As said in my previous article about the DuPont Packaging Awards 2012 in this post I write about the Microcellular Technology of InCycle CPET, Sulwhasoo Dahamsul’s cream jar, and the Tide PODS Liquid Unit Dose Laundry Detergent. But I want to start with one more winner: the AirOPack by IPS Innovative Packaging Solutions.

AirOPack, an Innovative Aerosol Dispenser Technology
Honoured for Excellence in Innovation and Sustainability, the AirOPack, by IPS Innovative Packaging Solutions AG in Switzerland, is a new, innovative technology to dispense fluids, high viscosity liquids and creams by using a patented pressure control device that relies on air instead of conventional hydrocarbon chemical propellants. This system can replace traditional aerosol products that are used today with conventional metal cans and chemical propellants.

This dispenser consists of a blow-moulded plastic container fitted with a compressed air chamber and a pressure control device to protect against pressure drop, improve ease of use and ensure the maximum amount of product can be extracted from the container. Since it is made entirely of plastic it can be recycled after use. AirOPack is unique to the aerosol dispenser industry. Consumers can see the product. Replacing flammable propellant gas with air also eliminates adverse effects on the environment.

AirOpack is an aerosol alternative based on pure compressed air instead of commonly used propellants. This technology makes it possible to fill liquids, creams, gels or foams into plastic containers instead of cans made of tinplate or aluminium and then to dispense the contents with constant pressure by means of a unique pressure-control system. When manufacturing the dispensers, CO2 emissions can be reduced by as much as 65% and energy consumption by approximately 20% compared to common aluminium aerosol cans.

The AirOpack dispensers are filled with the customer’s various products, labelled, packed and shipped ready-for-sale using a high-speed filling and automated packing line.

Microcellular Technology Keeps Food Containers Cool or Hot
Through the use of the ad-air solid-state microcellular plastics process, MicroGREEN Polymers Inc., uses non-reacting, recycled CO2 gas to thermoform recycled PET plastic rolls into inherently insulating trays and cups. The InCycle CPET trays and the cold party cups are 45% lighter than their solid plastic counterparts and are respectively 70% and 60% less dense, resulting in lower thermal conductivity. This allows consumers to handle CPET trays straight from the oven without being burnt and keeps the beverage in their cold party cups refreshingly cold, while providing significant environmental benefits.

Ad-air clean technology creates a microcellular structure in common thermoplastics. In contrast to melt-state chemical foaming processes, this technology does not require any harmful chemicals or VOCs, and the location and size of the micro-bubbles is precisely controllable. The material can then be printed as a flat sheet or converted by a number of processes such as: folding, thermoforming and convolute forming.

In the Ad-Air Technology, a roll of solid plastic is prepared for saturation by layering it with a porous material. The roll is then pressurized with a gas such as food grade CO2. The interleaved porous material provides a pathway for the gas to saturate the polymer roll. Once saturated, the polymer is removed from the vessel and heated. As the polymer softens, billions of gas bubbles nucleate in the polymer, reducing the density and causing expansion. In general, this process increases the length and width by 150% and the thickness by about 200%. This expansion results in a dramatic decrease in density, typically to about 20% density relative to the original polymer material.

Ad-air technology applies to most common thermoplastic polymers, including recycled PET (rPET) and biopolymers (PLA).
Ad-air technology can create open-celled materials. These open cells are dispersed throughout the surface of the sheet or in pre-defined patterns, creating channels through which liquid can flow if desired.

Jewel-like Brilliance in Injection Moulded Cosmetics Jar
Using insert injection moulding, Amore Pacific from Korea achieved a new level of design innovation with its Sulwhasoo Dahamsul cream jar. This process removed the gap between the inner cup and the outside packaging, eliminating light refraction that would diminish the appearance of the inner graphics.
The outside packaging easily adheres to the inner cup with DuPont Surlyn 3D overmoulding technology, offering transparency and additional aesthetic appeal. The brilliance of the inner cup graphics shine out, giving the cream jars a jewel-like appearance.

Surlyn is a commercial thermoplastic ionomer resin that was introduced by DuPont in the early 1960’s. Surlyn can be used in conventional extrusion/co-extrusion, blown film, cast film, and extrusion coating equipment designed for polyethylene resins.
Moulded goods made with Surlyn are virtually unbreakable, and offer unusual design freedom, combining toughness, clarity and chemical resistance. Thanks to a direct removal of this fully massive, isomorphic, and smooth piece from the mould, no mould parting line is visible, leaving the transparency of the cap perfect. The glass-clear appearance of Surlyn makes it the perfect complicated partner of fine glass and crystal.
It is one of the materials most favoured by designers, for complicated and bold designs.

Tide PODS Liquid Unit Dose Laundry Detergent
This new, brightly coloured liquid unit dose product, developed by Procter & Gamble, is the first three-chamber unit dose in this category, offering an ultra-convenient, 3-in-1 laundry detergent. The unit dose detergent features three chambers especially designed to brighten, fight stains and clean. Tide Pods also feature a film, from MonoSol, that dissolves and works effectively in all water temperatures.

Tide PODS eliminates spills and the need to measure and pour liquid detergents. The pre-measured unit dose pack uses a specially-developed film that dissolves completely in the wash, even in cold water, enabling consumers to reduce energy use by washing more loads in cold water. Tide PODS tubs, made of 25% recycled PET, and the stand-up bags, reduce plastics use by 50% per load and total packaging material use by 11% per load compared to liquid laundry detergent bottles.

Procter & Gamble warned the consumer that, as with all laundry products, Tide Pods packages should be kept closed and stored out of reach from children and away from pets and food. However it seems that this warning didn’t work quite well.

This week P&G announced that it is adding a child-resistant closure to Tide Pods packaging to deter children from eating the brightly coloured packets that look like candy. The company says that it plans to create a new double latch lid on tubs of Tide Pods “in the next couple of weeks”, as nearly 250 cases have been reported to poison control centres. No deaths have been reported.

That was my selection of the winners of the DuPont Packaging Awards 2012.

I freely extract and interpret some of his words:
The Awards within the industry seem to have gotten a little crazy, with all the trade magazines and websites having their packaging of the year and annual package design winners. If these awards were more selective, they would feel more meaningful, but in many cases they are rewarding very mediocre design. Apparently it is a money cow for the organising media.
Through a critical eye, there is still so much potential in transforming the way the industry projects itself, and the push towards more credible marketing and branding. But the visual and environmental language of these shows fight against this if we are to be honest. Too often the agendas are the epitome of the “The Self-Congratulatory Syndrome”: monotonous speakers presenting case studies with innovative “NEW” ideas like” “compare & save” or maybe a new “value tier”. None of this screams “innovation”.
Too much praise, too little critique as of late. A little more critique can spur new ideas, new branding and a new way of measuring our success.

Consumer-Inspired Design Revolutionizes Laundry Experience with Tide PODS Liquid Unit Dose Laundry Detergent by Procter & Gamble

I must say, I fully agree with Perry. There are too many packaging awards and they don’t have any value. However, that said, there are some (too few really) very valuable Awards in the packaging world. Indisputable one of the best is the DuPont Packaging Award. At least DuPont is respected and consequently receives sufficient quality entries to be able to submit a well-founded juror-report. Fortunately the DuPont jurors are not blinded by fancy graphics and shapes, but include proper packaging technology improvements in their judgements. I don’t agree with all of the choices, but at least DuPont comes up, each year, with a fair share of real innovations in packaging. And that’s something you can’t say about most of the packaging award competitions.

DuPont Packaging Awards 2012
Several leading brands, Heinz, Kraft, Pepperidge Farm, Cadbury and Unilever , took home awards in the 24th DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation, the industry’s longest-running, global, independently judged celebration of innovation and collaboration throughout the value chain.

I made a selection of the winners, I think are worth a closer look. In two articles (each one three innovations) I will describe the following winners:
1.    The FreshCase packaging technology for meat.
2.    The Kraft YES Pack.
3.    The Ultra-Freshness Preservation Freezing System.
4.    Sulhwasoo Dahamsul’s cream jar.
5.    The Tide PODS Liquid Unit Dose Laundry Detergent.
6.    And finally the Microcellular Technology of InCycle CPET

FreshCase Packaging for Fresh Red Meats
FreshCase packaging, developed by Curwood, Inc is claimed to be the first-ever, vacuum package for red meat that maintains the meat’s appetizing colour through a found-in-nature proprietary additive in the contact layer of the barrier package.

Traditional vacuum-packaged meat is “purple”, deemed distasteful by many consumers who equate colour with freshness. FreshCase packaging also extends shelf life 10 times longer than store-wrapped meat.
The combination of longer shelf life and more appetizing appearance promises to both reduce food waste and increase the availability of proteins in areas further away from food sources.

As an alternative for modified atmosphere (MAP) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) trays with PVC overwrap that dominate the case-ready meat segment, FreshCase enables 75% less markdowns/waste than store-wrapped meats, less landfill waste and reduces packaging materials up to 75%, compared to other case-ready formats, thereby improving sustainability.
Compared to case-ready EPS/PVC packages that are centrally packed, FreshCase packaging eliminates the aesthetic drawbacks of high-oxygen gas-flushed packaging, such as “black bones.” It also eliminates the appearance of excess packaging common with gas-flushed packaging due to the amount of headspace required in MAP packages.

Vacuum-packed FreshCase packages are hermetically sealed, eliminating the problem of leaky meat packages in the retail case, shopping cart and checkout counter.
FreshCase packaging is USDA-approved for a shelf life up to 36 days for whole muscle beef and 34 days for ground beef.

According to the DuPont Award jurors, FreshCase packaging addresses the important effort to help ensure food maintains its nutritional value and freshness and greatly reduces food waste from spoilage.

Kraft YES Pack, Easy-Open Condiment Package
In November 2010 I wrote on this blog about the Smart Bottle from ExoPack. Exopack’s Smart Bottle features a four sided sealed pouch that is blow moulded into a “bottle”. After filling, the four side-seals form the four vertical corners of a lightweight, semi-rigid, threaded “bottle”, the result of merging different packaging technologies together.

At that time I stated that the packaging was not yet commercially available, but was tested in volume sizes ranging from ½ gallon, up to 5 gallons. It can hold either dry or liquid contents and can be printed on all four sides.
And there it is in the market, introduced by Kraft Foods.

The Kraft YES Pack, which stands for Yield, Ease and Sustainability, is an environmentally friendly flexible gallon dressing package. Yes Pack is designed to help Foodservice Operators manage costs and improve back-of-house efficiencies with improved dressing yield of up to 99% (compared to rigid gallon jugs). The dual handled design allows for easy carrying and the smaller spout provides precision pouring.

In comparison to the production of the rigid gallon jug, the company claims, that the YES Pack is made with: 50% less energy, 60% less plastic, and 70% fewer CO2 emissions from transportation.

The Yes Pack is a stand-up pouch, made from a flexible nylon-polyethylene blend film, with dual handles, and a rigid screw cap closure that replaces the traditional rigid plastic container for salad dressings.

“We have eliminated 70% of the inbound transportation required to produce our salad dressing containers by no longer having trucks deliver empty bottles to Kraft”, the company stated. “Now, we manufacture Yes Pack at the same location as where our dressing is produced”.

Kraft partnered with PE International, a sustainability consulting company, to conduct a Life Cycle Assessment, which quantified the environmental benefits of the Yes Pack. The Life Cycle Assessment is a standardized method of evaluating environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of a product from raw material production, manufacturing and use, all the way through disposal.

The packaging is more compact than rigid jugs, and flattens when empty, which can provide easier disposal and lower waste-removal costs. When it comes to recyclability, the original rigid bottle is actually easier to recycle, as the Yes Pack may not be accepted for recycling in all areas. Kraft stated while the original rigid bottle is more accepted by recycling programs the recycling rate was low.

As of now, the Yes Pack is designed only for Kraft’s foodservice salad dressing portfolio.

Electro-Conductive Packaging Helps Keep Frozen Food ‘Fresh’
The Ultra-Freshness Preservation Freezing System, using high “Electric Potential” and Electro Conductive Packaging, is developed by Mutsumi Chemical Industry Co Ltd, in collaboration with Sun Electric Company Ltd and Enshu-Kasei Co Ltd, all from Japan.
The combination of rapid freezing and the innovative electro-conductive bag preserves food taste and texture, reducing the amount of edible food thrown away.

The Ultra-Freshness Preservation Freezing System uses technology proven in the electronics industry to ensure food quality and increase both shelf life and appeal. This rapid-freezing system uses both alternating and direct current, high “electric potential”, at the same time to rapidly cool the product without oxidization, reducing the size of ice crystals that form in food cells. This process relies on a unique package design that includes an electro conductive bag made of Linear-LDPE and DuPont Entira AS.

The electro conductive bag needs a bit of an explanation.
Antistatic, electrostatic dissipative (ESD) and conductive additives are migrating antistats which diffuse to the polymer surface over time, creating a thin layer that attracts water molecules. The water molecules provide a conductive pathway that prevents build-up of static electricity. Antistatic additives reduce a polymer’s surface resistivity to the range of 1010 to 1012 ohms/sq., providing a slow static decay rate that prevents charge accumulation.
Antistats are used widely in packaging such as film, thermoformed containers, and PET bottles, in which they help surfaces separate during production and reduce dust attraction for short-term cosmetic improvement.

Inherently dissipative polymers (IDPs) form a conductive polymer matrix or interpenetrating network within the base polymer, offering non-leaching, permanent static dissipation at a faster static decay rate than migrating antistats typically 108 to 1012 ohms/sq. surface resistivity, depending on amount and dispersion of the additive in the polymer. Unlike migrating antistats, most IDPs operate nearly independent of relative humidity, although surface resistivity will be slightly higher (less conductive) at low moisture levels. IDPs are colourable and non-sloughing, giving them an advantage over carbon blacks.

DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers family of high-performance modifiers impart specific desired properties to a wide variety of polymers. The first product in the DuPont Entira line to be introduced globally was Entira AS. Developed by DuPont-Mitsui Polychemicals Co Ltd, a joint venture between DuPont and Mitsui Chemicals Inc, Entira AS offers excellent antistatic properties, high frequency weldability and high moisture permeability.
DuPont’s Entira Antistat IDP is based on an ethylene ionomer, which makes it compatible with polyolefins as well as other polymers like ABS and polystyrene. This compatibility results in transparency and a smooth surface for polyolefin packaging and blow moulded containers. Because it does not migrate, Entira AS does not interfere with film sealing properties.

Entira Antistat SD 100 has food contact approvals and maintains resistivity of 107 to 1012 at low relative humidity levels (down to 12-15%), but is limited to lower processing temperatures.

These were the first three winners of the DuPont Packaging Awards 2012. Next article about the Sulhwasoo Dahamsul’s cream jar, the Tide PODS Liquid Unit Dose Laundry Detergent, and as last the Microcellular Technology of InCycle CPET.

Johnnie Walker’s Diamond Jubilee Scotch Whisky
From all whisky brands out there to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the Johnnie Walker & Sons, the Scotch Whisky distillers by Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen, holds a special place.

Only 60 bottles of the Diamond Jubilee Scotch Whisky, made by Johnnie Walker, have been produced for sale, and are being offered to known collectors of rare and expensive whiskies. One will be gifted to the Queen and the others will be sold around the world for GBP 100,000 (USD 160,000) each.

The bottling, which took place 60 years to the day since the Queen’s accession on 6 February 1952, is a blend of rare malt and grain Scotch whiskies distilled in and maturing since 1952.

Johnnie Walker’s Diamond Jubilee Scotch Whisky is not just a blend of whiskies, but of a host of different crafts. The crystal diamond-shaped decanter is from Baccarat, its silver collar and stopper has been hand-crafted by Hamilton & Inches in Edinburgh and it resides inside a cabinet which has been made with wood from two of the Queen’s estates. There are two hand-etched Cumbrian crystal glasses and the presentation is completed with a white leather hand-bound book personalized by the Queen’s calligrapher Sally Mangum.

The diamond-shaped Baccarat crystal decanter stands on a crystal base with six radial legs to reflect the decades of the Queen’s reign, and is adorned with Britannia silver, selected for its purity.

Each edition also includes a pair of lead Cumbria Crystal glasses engraved by Philip Lawson Johnston and a commemorative artefact book, hand bound by Laura West at her Isle of Skye bindery and personalised for each owner by Sally Mangum, Calligrapher By Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen.

All the elements are housed in a chest made by the cabinet makers at N.E.J. Stevenson, incorporating oak from Sandringham to echo the whisky marrying casks and Caledonian pine from The Queen’s Balmoral Estate.

A minimum donation of £1 million from the sales of Diamond Jubilee by John Walker & Sons will be given to the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST), a registered charity in England, which provides grants to British craftspeople and in doing so, keeps many highly specialized trades alive.

Of course there are more whisky distillers with Jubilee versions. Let’s have a look at Glen Grant. A brand I very much love as it is the only malt whisky I can buy (for a reasonable price) here in the Amazon delta. The rest is just scrap. So, Glen Grant’s Diamond Jubilee Whisky.

Glen Grant 60 Years Old Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Whisky
Gordon & MacPhail,  the Elgin based and family-run single malt specialist, has released just 85 bottles of Glen Grant 60 Years Old Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Whisky. They are on sale for the GBP 7,995 (USD 12,660). The 60-year-old malt from Glen Grant was originally distilled on 2 February 1952, just four days before the Queen acceded the throne.

The Jubilee Whisky is presented in a pyramid shaped crystal decanter adorned with a diamond shaped stopper. The crystal decanter and diamond shaped stopper have been created by the family owned company, Glencairn Crystal. Each decanter is expertly engraved (the script in-filled with silver) and uniquely numbered. The decanter carries an engraved crown with a sparking Swarovski crystal, set at the meeting point of the crowns two arches. A silver collar, placed around the neck of the decanter completes the presentation.

Two pieces of silver, created by Edinburgh based silversmith ScottishSilver, adorn the Single Malt. The first is an elegant Sterling silver collar engraved with the number “60”. The second is a Sterling silver stopper sealing the precious contents within the decanter. The silver stopper, which has the familiar G&M seal of quality stamped on it, can be removed and replaced with the diamond shaped crystal stopper should the owner so desire.

The decanter is packaged in a hand-crafted box made of Scottish Elm, felled a short distance from Holyrood House, the Queen’s official Scottish residence.Each box has been skilfully created by cabinet maker Ross Samson and his team at his workshop in East Kilbride. For over 12 years Ross has created a wide variety of furniture and cabinets and is a founding member of the Scottish Furniture Makers Association.

The wood was kiln dried for 6-8 weeks before arriving at Ross’s workshop. The planks were prepared and measured before being cut to size. Owners of this hand-crafted product will note the continuous grain on four sides of the box. Mitre lock joints were prepared and the diamond shapes were meticulously cut out using a jig saw. The glass panels were fastened in place before all sides of the box were carefully glued together.

The box was then cut to create two sections and locks were fitted. The box was then engraved and in-filled with a silver wax made from beeswax and a metallic pigment. To protect the wood, a handmade stain – made from bitumen and orange oil – was painstakingly applied. Finally the box was hand rubbed using wire wool. Harris Tweed was added to the base of the box.

Harris Tweed is the only fabric in the world governed by its own Act of Parliament. The law decrees that genuine Harris Tweed must be made from pure virgin wool which has been dyed and spun on the islands and hand-woven at the home of the weaver, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.

Gordon & MacPhail Glen Grant 60 Years Old nestles in luxurious, purple Harris Tweed, which lines the hand-crafted box. A jacket made from the same material protects the box and the precious contents.

The certificate to accompany Glen Grant 60 Years Old has been created by Piccolo Press. Based in Nairn in northern Scotland, Piccolo Press has retained the timeless skills of letterpress and engraving.
One side of the certificate uses amethyst coloured card and has the Gordon & MacPhail stag’s head logo die-stamped in silver. The flip side of the certificate has been die-stamped in silver, and letterpress printed in amethyst on white card. Once the two pieces of card have been laminated together a silver gilt edge has been added. An envelope, beautifully die-stamped in silver, completes the presentation.

Hollandia Live Gourmet Butter Lettuce
At the recent conference of the Produce Marketing Association the squircle clamshell of Hollandia Produce LLC won one of the five 2011 PMA Impact Awards for Excellence in Packaging.

The new Squircle design is an attractive improvement on the antiquated design of Hollandia’s Live Gourmet Living Butter Lettuce. An eye catching, colourful and communicative label compliments the new design and acts as a tamper evident seal for the new package.
One of the important factors that consumers told Hollandia through test markets and additional focus groups was that they wanted a clamshell they could open and close with one hand.

The new Squircle design (A squircle is a special case of a superellipse that has both the properties of a square and a circle) incorporates the best features of both a square and a circle to create the ultimate package for living lettuce.

Hollandia Produce LLC claims that the new form and function of the Squircle design reshape and optimize the space utilized to package the lettuce and enables automated packaging systems. Additionally the new form eliminates unused space in the master carton allowing for a 20% increase in units per pallet. A 15% source reduction in RPC PETE used to make the clamshell has been achieved and the new harness style companion master carton used to ship the product reduces total annual cardboard used to package the product by 40%.

Two Piece Display-Ready Asparagus Shipper
Gourmet Trading Company, a North American distributor of fresh asparagus and blueberries, won the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IoPP) 2012 AmeriStar Packaging Competition with its Two Piece Display-Ready Asparagus Shipper.

Developed in 2010 by Gourmet Trading Company and California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo the package offers the unique ability to be converted from a shipper to a display in the matter of seconds without the use of a box cutter.

The Two Piece Display-Ready Asparagus Shipper is filled the same way as a regular 11lb asparagus shipper. The simple instructions on the package make it easy for retail store employees to separate the top from the tray. The tray can be displayed on a 60 degree shelf creating a clean presentation with branding.

The display tray can hold bunches of asparagus vertically to enhance display appeal and to keep the butt ends in contact with a water-saturated pad. This moisture pad at the bottom of the tray keeps the asparagus looking fresh.

The shipper is made of corrugated polypropylene and accommodates manual set up and packing, while they can be palletised 20 per tier in an eight-tier stack for shipment.

The design of the die-cut, two-piece shipper maintains ventilation areas for hydro-cooling and fumigation of the asparagus and weighs the same as its predecessor (9.6 oz) yet has 27% greater compression strength.

The new design was validated against physical and ambient environment-related abuse experienced during distribution through the pre-shipment test standard ASTM D 4169.

Peel/Reseal Apio Squash Package
The thermoformed Peel/Reseal Apio Squash Package was developed by Clear Lam Packaging and provides consumers with an intuitive easy opening and closing feature for portion control. The peal/reseal film eliminates the need for traditional rigid lids and shrink-bands. The technology is incorporated into the lidding film, which can be printed to maximize branding opportunities. The film also can be hermetically sealed to a tray to help extend freshness.

Processors can apply the new peel and reseal lidding on conventional tray sealing lines. Modified atmosphere packaging can also be incorporated. The new package can be used for cut vegetables, fruits and other food items.

The packaging received at the recent conference of the Produce Marketing Association one of the five 2011 PMA Impact Awards for Excellence in Packaging.

Ocean Mist microwavable artichokes
It is well-known that many consumers view preparing of artichokes as the major barrier to purchase. Offering prepared artichokes makes eating fresh artichokes easy and convenient. The ability to pre-season the artichokes (prior to cooking) is an exclusive convenience attribute to the produce department.

Ocean Mist Farms new “Season & Steam” microwavable artichoke bag features two, fresh artichokes that are cleaned, trimmed and ready to cook. The packaging gives users the option to open the bag, pre-season the artichokes to their preference, then reseal the package and steam by microwave. All within the same bag.

The bag, which was in test market at retail stores in northern California last fall, is now more widely available at grocery stores.

The “Season & Steam” microwavable artichoke bag was a finalist in the PMA’s annual innovation in packaging awards competition. The company was one of five fresh produce companies named a packaging innovator by the Produce Marketing Assn. (PMA). The award recognizes companies with exceptional produce packaging that demonstrates “out-of-the-box-thinking” and makes an impact on consumers.

Pattruss, the tetrahedral salad bag from Japan
The tetrahedral shape is well-known, particularly due to the introduction of the Tetra Pak tetrahedron, years ago. In flexible packaging it was used in the past because its truss structure is strong against crushing. With the original opening style of Pattruss, this simple bag provides innovative usefulness.

Besides protecting the contents to the point of consumption, the shape of the bag itself can be changed into a boat, functioning as a dish when it gets torn from the centre of one edge. This boat shaped opening allows easy pick-up and quick eating without preparing dishes.

The Pattruss Z (Zed) is an extra-large tetrahedral bag with zipper. The bag is designed especially for salads. It has a reclosable zipper seal to maintain freshness, for example of leaf salads. The film material is strong enough for the bag to be opened and closed many times but it can also be torn open for immediate use.

The company claims that Pattruss is comparable to rigid packages (clam shells) in terms of protecting content, but weighing less, using less material, while the freshness of the produce lasts longer due to the level of oxygen.

More fresh produce packages to come.

However I am more interested in what we are doing to conserve the beauty of this earth, or what is still left of it. And then of course in relation to packaging. That brought me to write an essay about the future of packaging.

I am not a futurist, I have no crystal ball. I am solely interested in the future of packaging as a result of developments in packaging technology. Setting the parameters of future packaging will be my theme of this Earth Day.

The consumer is King
It looks like as if packaging is a doomed species. Doomed as a growing hard-core group of consumers only typify it as wasteful and not only think, but promote vigorously that less consumption will save the world and consequently prefer to abandon all packaging.
Looking at the past, we must agree that they have a point.

The modern consumer in general is romanticizing nature and demonizing the industry. And let’s be honest the industry indeed is the culprit.
When you look at all the press releases over the last few years relating the millions of pounds in saving of packaging material, you really wonder what the packaging industries as well as the packaged goods companies have done in the years before. And although there is a lot done, the industry hasn’t come much farther than trimming down, down weighting and using thinner material. There is an absolute end to all that. We have to be a little bit more intelligent.

In 1992 at the “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro the word “eco-efficiency” was coined. This, so it was hoped, would transform industry from a system that takes, makes, and wastes into one that integrates economic, environmental and ethical concerns. Essentially, eco-efficiency means doing more with less. Although crucial, eco-efficiency only slows down the rate of environmental damage and resource depletion.

And that brings us to biodegradability. The big ‘green-washing’ slogan, found in any press release and in these days on almost any label.
Let’s face the bitter truth. More than 80% of packaging ends up at landfills, where nothing biodegrades. A situation which will not change in the near future.

Composting companies don’t touch so called biodegradable material, as it biodegrades too slowly and with residues unknown. The landscape is littered with packaging and even worse most consumers can’t determine whether a packaging is biodegradable or not.

And as final point. It might biodegrade at the long run, but it doesn’t enrich the soil. Conclusion: It is a waste. A cradle-to-grave solution.
Eco-efficiency, and that includes biodegradability, lets industry finish off everything: quietly, persistently, and completely.
Case in point: Composting-an-end-of-life alternative offered by PLA and others, is an inefficient (and I even want to define it as an immoral) way and only serves the slogans of marketing.

A new philosophy emerged: Cradle-to-Cradle
The funny thing is that, in contrast to eco-efficiency, the cradle-to-cradle philosophy encourages consumers to buy more products. However the condition is, that they do so from innovative companies which have policies in place to recycle old products, turning waste into new products.
Cradle-to-Cradle allows us to feel good again about being consumers, but to also take responsibility about whom we buy new goods from.

The term cradle-to-cradle is often used for situations in which the recycled material is used for (secondary or low-quality) products. I strongly object to that definition and want it to be narrowed down to reusing the packaging material for equally qualified new packaging material. I decline the option of cradle-to-substitute. So when the industry thinks it can recycle from packaging material to children’s toys, drainage pipes or whatever product, it is on the wrong track and the consumer will recognise the company as one which is still using virgin resources exclusively.

However, you could argue, that the current system for recycling is ineffective. And indeed it is a fragmented infrastructure based on municipal boundaries, and each area does collection differently and selective waste collection often loses in the battle for funding. But that is no reason for the industry, to run away from the problem, as Extended Producer Responsibility is lurking around the corner.

Extended Producer Responsibility
Begun 20 years ago as a solution to landfill problems in Europe, more than 30 countries now have some type of EPR packaging law. EPR programs shift the costs and responsibilities to the marketplace. Extended producer responsibility may be as many as 5 to 10 years from becoming a reality in the United States and everywhere else, it will inevitably arrive. So much better to join the pack early on.

EPR makes sure that everyone involved in the life cycle of the product shares in the responsibility for the product’s life cycle impact. What’s more, based on the experience, the overall costs, per ton, in EPR systems for packaging in Europe tend to decline over time.

To conclude: Besides consumer convenience, “waste-control” is the most important parameter for the future of packaging. Although of imminent importance, basically it has nothing to do with developments in new materials, but all with the future of Mother Earth.

So don’t wait for some high-tech solution to start controlling your waste.

I wish everybody a fruitful Earth Day. As ………..

In three articles I like to highlight the recent developments in packaging of fresh produce. Fresh produce can be seen as one of the most important commodities of the food market. And only growing in importance, as more and more consumers opt for fresh and minimally processed food.

As an example we take the Scots. Scots are purchasing more fresh fruits and vegetables than other Britons. A study shows that Scots are more likely to cook fresh foods at home, buy fresh foods and choose food because of its healthiness than those south of the border.
According to the research Scots appear to be happy to spend more of their cash on organic food, being 9% more likely to do so than those in Britain as a whole. Fruit is particularly popular with Scottish kids, with 23% of fruit being eaten because it is “a favourite,” up from 15% in 2010. Children also consumed 11 million more servings of fruit last year than they did in 2010.

But the popularity of fresh produce also has its seamy side. It has been estimated that up to 25% of food is thrown away within the supply chain from grower to retailer to in-home. Vegetables and then fruit are the main contenders. In Germany, for example, where fresh produce is very popular, the consumers throw out nearly 82 kilos of food every year, including fruits and vegetables that they deem as unattractive in appearance.
This translates in almost 11 million tonnes of wasted food nationally each year. 60% of this, according to a study, comes from private households, 17% from restaurants, schools, cafes and the like and another 17% from industry. The remainder can be accounted for by retail wastage.

Everybody who claims that packaging is a waste of resources, has to take a look at the waste figures of fresh produce and multiply that, in case packaging should be eliminated. Many packaging companies, universities and research institute are concentrating their efforts on packaging material that will improve and extend the shelf-life and freshness of fresh produce. It is the only way to reduce the exorbitant quantity of fruits and vegetables thrown away.

But it isn’t only waste. While fresh fruit and vegetable consumption is linked to a plethora of health benefits, it can also be a source of foodborne illness. Globally, there has been an increase in the number of outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with fresh foodstuffs, and in particular ready-to-eat fruit and vegetables.

The fresh-cut industry is heavily dependent on chlorine as one of the most effective sanitizers to assure the safety of their produce.
However, in light of concerns about the environmental and health risks associated with the formation of carcinogenic disinfection by-products, there is increasing pressure on the industry to eliminate chlorine from the disinfection process. The use of chlorine for the disinfection of fresh produce is currently banned in some countries, such as Germany and Switzerland. In any case recontamination of the washed produce by pathogens poses a risk even after washing with chlorine, as they grow faster on cleaned produce.

Let me start with mentioning a new research project to extend shelf-life of fruit and vegetables.

The Safe-Bag Project
Building upon existing research into the use of non-thermal plasma technology for the in-pack decontamination of food products undertaken by Purdue University and project partner Dublin Institute of Technology, the Safe-Bag project will develop an alternative technology.

The €2.4 million EU-funded project aims to reduce microbes on fresh produce ensuring that technology does not affect the nutritional properties, texture or taste of the packaged fruit and vegetables.

It’s obvious that treating fresh produce is more difficult in comparison to foods such as milk where you can use heat. The Safe-Bag approach is to package fresh produce inside any type of plastic packaging and then pass that package through a dielectric plasma discharge. The system uses plasma within the bag for a very short period of time, and make active species within the bag, which inactivate the bacteria. Plasma (an energetic ionized gas) is widely used for industrial materials processing, and has shown promise as a decontamination tool for food contact surfaces.

The Safe-Bag project aims at developing a novel continuous in-pack decontamination system for fresh-cut produce. A prototype of the system will be built and tested at fresh fruit and vegetable processing facilities to validate its performance under industrial conditions. Extensive laboratory trials will be carried out to validate the anti-microbial efficacy of the system at industrial scale, to confirm there are no changes in the nutritional and quality parameters of treated produce and to determine its shelf-life.

As for the time being we are faced with fruits washed in chlorine and might have residues of pesticides, we have to find a way to securely wash the apple before we take a bite.

Dissolvable Fruitwash Labels
Scott Amron, a US engineer has “always been discontent with fruit labels and felt they could do more than just display product info and be difficult to peel off”. His statement: “We buy, wash and eat fruit. So, the wash step was the next thing the label should help with”, let to the development of the “soap-label”, officially coined by him as the “Fruitwash Label”
It’s based on the oval or circular peel-off labels fixed to the skins of fruits, however the labels essentially dissolve into an organic soap mixture which can then be used as a cleaning product, partly aiding in the removal of substances from the fruit or vegetable’s surface.

While the labels resist water, they dissolve when rubbed. Prior to the fruits or vegetables passing into consumers’ hands, though, they can function in the same way as a traditional label, displaying barcode information for retail stock-check purposes alongside the retail price.

The Fruitwash Labels haven’t yet reached the production stage, but Scott Amron is presently seeking an investor to purchase a stake in the Fruitwash Label Intellectual Property.

It’sFresh! Extends the shelf life of fruit
British retail group Marks & Spencer introduced an advanced new packaging design for its fruit products. The system is similar to that introduced last year by British supermarket chain Tesco. It’sFresh! was commercially adopted last year after extensive trialling on berries. Tesco will be the first retailer to confirm that the apparent benefits from a successful series of simulation tests will be transferred to the store and home environments.

It has been developed and brought to market in the UK by It’sFresh Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Food Freshness Technology, claiming that it is 100 times more effective than any similar existing materials.
The technology is a food grade non-woven strip (8 cm by 4.5cm) coated with a high tech mixture of minerals and clays that allows for removal of endogenous ethylene in fruit and vegetables to below physiologically active levels, thus reducing spoilage.

Laura Howes wrote in the Chemistry World an explanation: “The packaging apparently uses an 8cm x 4.5cm strip that contains ‘a patented mixture of clay and other minerals that absorb ethylene. Ethylene, or as we chemists tend to refer to it, ethene, is the smallest possible alkene and a well-known plant hormone involved in the ripening of fruit. It’s why the trick of putting a ripe banana in a bag with unripe fruit will ripen it. I haven’t found the patent from the firm involved, but we can make some educated guesses about how this works. Clay is an aluminosilicate with a large volume, so perhaps what we’re talking about something akin to a zeolite, with a large surface area for the gaseous ethene to adsorb onto. And as for the other minerals, perhaps the pores are impregnated with some antibacterial agent, like silver, to keep the fruit extra fresh. That’d be my guess”.

From now on, the inside of strawberry packaging sold in Marks & Spencer will boast the legend ‘It’s Fresh’. The writing will actually be on the rectangular strip that allows the fruit’s lives to be extended.

The incorporation of this freshening strip doesn’t affect the punnets’ recyclability one bit and it is Marks & Spencer’s intention to make it a standard feature across its entire packaged fruit range. The firm’s also commented that there’ll be no increase in price made to account for this new fresher fruit packaging’s introduction.

Tesco Fresh Produce Aisle

Trials carried out in M&S stores showed a minimum wastage saving of 4% – during the peak strawberry season this would equate to 40,000 packs, or about 800,000 strawberries.
In the meantime Tesco has estimated that the new It’sFresh! ethylene remover introduced after extensive testing last year could eventually save the fresh produce industry “millions of pounds” through its ability to enhance shelf life quality and reduce waste.

The next article about the Squircle clamshell of Hollandia, the Two Piece Display-Ready Asparagus Shipper, the Peel/Reseal Apio Squash Package and Ocean Mist’s microwavable artichokes .

For the pharmaceutical industry, the multi-page leaflets have been especially noticeable, as strict regulatory control has increased the need for more product information, often in multiple languages.

It’s not unusual for the published usage instructions and safety information provided with prescription and over-the-counter drugs to get lost, once in the hands of patients. A solution for this problem is offered by Burgopack and Medica Packaging. The packaging of Burgopack encourages compliance by keeping the PIL, blistered product and outer carton permanently connected through a unique sliding mechanism. Medica’s Chrysalis Carton blends the PIL (Patient Information Leaflet) directly into the structure of the carton itself.

As both packages use blisters I added the newest development in blister packaging, namely the paper-free Child-Resistant Blister Lidding Foil of Constantia Flexibles Ltd.
All three are linked to each other, as you will see that they use either the design or the material of each other.

Chrysalis Combines Drug Packet and Patient Leaflet
Medica’s Chrysalis Carton design blends the PIL (Patient Information Leaflet) directly into the structure of the carton itself. Important information about the medication is conveniently connected to the outer carton for the entirety of the products lifecycle.

The Chrysalis Carton was shown in public for the first time at the Pharmapack Europe exhibition held last month in Paris, France.

The Chrysalis Carton from Medica Packaging permanently connects the outer carton and patient information leaflet (PIL) together. The design keeps the leaflet compact and accessible for when the consumer needs access to information about the product. The easy-tear perforation on the back panel of the pack allows the consumer to access information without destroying the whole carton. The large perforated flap to access the leaflet takes up approximately two-thirds of the surface area of the back panel.
With the patient information leaflet already attached to the pack there is no need to insert a separate PIL along with the pack contents.

The company claims, that the design also has the ability to simplify the manufacturing process as the carton is supplied with the leaflet already applied, there is no need to insert it separately. This allows for increased output through faster product inserting, whilst simultaneously decreasing costs.

The fully-patented Chrysalis Carton is brought to market by Burgopak Healthcare & Technology and manufactured under license by Medica Packaging Ltd.

The Burgopak child-resistant slider
The Burgopak child-resistant slider encourages compliance by keeping the PIL, blistered product and outer carton permanently connected through the sliding mechanism. The child-resistant pack’s functionality is based on a pressure point locking system. The blister and PIL are exposed at opposite ends of the pack when the user simultaneously pushes on two tabs and slides the pack open.

For the double-blister pack, the consumer pulls a blister on one side out of the box, which automatically pushes the second blister out the other side. When it is a single-blister pack, the PIL-booklet appears at the other side of the box.
The secret of the packaging, designed by Burgopak, is the sliding band. This band wraps horizontally around the inner panel of the cardboard sleeve. The left side of a paperboard card with a leaflet glued to it is attached to the band. The left side of a blister is then glued to the back of the band. When a blister on the right is extracted, the sliding band pulls to the right and pushes the other blister to the left.

It can be produced in single- and double-blister designs, and even can contain two different products. All designs include PILs which are printed and supplied in a pre-folded booklet format.

The pack is produced on Burgopak’s fully automated machinery and can be supplied to global pharmaceutical and healthcare companies.

The design successfully achieved the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission’s F=1 child resistance and senior friendly effectiveness. This is in conformity with US regulatory standards for poison prevention packaging. This was achieved with impressive results: resistant effectiveness at a pass rate of 98% and senior adult use effectiveness at 95%.

Note: Lisa McTigue Pierce wrote in Packaging Digest a beautiful story about the process of manufacturing and filling the Burgopak sliding blister pack. Worth a read.

Child-Resistant Blister Pack
The Child-Resistant Blister Pack, which was designed for Staxyn, an erectile dysfunction drug from Bayer Pharma, meets both child-resistant and senior-friendly requirements. It has been tested successfully for those two parameters on the American market and will be introduced worldwide in the near future.

This Blister consists of a Coldform Foil and a paper-free Child-Resistant Blister Lidding Foil, Alu15/PET12/Alu15/peelable heat seal lacquer.

Compared with conventional paper/PET/aluminium laminates, the paper-free Child-Resistant Blister Lidding Foil of Constantia Flexibles offers a number of benefits.
For the paper-free make-up of the blister lidding foil the sealing temperature on the blister line is lower than for conventional alu/paper laminates. In turn this means energy consumption is reduced and, as dwell times in the sealing section can be reduced, the blister machine can operate at higher speeds. A further advantage is improved process stability as the bubbles, which could sometimes occur in the paper during sealing, have been completely eliminated.

Furthermore, due to the material composition, using a water-based primer on the decorative outer layer, rather than a primer containing solvents, provides pharmaceutical companies with a sustainable alternative to standard blister lidding foil. The primer also resists the high sealing temperatures generated during the packaging process.

With this new primer a saving of more than 220 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2011 was possible and according to estimations this figure will increase to more than 640 tonnes per annum in 2012 and beyond.

This Child-Resistant Blister Lidding Foil is available for the opening mechanism peel & push, peel-off or bend & tear.

Gerhard Schubert presented its new tube filling and closing machine, Robert Bosch Packaging Technology presented its new SurePOUCH clean-fill (SPC) machine, and K-Robotix showed its robots for (naked) food products. We end with an auxiliary item, namely the SmartReflect with transparent detection from Baumer.

New Tube Filling and Closing Machine
Gerhard Schubert GmbH presented its new tube filling and closing machine.

In the first sub-machine, starting on the right, tubes are unpacked from shipping cartons fully automatically and moved onto a trans-module transport section in a mass flow. In the second sub-machine, the tubes are transferred from the mass flow to a single-row transport section and at the same time aligned according to their printing marks. These tubes are then filled in the third sub-machine by an eight-position volume dosing station. Upon request, the volume dosing station can also be replaced by weight dosing. The closing is performed using ultrasound in the fourth sub-machine. Only 1/16 of the standard welding energy is required for ultrasonic welding. The tubes are sealed with a cold sealing tool, and any product located in the sealing zone does not negatively affect the quality of the seal.

The tube filling machine, exhibited in Cologne, had an output of 200 tubes per minute. On TLM tube filling machines of various configuration levels, up to 800 tubes can be filled and closed per minute. As it is a modular system, the TLM tube filling and closing machine can be completed to a compact individual packaging line by attaching additional sub-machines.

The TLM packaging machine system is highly flexible due to its simple mechanical design, intelligent control system and exchangeable tools. On TLM filling machines liquid or pasty products can also be filled into bottles, cans or bags.

The SurePOUCH stand-up flexible pack
The SurePOUCH clean-fill (SPC) machine of Robert Bosch Packaging Technology is a roll-fed vertical form, fill and seal (VFFS) machine with a footprint of six square meters that produces the SurePOUCH, a new line of reclosable, flexible stand-up pouches with multiple shape and fitment options.

The SPC can produce four different pouch formats. The formats EZPouch, EZGable and EZSquare, with filling volumes from 100 ml to 5 litres, offer flexible applications for retail. For food service, the EZPillow can hold up to 20 litres, allowing for easy and quick refilling. All formats are produced, filled and sealed with the same machine. This enhances flexibility for the manufacturer since it allows the user to expand the product portfolio without fundamentally converting the production line.
The new vertical form, fill and seal machine is capable of filling a variety of products, achieving hygiene standards up to ultra clean-fill. SurePOUCH packs are also fitted with reclosable spouts, which are ultrasonically welded to the exterior of the pouch and can be positioned in various locations. They provide an enhanced hygienic feature as the product is filled directly into the pouch and not through the spout. The closure only comes in contact with the product when the consumer opens the package. The spouts are available in sizes of 10, 20 and 30 mm. Bosch also provides customized options, while drinking straws or simple tear-notches can be added. For the food service sector, adjusting extra handles to the upper seam simplifies lifting and dosing when pouring.

Clean-filled applications for the SurePOUCH include non-carbonated beverages and water, dairy products, concentrates, soups, sauces and dressings. The SurePOUCH system is capable of filling viscous liquids up to 25,000 centipoises as well as particulates up to 25 mm in diameter while protecting particulate integrity. The machine can also handle dry bulk goods, such as flakes, powders, rice or coffee.

In addition to the SPC machine, Bosch supplies both the spouts and the lightweight film or laminate structures for the SurePOUCH packs, guaranteeing seal and package integrity while ensuring easy handling, storage and dispensing of products.
Due to its stable design, the package still stands-up once vacant. Made from flexible materials, it allows high evacuation rates for increased utility as well as collapsibility for efficient disposal.

The RobotiX
At the Anuga various companies showed their developments in robots. For the food industry, however, it is not the robot that is of importance, that technique can be seen everywhere in whatever industry. Take the automotive industry as an example. For the food industry the robot-hands are of extremely importance and completely different from any other industrial application. Handling ‘naked’ product, like meat, cheese, chocolate etc, requires special robot-hands and fingers. We have seen several at the Anuga. I will write a separate article about recent developments in robot-hands. Here some photos from K-Robotix GmbH in Bremen/Germany, for more than five years, exclusively dedicating its activities to automated robotic handling of food.

More in a next article.

And finally an auxiliary object to packaging lines.

SmartReflect with transparent detection
Baumer introduced its innovation: the first light barrier without a reflector featuring unique transparent detection. This especially sensitive version of the SmartReflect picks up the tiniest changes in intensity, which enables it to detect highly transparent foils, bowls or bottles. This model is also available with a hygienic and wash-down design, as well as protection class IP 69K and proTect+ tightness concept.

With the SmartReflect, the physical interruption of a closed light barrier by an object, the closed light beam is set up between the sensor and a machine part, for example. Commonly used separate reflectors or receivers are no longer required. The colour and material of the background and the object to be recognized are unimportant.

In the food industry in particular, the SmartReflect proves its usefulness as it monitors the packaging process by identifying the correct positioning of the food to be packaged. The SmartReflect is used whenever the installation of a separate reflector or receiver presents a real headache.

I have one more article about the Anuga. This one about food preservation in packaging.

Apparently it is a problem which many (multi-national) consumer goods companies are facing. Last week Unilever launched an online open innovation platform, which is intended to be a gateway for collaborations between Unilever’s own R&D specialists and any designer, engineer or whatever to come to innovation breakthroughs.
According to Unilever, a successful solution could change the way billions of products are packaged and make a significant difference to the environment and the lives of its consumers.

Vietnamese woman selling Unilever products

It is well-known that sustainability is a key priority for Unilever and in this light, sustainable packaging is a strategic goal for which the online innovation platform is a perfect tool to uncover new and innovative technical solutions to boost growth while cutting its carbon footprint. But in its drive to reduce the overall environmental impact, Unilever is looking for novel and innovative ways to package its products to reduce their overall weight while simultaneously cutting down on waste.

Unilever states: “We’re open to working with partners who can help with the solutions we’re already considering, or who have an idea we haven’t thought of at all”.

Do you have an idea for better packaging? Go to the Unilever Portal.

But before you do so, I have a warning!
Unilever requests that all information you provide in these initial stages imposes no obligation of confidentiality for Unilever or its affiliate yet2.com (who ever that might be). If your submission passes the screening criteria, all your details will be passed to Unilever for further internal detailed review. Prior to any confidential discussions, you will be asked to sign a separate, further Agreement with Unilever so that any confidential information, that is subsequently shared, is protected.

The keyword here is: subsequently. I have some problems with the condition of the “no obligation of confidentiality for Unilever” in the initial stage. I am not saying that it is tricky, but it might cause problems later, when the screening turns out to be negative for the inventor.

If more packaging and consumer goods companies (the good, the bad and the ugly) are initiating open innovations portals, and that is to be expected, then this situation screams for another portal: Registration of Innovations, where inventors can store (partly open, partly hidden) their inventions and particularly the evolving developments in terms of variations, based on the original invention.

Initial design of a Paneer and Mozzarella packaging

I am well aware that Unilever requires that a submission must have IP protection. But a breach of the original patent isn’t the problem. The problem arises the moment an invention evolves into some variants, new shapes, new applications, which can’t be additionally patented by the original inventor, as it is costing fortunes and in general inventors haven’t fortunes to spend.
And here comes the cockroach! In the world of inventors a cockroach is a company (you might say a copy-cat, but much more sleazy) that steals the idea which is the result of an evolution of an original patent. It then is looking for “openings’ in the original patent to patent the evolution as a new development in its own name. After that, the evolution is not any longer an evolution and property of the original inventor, but fully owned by the cockroach.

We all know numerous examples of this behaviour. The cockroach is just sucking inventor’s blood. Worse even the inventor can almost do nothing. The cockroach’s patents are based on a new shape, a new application, etc., modifications the inventors hasn’t patented. And the inventor isn’t able to protest as he can’t prove that he was the first. No date registration is available to show in court.

A Packaging Innovation Platform, which lets everyone issue his invention for registration, partly open, partly hidden, will safeguard the inventor when some cockroach, after the issue date inside this platform, tries to patent a product registered on this platform. This platform protects its members, the inventors can sue a cockroach, or inform the patent office, based upon information inside this platform. The most important is the issuing date, which will be accepted as fact by any court. We always have Google to prove the correctness of the issuing date.

Prototypes of the Compleat coffee cup made from paperboard

To end this story. Did I insinuate that Unilever is a cockroach? Of course not, as I said, there are the good, the bad and the ugly.

One more point. I know there are fairly similar (commercial) websites as the platform here proposed. They are (in my opinion) all too expensive, too complicated and want to commercialise the invention or new technology. That’s not what I have in mind.
What I have in mind is a platform for the individual inventor or small inventive company. Small member fee, no obligations, no further costs. The commercialisation is best be done by the inventor.

In my previous article I already mentioned the “immense” stand of 4,800 m2 Tetra Pak had at the Anuga FoodTec 2012. To justify this size Tetra Pak had not only to showcase its full range of packaging solutions and its range of dairy processing equipment, but also had to come up with a number of novelties. And they did indeed.

But before we detail the novelties, we go after the rumours. In a Financial Times interview last Monday 26th of March, Dennis Jönsson the CEO of Tetra Pak apparently, according to an interpretation of the media, suggested that Tetra Pak is all set to unveil new smart milk cartons that will change colour when left out of the fridge too long.

Köln Messe - Cologne Exhibition Centre

According to the Financial Times, Tetra Pak has been developing a chip that can be embedded in the cartons to provide information such as how long a carton has been outside the fridge, on a scannable label.

However at a press briefing at Anuga FoodTec 2012, a spokeswoman for the company stated that the innovation was a “long-term project that we don’t want to speak about the moment”.
She declined to confirm that details carried within a Financial Times article on Monday were accurate.

But it could well be. It is well-known that Tetra Pak partnered with Brazilian food co-operative Aurora and devised a code that can indicate which cow on which farm produced the milk, and other processing and packaging information, when scanned with a mobile phone.

Designer Ko Yang presented his idea of a colour changing milk carton to indicate the freshness of its content

It is just one step further, to provide information via a scannable label, showing, for instance, how long the carton had been left out of the fridge. The embedded chip is said to be fitted into cartons on retail sale as soon as next year.

The technology is not new. I remember somewhere in 2005/2006 a Swedish or Danish inventor came up with a first prototype of a milk carton, which discoloured and sounded an alarm when left outside the fridge. Recently designer Ko Yang presented his idea of a colour changing milk carton to indicate the freshness of its content.
What is new and important, however, is the fact that a huge company as Tetra Pak is getting behind this development with an almost 100% chance of success.

After the rumours, the concrete novelties.

New green features in Tetra Pak’s packaging portfolio
Tetra Pak unveiled four new features for its carton packaging portfolio at Anuga FoodTec, all four aimed at strengthening the environmental attributes of several of its leading products.

The four are: A separable top for the Tetra Evero Aseptic and three renewable polyethylene (PE) caps made from plant-based sources. Furthermore there are novelties in two new portion packs based on the Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge design and a tear-off opening for on-the-go convenience to its Tetra Top Carton Shot. At the end of the year, the company will also extend the Tetra Rex line with a new droplet package design as well as the Tetra Gemina Aseptic with two new profiles.

Tetra Evero Aseptic
Following the launch of the Tetra Evero Aseptic, the world’s first aseptic carton bottle for white milk, Tetra Pak developed the additional functionality of a separable top.

The Tetra Evero Aseptic Separable Top has a perforation in the cardboard which allows the separating of the polyethylene top from the carton sleeve, delivering improved environmental characteristics by making it easy for consumers to separate the top and carton sleeve and recycle them separately. At no additional cost, the packaging addresses a consumer demand for ever better solutions to facilitate recycling.

At the same time, Tetra Evero Aseptic with the Separable Top delivers all of the benefits of the original Tetra Evero Aseptic and is entirely recyclable and made from FSC certified paperboard.

Green Caps
In partnership with Braskem, Brazil’s largest petrochemical company, Tetra Pak was the first company in the global carton packaging industry to use green PE caps. Made from sugar cane derivatives, the new caps represent another step towards Tetra Pak’s ambition to offer packaging made entirely from renewable material. My readers know that I strongly object any plastics made from sugar cane derivatives, as they are obtained from arable land which should be used for food crops. There are sufficient alternatives made from agriculture residue and not the crop itself.

Not that my words are worth a cent, as since July 2011, Nestle Brazil has been packing two of its popular milk brands (Ninho and Molico) in Tetra Brik Aseptic packages using the green PE StreamCap 1000.
Based on this trial, Tetra Pak launched the green alternative of another three caps, DreamCap 26, LightCap 30 and Helicap 27. The green caps will be distinguished from the original caps by a leaf logo which will be carried on the cap.

Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge
One of the biggest challenges to the food industry in recent years has been the growth of on-the-go consumption, with busy consumers demanding a ‘right here, right now’ service from their shopping experience.

The new 200 and 250 ml Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge packages provide the flexibility to consume on-the-go whilst also catering for the increasing number of single-person households. The cartons have a large sloping top and contoured side panels which enhance handling by consumers. They are sold with either a Helicap 23 (which is the largest screw cap for 200 and 250 ml ambient dairy carton packages) or a straw.

The company promised that from 2013, its customers will also benefit from increased production flexibility. The new Tetra Pak A3/CompactFlex iLine, which delivers 9,000 packages per hour, will produce four products on one line – the 200 ml Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge with straw or Helicap 23 and the 250 ml Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge with straw or Helicap 23.

In addition, the Tetra Brik Aseptic Edge portion packages deliver significant logistical benefits. The pack shapes allow up to 99% utilisation of the Euro pallet to reduce the distribution costs and CO2 emissions associated with transportation. Products also have a variety of efficient stack-ability options in-store.

Tetra Rex Pearl
Tetra Rex Pearl is a brand new packaging designed for premium milk and juice. Due for launch in the first quarter of 2013, Tetra Rex Pearl moves away from the faceted shapes traditionally associated with cartons to a more curvaceous simplistic shape. The curved, droplet-shaped keyline creates an impactful side profile and defines the overall new look. In addition, the absence of a front horizontal crease line creates one large front panel which not only opens up new branding possibilities, but also affords the space for a large, premium-looking closure.

Tetra Rex Pearl also features the recently launched TwistCap OSO 34 (One Step Opening) closure, a large one-step opening that can be applied on a standard gable top package (70×70) without changing the configuration of the packaging. With higher ridges that are widely spaced for a better grip and an inner lip on the neck, the closure allows consumers to pour the product easily and reseal the packaging safely.

Tetra Rex principle

Tetra Gemina Aseptic
Tetra Pak extended the Tetra Gemina Aseptic range, with two new shapes – Leaf and Crystal – available from the end of this year. Tetra Gemina Aseptic Leaf and Crystal use the Tetra Pak A3/Flex platform, along with the Tetra Gemina Aseptic Square.
The Tetra Pak A3/Flex platform for Tetra Gemina Aseptic offers the potential to produce three different shapes on the same machine and to switch between different shapes and sizes in the range, allowing customers to innovate rapidly in response to market demands.

Tetra Gemina Aseptic Crystal and Leaf combine strong visual appeal with the consumer functionality of the Tetra Gemina Aseptic Square shape. The original Tetra Gemina Aseptic Square is renowned for two qualities: its top, which gives the packaging a unique appearance, and the geometry of the slanted top, which achieves the best possible product flow. Tetra Gemina Aseptic 1000 Crystal maintains these two key attributes, but the shape of the package body is new and includes four new crystal-shaped panels. The result is a design which will build differentiation on the crowded supermarket shelf.

The new Tetra Gemina Aseptic 1000 Crystal and 1000 Leaf packages incorporate the new HeliCap 27. HeliCap 27, built on the same technology as the HeliCap 23, has a large 27 mm neck size which provides enhanced one-step functionality and a superior pouring experience for in-home consumption.
At the same time, the cap height and ridged design provide those consumers who have difficulty gripping with an improved experience. Tetra Pak reduced the opening force by 60%, and tested the closure primarily on elderly consumers, while the pouring performance improved by 30% due to a larger opening surface. This resealable one-step closure provides better visibility for tamper evidence.
In March 2012, HeliCap on Tetra Prisma Aseptic Square was the first one-step opening to be recognized and approved as “easy-to-open” by the Swedish Rheumatism Association.

Tetra Top Carton Shot
A growing demand for healthy products has been met by daily dose drinks, energy boosters and probiotics, a market which is expected to expand by 4% globally between 2011 and 2014.

To meet this demand, Tetra Pak launched Lokka, a new opening option for the Tetra Top Carton Shot in a convenient 100 ml package. Lokka is a new convenient tear-off opening which meets the demand for on-the-go consumption. Already available in Finland, Lokka can be applied to a range of products and delivers the convenience of a unique packaging at a competitive price. From an environmental perspective, the Tetra Top Carton Shot with Lokka opening offers the lowest CO2 level in the market.

Tetra Top packages are filled in the Tetra Top TT/3 XH (Extended Hygiene) machine, which enables simultaneous filling of different products, while boasting a 9,000 package/hour two-line filling capacity.

eBeam non-contact and dry sterilisation system
And finally Tetra Pak also introduced its new eBeam non-contact and dry sterilisation system.  eBeam sterilisation, which is based on well-established low voltage electron beam (LVEB) technology, is being developed by Tetra Pak in collaboration with the COMET Group, one of the world’s leading companies in this field. And although still a concept development, it is already showing tremendous potential.

TetraPak e-beam non-contact and dry sterilisation system

When launched, eBeam sterilisation will also play a significant role in the new Tetra Pak A3 filling machine for super high speed packaging — known as the Hyperspeed Concept — to assure the complete sterility of products while keeping mechanical complexity low and increasing capacity.

I will discuss the eBeam and Hyperspeed concept technologies in a separate article with reference to food conservation (pasteurisation and sterilisation).  Various systems, such as HPP, MicroPast, Aseptic OneStep technology and eBeam, were shown at the Anuga FoodTec, all with a crucial influence to packaging.