Multilayer packaging is packaging made from two or more layers of different or similar materials that are combined to provide specific protective or functional properties.
A multilayer package may combine materials such as plastic films, paper, aluminum, adhesives, coatings, and barrier polymers. Different layers can provide strength, moisture resistance, oxygen protection, light protection, heat resistance, or other functions. Beverage cartons, flexible pouches, and some food wrappers are examples.
Multilayer packaging can improve food protection while also creating additional layers and substances that may need to be considered in chemical-migration assessments.
The layers do not all necessarily have the same relationship to food. Some may be in direct contact with food, while others are separated from it by one or more additional layers. This makes migration assessment more complex than simply examining the outermost material.
QUICK FACT
The outside of a package may look like one material even when the package contains several different layers.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
- Barrier layer: a particular layer designed to reduce the movement of substances such as oxygen, moisture, or chemicals.
- Composite packaging: a broader term that can refer to packaging made from different materials combined into one structure.
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