Although food packaging is generally not edible, it is an important part of the attributes of food commodities. As far as the functions of food packaging are concerned, the core function is food protection. Food goes through a complex process from production to consumption, so it may be affected by biological, chemical, physical and other external factors in the environment. Food packaging should be able to maintain the stability of food quality and resist various adverse effects in the environment. At the same time, food packaging should also meet the requirements of beauty, convenience, environmental protection, and low price.

Let’s take a look at the properties of aluminum foil. First, aluminum foil has high mechanical strength and certain impact and puncture resistance. Therefore, during storage, transportation, etc., aluminum foil packaged food is not easily damaged by factors such as extrusion, impact, vibration, temperature difference, etc. Second, aluminum foil has high barrier properties and has high barrier properties against sunlight, high temperature, moisture, oxygen, microorganisms, etc. These factors are factors that promote food deterioration. Blocking these factors can extend the shelf life of food. Third, aluminum foil is easy to process, has low cost, can meet the packaging needs of most foods, and has a beautiful silvery white color and mysterious texture. Fourth, metallic aluminum itself is a lightweight metal, and extremely thin aluminum foil meets the basic requirements for lightweight packaging, which is of great significance for reducing transportation costs. Fifth, aluminum foil is non-toxic and odorless, easy to recycle, and meets the requirements of green environmental protection and sustainable development.

However, in food packaging practice, aluminum foil is rarely used alone because aluminum foil itself has some shortcomings. For example, as aluminum foil is further thinned, the number of pores will increase, which will affect the barrier properties of the aluminum foil. At the same time, thin and flexible aluminum foil has limitations in resistance to stretch and shear, and generally cannot be used for structural packaging. Fortunately, aluminum foil has good secondary processing properties. Aluminum foil can usually be combined with other packaging materials to make composite packaging materials to make up for the shortcomings of aluminum foil, thereby improving the comprehensive packaging performance of composite packaging materials.