The Emergence of Casings Stemmed from the Need for Storage and Exchange

After the 16th Century, Casings Gradually Transitioned from Traditional to Modern

Since ancient times, meat has been a crucial part of the human diet. To obtain it, humans sharpened sticks and stones, and invented knives and bows. Meat sources included edible flesh, organs, and other tissues from various animals. With the mastery of fire—that illuminating spark of civilization's light and heat—human intellect took a significant leap forward due to cooked food, of which meat was a vital component. Boiling and roasting produced game meat with different tastes, creating varied meat foods.

The primary nutritional value of meat lies in providing the proteins necessary for survival and growth, while also supplying fats, essential minerals, and vitamins. However, precisely because meat contains nutrients that can sustain almost all life forms, including humans, and has high water content, it is highly prone to spoilage, especially in hot summers. Given sufficient air, inadequately processed or preserved meat surfaces become breeding grounds for bacteria, causing the meat to become slimy, moldy, and inedible. Even in areas with thinner air, without proper protection or processing, meat can quickly turn sour and rot.

Finding suitable methods to preserve meat became a critical issue, leading to the emergence of food packaging.

Packaging: For Storage and Exchange

Over time, the effectiveness of meat preservation became a key factor in the economy of meat production and processing. Packaging held significant importance for preserving meat products.

Different preservation methods offer varying qualities and durations of preservation. While freezing has been the most important method for preserving fresh meat in recent decades, before the invention of mechanical freezing methods like refrigerators, freezers, and cold storage, preserving meat via freezing was unimaginable outside of cold winters.

The history of human packaging use can be traced back to ancient times. As early as the later period of primitive society, around 10,000 years ago, with improved production techniques within tribes, this uniquely human capability developed rapidly, leading to surplus goods available for storage or exchange.

To meet the needs of storage and exchange, the most primitive packaging methods emerged. Initially, people from primitive tribes cut sturdy vines to bind captured animals, or used plant leaves, large shells, or animal hides to wrap various items, including food. This marked the embryonic stage of primitive packaging development.

Subsequently, as human labor skills advanced, people gradually began using plant fibers to create the most basic baskets and containers. Later, they used fire to smelt stones and clay, making clay pots, bowls, and jars for containing and preserving food, drink, and other items. These inventions provided a preliminary refinement of packaging's purposes: facilitating transportation and aiding storage and preservation. This can be considered ancient packaging technology—primitive, yet a significant step forward.

Containers: Important Packaging Materials

Around 5000 BC, the Bronze Age began.

Over 4,000 years ago, during China's Xia Dynasty, people were already capable of smelting copper objects. By the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, bronze smelting technology advanced further, allowing for the creation of large and aesthetically pleasing vessels. Moving into the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, technologies for casting iron, steelmaking, and lacquer production and application were mastered. Various iron containers and lacquered wooden containers appeared in large numbers and gradually became widespread.

Looking globally, in ancient Egypt, around 3000 BC, people began blowing glass containers. Therefore, the history of humans using ceramics, glass, wood, and metals to craft various packaging containers spans thousands of years. Many of these technologies, such as those for glass and ceramic containers, have been continuously refined and are still in use today.