Annex White book.pdf

– The packing material should be chemically compatible withsaffron.– The packing should be impermeable in order to prevent aromaevaporation and humidity loss as well as to hinder aroma mixing withother products stored in the same room.– The cap should guarantee hermetical sealing.A3.3.1 Materials and product presentationIn Castile-La Mancha (producer – trader), materials used for theinitial package, namely the one that comes in contact with the product,vary: cellulose, plastics (polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, PET,PVC, cellophane), glass, aluminum, tin foil etc. All these materials donot provide best conservation but obey to market norms and usages.The best conservation material is the one protecting saffron from lightand humidity exposure, without transmitting anything to the productsuch as smell, aroma etc. Usually saffron is packed in small packages(net weight 5 g). The form commonly used is in bulk. Generally, smallpolyethylene bags are used, packed in cartons or metal containers.Various packing presentations are disposed to the packer – distributor,but single dose packages (of 1 mg) are mostly preferred as well aspackages less than 5 g. The packing material is cellulose or transparentfoil (used mostly for saffron threads). Generally the retailer-consumerdoes not ask for packages containing more than 5 g. of saffron. A marketalso exists for saffron in bulks. This market addresses food productionenterprises, caterings or enterprises that pack the product under theirown brand name (using mostly polyethylene bags placed in cartons ormetal containers). These are the most technological advanced enterprisesthat use packages in controlled or neutral environment (usingvacuum packing machines and materials that hinder oxygen and humiditypenetration).In Sardinia (producer – trader), glass containers, paper or plasticare used for saffron packages. Furthermore, tone and cork packagesare used as a traditional Sardinian packaging material. The packagesweigh between 1/10 g and 5 g.In Western Macedonia (producer – trader), saffron is packed in tinfoil containers, in plastic boxes or bags, in glass containers or in multilayeredbags. Saffron stigmas are packed in:A) Plastic boxes:· 1g box (package 12 x 1g = 12g and 6 x 12g = 72g)· 1g box (package 12 x 1g = 12g and 6 x 12g = 72g, 12 x 12g = 144g)· 2g box (package 12 x 2g = 24g and 6 x 12 x 2g = 144g)· 4g box (package 12 x 4g = 48g and 6 x 48g = 288g)135