Aluminium is used extensively for the protection, storage and preparation of food and beverages as well as medicines and cosmetics. Its key advantages are that it:

• transmits conducted heat and reflects radiant heat extremely well, making it very energy efficient for preparing and serving both hot and cold food.
• is very light, this helps to reduce transportation costs and means it is suitable for packaging applications where weight is important.
• has an excellent barrier function therefore keeping out air, light, liquid and microorganisms to preserve the contents of food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.
• can be rolled into ultra-thin foils that are strong and protect from ultra-violet light, odours and bacteria.
• offers secure, tamper-proof, hygienic, easy-to-open qualities for a host of packaging applications from food and medicine to drinks and cosmetics.
• it is recyclable and takes 95% less energy to recycle that it does to produce it from bauxite. Do you want to get involved in recycling?

The main uses of aluminium in packaging are as multi-purpose foil and cans.