Evaluating Shelf‐Life Performance of Fenugreek and Fennel in PET ALOx / PE Packaging: A Sustainable Alternative to Conventional Multilayer Barrier P

ABSTRACT

Food packaging has become essential due to the increasing global population and growing food scarcity. The materials used for packaging should not only extend the shelf life of food products but also minimize additional environmental burdens on society. In this study, aluminum oxide‐coated PET (PET ALOx) was evaluated against superior barrier layers such as aluminum foil and metallized PET (MET PET) for its ability to extend shelf life of fenugreek and fennel spices. All the tested packaging materials were confirmed to be free from heavy metals and phthalates, ensuring their safe utilization in spice packaging without any health hazards. The tensile strength of these materials ranged from 13.891 to 54.563 MPa, while their barrier properties against moisture and oxygen were 0.090–2.401 g/m ² ·day and 0.024–6.930 cc/m ² ·day, respectively. The objective of this study was to achieve sustainability by reducing the packaging material usage via PET AlOx/PE packaging material (P1) in comparison with well‐established high‐barrier structures such as aluminum foil (P3) and metallized PET (P2), while ensuring compliance with technical requirements. Despite its relatively weak seal strength and a lower thickness of 10 μm (compared to 120 μm), PET ALOx/PE (P1) demonstrated strong potential in extending the shelf life of the selected spices. Specifically, it provided a shelf life of 459 days for fenugreek and 504 days for fennel, both exceeding 1 year, making it highly acceptable in the consumer packaging sector. Moreover, since PET and PE recyclability is already well established globally, this packaging solution aligns with government regulations and contributes to sustainability in consumer food packaging.