices.Mediaattentionhasalertedconsumerstoarangeofissuessuchastheuseofchemicaladditivesandfoodcontaminationincidents.Theseincidentshavebeenbothdeliberate,bymalicioustampering,andaccidental,occurringduringtheproductionprocess.However,manyconsumersarenotfullyawareoftheimportanceofpackaginginmaintainingfoodsafetyandquality.Oneeffecthasbeentherapidintroductionoftamperevidentclosuresformanypre-packagedfoodsinordertonotonlyprotecttheconsumerbutalsothebrand.Anotherimpacthasbeentomotivateconsumerstogivemoreattentiontothecriteriaoffreshness/shelflife,minimumprocessingandtheproductsoringin.Consumershavedirectenvironmentalimpactthroughthewaytheypurchaseandthepackagingwastetheygenerate.Consumerspurchasepackagingaspartoftheproductand,overtheyears,theweightofpackaginghasdeclinedrelativetothatoftheproductcontained.However,consumptionpatternshavegeneratedlargervolumesofpackagingduetochangingdemo-graphicsandlifestyles.Itisthevolumeofpackagingratherthantheweightofpackagingthatisattractingcriticalpublicattention.Inaddition,thetrendtowardincreasedpre-packagedfoodsandfoodservicepackaginghasincreasedtheamountofplasticspackagingwasteenteringthesolidwastestream.Packaginghasbeenakeytotheevolutionofmodernfast-movingconsugoodsretailingthatinturnhasspurredonpackagingdevelopmentstomeetitsrequirements.Themostsignificantdevelopmentforthefoodpackagingsupplyindustrieshasbeentheemergenceoflargeretailgroups.Thesegroupsexertenormousinfluenceandcontroloverwhatisproduced,howproductsarepre-sentedandhowtheyaredistributedtostores.Thelargeretailershandleamajorshareofthepackagedgrocerymarketandexertconsiderableinfluenceonfoodmanufacturersandassociatedpackagingsuppliers.Itis,therefore,importantforpackagingsupplierstobefullyawareofmarketdemandandrespondquicklytochanges.Inaddition,theconcentrationofbuyerpowerattheretaillevelmeansthatmanufacturersmayhavetomodifytheirdistributionandpackagingoperationsinresponsetostructuralchangesinretailing.Packagingforfast-movingconsumergoods(f.m.c.g.)duct,price,promotion,andplace(Nickels&Jolsen,Thediscussiononpackaginginthemultiplefoodretailenvironmentmaybeconsideredintermsofitsroleinbrandcompetitionandretaillogistics.Theroleofpackaginginbrandcompetition.Packagingplaysavitalroleinfoodmarketingrepresentingasignificantkeytoabrandssuccessormeresur-vivalinahighlycompetitivemarketplace.Packaginginnovationanddesignareinthefrontlineofcompetitionbetweenthebrandsofbothmajorretailersandproductmanufacturers,havingbeendriveninrecentyearsbydramaticretailgrowth,intenseindustrycompetitionandanincreasinglydemandingandsophisticatedconsumer.Onanindividualproduct/brandbasis,successisdependentontheproductmanufacturersrapidinnovativeresponsetomajortrends.Oneofthemosteffectivewaystorespondisthroughdistinctivepack-aging,andthishasbecomeonekeyfactorinthesuccessofabrand.Theretail-ersownbrandproductscompeteintenselywithmanufacturersbrandsinvirtuallyeveryproductcategory.Branddifferentiationcanbeenhancedbydrivethegrowingnichemarketforbiodegradableandcompostablepackaging.Theyareusingitasapointofcommunicationwiththeircustomers.Packagingiscloselylinkedtoadvertisingbutitisfarmorefocusedthanadvertisingbecauseitpresentstheproducttotheconsumerdailyinthehomeandontheretailshelf.Merchandisingdisplaysthatpresentthepackdesigninanattractiveorinterestingwayandmediaadvertisingconsistentwiththepacksimagealsoservetopromotethebrand.Thebrandownerisfrequentlyresponsibleforthemerchandisingoperation.Akeytopromotionalactivitiesisthrougheffectiveuseofpackagingandthereexistmanykindsofon-packpromotionssuchasfreeextraproduct,money-off,specialedition,newimprovedBarcodescanninginformationlinkedtotheuseofretailersloyaltycardschemeshasmadeabigimpactonbuyingandmarketingdecision-makingbyretailers.Theirtaskistomakebetteruseofthisinformationoncon-sumerbehaviourforpromotionalpurposesandtobuildstorebrandloyalty.Retailerscanalsousethisinformationtoevaluatetheeffectivenessofnewpackdesigns,on-packpromotionsandthesalesappealofnewproducts.Theroleofpackaginginmultipleretaillogistics.Therearetightconstraintsonphysicaldistributionandin-storemerchandising.Theretailerisreceptivetopackagingthatreducesoperatingcosts,increasesinventoryturnover,trans-formstoattractivemerchandisingdisplayssuchaspre-assembledoreasy-to-assembleaisledisplaysandsatisfieslogisticsservicelevels(reliability,responsivenessandproductavailability).Forexample,combinedtransitandpoint-of-salepackagingsavesstorelabourthroughfastershelfloading,pro-videseaseofaccesstoproducttherebyobviatingtheneedtousepotentiallydangerousunsafecuttingtools,andpresentsanopportunityforsourcereduce.Thetotaldistributioncostaffectsthetotalvolumeofdemandthroughitsinfluenceonprice(McKinnon,1989).Forsomefast-movingcommoditytypeproducts,suchaspasteurisedmilk,thecostofdistributionandretailmer-chandisingisusuallyasizeableproportionoftotalproductcostrepresentingupto50percentormoreofthesalesprice.Thecostofpackagingmaterialsandcontainersalsoaddsslightlytothecostbutdesignoftheoptimalpackagingsystemcansignificantlyreducecostintheretaildistributionchain.Thedevelopmentofglobalfoodsupplychainshasmeantthatmanypointsofproductionhavelocatedfurtherawayfromthepointsofconsump-tion,oftenresultinginhigherdistributioncost.Controllingdistributioncostthroughimprovedoperationalefficiencyinthesupplychainisakeytocompetitiveadvantageforaretailer.Theretailermustmaximiseoperationalefficiencyinthedistributionchannel(West,1989).Thegoalofdistributionistodelivertherequisitelevelofservicetocustomersattheleastcost.Theidentificationofthemostcost-effectivelogisticalpackagingisbecomingmorecrucial.Costareasindis