Guide lines for Food Packages

The development of hygienic processing and standards of quality in packaging and filling industry will be the consequence of the project. From 1997 until 2000 extensive microbiological and hygienic investigations were performed by Fraunhofer IVV. The objective was to investigate the life cycle of packaging of plastic and aluminium from raw material till packages to be filled. Hundreds of dates concerning microbial loads of dairy packaging could be collected. The supporters of the project made the condition to evaluate and publish all the results. For that reason, guidelines and tolerance levels for the evaluation of hygienic quality of packaging materials and packages should be elaborated in cooperation with the industry. On the basis of such values a uniform and regular evaluation and as a consequence comparable production conditions can be assured in future.Scientific founded guide lines and tolerance levels of food packaging will bring benefit in technique as well as in economic competition for all producers and users of food packaging. The growing of the common market and global economy urgently calls for reliable guides and levels for hygienic food packaging.