WHILE IT'S TRUE to say that Singapore imports almost all of its food, not many people realise that we have a long history of packaging the finished product.

Packaging Matters: Singapore's Food Packaging Story from the Early 20th Century is a new exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore which chronicles the development of food packing in Singapore, from the early bottling and canning factories in the late 19th to 20th century, to the light industries of the 1960s to 70s when food was processed in factories.

The exhibition features more than 150 artefacts from the museum's folklife collection, most of which have never been displayed before. They include a tin of Vesop Vegetable Gourmet Powder, Mermaid cream crackers, boxes of Sea Horse Brand Quick Frozen Lobster Tails and labels from carbonated drinks, such as Green Spot.