The arrival of aluminum foil into our homes has revolutionized food infection prevention by being an effective barrier against bacteria, moisture, oxygen and light, four key factors that contribute to food spoilage.
Thistle … Before aluminum foil arrived in our kitchens, preserving and transporting food was more complicated, and sometimes risky. Not so long ago, people used simple, natural, but limited methods: they wrapped food in vegetable leaves such as banana or corn, used cloth, waxed paper, or even clay and wax to protect what they wanted to preserve.
Furthermore, to cover food indoors, they covered it with cloth or used containers that were not always sealed, causing loss of freshness, changing flavor and increasing the risk of contamination.
Reserved for the strongest
In ancient times, aluminum was not known as a pure metal because it was very difficult to separate from its metals. It was not until the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution and advances in chemistry and electrochemistry, that aluminum began to be rediscovered. For a long time it was considered a precious metal, its value roughly equivalent to gold or silver, due to the high cost of its extraction. In some royal courts, owning aluminum objects was a sign of status and power. It is said that Napoleon III served aluminum dishes to his distinguished guests, and kept the golden dishes for kings.
Paul Herault was one of the key scientists in the process of commercial production of metallic aluminum. His major contribution was the development in 1886 of an efficient method for extracting aluminium, which he achieved from bauxite by the electrolysis process known as Hall-Hérault, by which aluminum was produced in large quantities and at a lower cost.
The metal that revolutionized the kitchen
In the 1910s, when the world was still buzzing with electrical and automobile innovations, scientists were busy exploring new minerals and combinations. It was at that time that they turned their attention to aluminum when they discovered that it was resistant to oxidation, reflected heat, distributed temperature evenly, and most importantly, did not impart strange flavors to food, unlike other metals.
Now the most complicated task remains: turning it into thin sheets of ice, which also do not break. The idea of wrapping food and cooking scraps in aluminum was not only ridiculous, it was crazy.
It was in 1913 when the Swiss company Aluminum Manufactur first marketed aluminum foil for food packaging. However, the surge in home uses will take some time to arrive. It was only in the 1920s and 1930s that techniques for manufacturing thin, strong sheets in large quantities at affordable prices were perfected. Its arrival on the market was, without a doubt, a decisive step in the revolution in the field of food storage and preservation.
Since then, aluminum foil has not only spread throughout Europe and America, but has become an indispensable invention in homes, restaurants and industries, with applications that have expanded beyond simple packaging, reaching fields such as medicine, electronics and construction.
Environmental ally
Another non-trivial aspect is that aluminum foil is a highly recyclable material, and can be recycled indefinitely without losing its physical properties or quality. Aluminum recycling saves up to 95% more energy than producing new aluminum from bauxite, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint. Moreover, recycling reduces the exploitation of natural resources and reduces the accumulation of waste in landfills.
On the other hand, aluminum foil plays an essential role in preserving food by protecting it from light, moisture, oxygen and bacteria. This helps extend the useful life of products and reduces food waste, one of today’s biggest environmental problems.
Finally, its production and processing allows for great versatility and efficiency of use, since a small amount of aluminum can cover large surfaces, providing effective, lightweight protection that reduces the need for larger or contaminating packages. Therefore, although it may seem like a simple material, aluminum foil represents a sustainable and responsible solution in caring for the environment, especially when used and recycled correctly.