The (Not So) Secret Lives of Food Packaging

Summary
This book by Anna Murcott provides a social history of food packaging which takes a wide historical and geographic lens to examine shifts from domestic to commercial production, the emergence of associated technologies, changes in retailing, implications for policy and practice, and current concerns about over packaging.

Publisher’s summary
Tracing developments from the classical period to the early industrial revolution and beyond, Anne Murcott provides us with an accessible and entertaining social history of food packaging. From tin cans, glass jars and bottles, plastic trays and stretch-wrap, Murcott shows the importance of food packaging for global food systems. As a pioneering excursion into the many aspects of the history of food packaging, the book examines shifts from domestic to commercial production, the emergence of associated technologies, changes in retailing, implications for policy and practice, along with current concerns about overpackaging.

Taking a wide historical and geographical angle, Murcott draws on sources such as trade magazines, manufacturers' archives, company histories, packaging textbooks, histories of international trade and interviews with key industry 'insiders'. Written by a leading figure in the field, this book will benefit students of social studies of food production and consumption, of cultural studies, as well as researchers and those interested in the history of food.

Reference
Murcott, A., 2024. The (Not So) Secret Lives of Food Packaging. Bloomsbury.

Read more here and see more from our explainer Environmental impacts of food: an introduction to LCA