Packaging of food products have seen a vast transformation in technology usage and application from the stone age to the industrial revolution
7000 BC: The adoption of pottery and glass which saw industrialization around 1500 BC
1800: Nicolas Appert in response to extending shelf life of food for the French Army employed the use of glass bottles in thermal food treatment which was later replaced by metal cans
1870: The use of paper board was launched and corrugated materials patented
1880s: First cereal packaged in a folding box by Quaker Oats
1890s: Crown cap for glass bottles was patented by William Painter
1940s: Aerosol was first used by the marines during the world war II in pesticides application
1960s: Development of the two-piece drawn and wall-ironed metal cans in the USA, the ring- pull opener and the Tetra Brik Aseptic carton package
1970s: 1970 Bar code system was introduced in the retail and manufacturing industry. PET plastic blow-mold bottle technology widely used in the beverage industry was introduced
1990s: The application of digital printing on food packages became widely adopted
Plastic packaging saw its inaugural use during the world war II even though materials employed in its manufacturing such as cellulose nitrate, styrene and vinyl chloride were discovered in the 1800’s