Level 5
Packaging
Protect, present and label your products
Packaging keeps your product safe, tells the buyer what it is and helps it sell. This level shows you what packaging must do, how to choose it, what a label should say, and how to find out how long your product lasts without guessing.
Food processors, farmer groups and young entrepreneurs who are preparing a product for sale in shops, markets or online.
How this level is written
The lessons are practical teaching suggestions written by AfricAgric. The reading list is background reading, not the source of every sentence. Examples with numbers are invented and say so. Use the level as a way to think, then check facts and rules for your own place.
What you will learn
- List the jobs packaging has to do for your product.
- Match a packaging material to what your product needs protection from.
- Know which information a label usually carries, and where to check the rules for your country.
- Plan a simple test to learn how long your product keeps in its pack.
- Avoid unsafe practices such as reusing containers that held chemicals.
Where this level fits
Level 4 helped you make a safe, consistent product. This level is about getting it to the buyer in good condition and in a form they trust. Level 6 covers storage. The module 'Building a value-added food processing business' shows packaging and labelling in a worked example.
Parts of this level
- Part 1What packaging doesIt protects, holds, informs and helps to sell. Each job has a cost.
- Part 2Choosing packagingMatch the pack to what the product fears, to the buyer and to your budget.
- Part 3Labels and informationA clear, honest label builds trust. The exact rules depend on your country.
- Part 4Shelf life: test, do not guessFind out how long your product really lasts, in its pack and in the buyer's hands.
- WorkbookAll exercises from this level in one place, with space to think and a printable layout.
- QuizCheck what you learned. Answers and short explanations are hidden until you choose to show them.
Related
Not advice
This level is educational. It is not legal, financial, regulatory, nutritional or medical advice. Rules, fees and programmes change, so check every requirement with the authority named before you act.
Background reading
- Guidelines for small-scale fruit and vegetable processors (FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 127) — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Peter Fellows, 1997