Ferré & Consulting Blog (English Version)

Tna has launched two new additions to its range, representing the latest solutions in food packaging and verification for advanced quality assurance: the tna intelli-scan 2 comprehensive date code assurance system, as well as the tna intelli-read 3 integrated bar code scanning system. These new products accurately verify products on the tna robag vertical ‘form fill and seal’ (VFFS) bagger, while retaining a high level of flexibility and simplicity for food manufacturers.

Aided by fast speed image detection to amplify its ability to find miscoded or uncoded products, the highly accurate and reliable tna intelli-scan 2 processes images through its camera system to ensure that the date code is printed, complete and legible. Suitable for a range of print requirements, it can handle both light and dark texts. Furthermore, with exposure times of less than 0.5ms and high speeds of up to 200bpm, the scanner is able to keep up with the current speed of tna’s robag 3 series equipment, into which it is fully integrated, therefore maximising efficiency. The user friendly settings ensure ease of operation, whatever the application.

The new tna intelli-read 3 full film width bar code reader automatically scans the bar code on the film and cross checks it in order to verify that the correct product is being processed. Mounted on to the film system of the tna robag and then fully integrated into the software, the tna intelli-read 3 scans the entire width, making it virtually impossible to bypass, as every barcode, regardless of where on the film it is printed will be read. Not merely a verification system, the tna intelli-read 3 will also select the tna robag product programme or recipe associated with the decoded barcode in order to ensure correct usage. No manual interaction from an operator is required, as the tna intelli-read 3 suggests the appropriate programmes for the product. It also automatically detects a splice with a different film, and aids traceability.

Shayne De la Force, tna’s Group marketing manager, comments, “We’re thrilled to be bringing the tna intelli-scan 2 and the tna intelli-read® 3 to the market. These additions provide the next level of food packaging and verification for advanced Quality Assurance. tna takes quality assurance extremely seriously and happy to be leading the way with these innovations in the industry.”

Source: Confectionery Production

packaging packaging, TNA, tna intelli-read

While East Africa is fighting its worst food crisis in 60 years, the amount of food thrown away worldwide is rising. Elisabeth Fischer finds out how the food packaging industry, policy-makers and consumers can help tackle the growing food mountain.

Eliminating the millions of tons of food thrown away every year in developed countries is one of the biggest challenges the industry has to tackle in the years ahead. While East Africa is afflicted by the worst drought and food shortage the continent has seen in 60 years, affecting 12 million people living in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, the numbers of global food waste levels have constantly increased in recent years.

Industry experts suggest that roughly a third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, amounting to about 1.3 billion tons a year. Food packaging designers and companies could take an important role in reducing the growing food mountain. Through new sizes, designs and the introduction of new packaging materials that prolong the shelf life of perishable foods, an important step towards more sustainable food supply can be made.

In developing countries the problem lies in the supply chain: poor storage facilities, poor infrastructure and transportation, a lack of refrigeration as well as inadequate market facilities let food go bad.

In developed countries on the other hand, foodstuff is primarily wasted by its end consumer. In the EU, food is thrown away on a massive scale. The European Commission estimates that the waste amounted to 89 million tons in 2009, 11% of all the food produced in Europe.

In the UK alone, it was estimated that in 2008 consumers threw away about a third of the country’s food supply – a wake-up call for both the food and the packaging industry.

Packaging: the solution not the problem

Many developed countries still concentrate on the reduction of packaging waste rather than a cutback in the food thrown away. “Packaging protects food,” said European Organisation for Packaging and the Environment (EUROPEN) managing director Julian Carroll at the Save Food Congress, which was held as part of Interpack in Düsseldorf in May 2011.

“For decades, packaging was seen as nothing but waste, a nuisance to be avoided. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Packaging is a technological wunderkind that makes abundance for the masses possible,” he said. “I often shake my head in despair at the sheer absurdity of the focus on packaging waste and sustainability by policymakers compared with food waste. Packaging waste pales into insignificance compared with the losses caused by food waste.”

With the Save Food Congress the international packaging industry and the UN Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) aiming to demonstrate how solutions, concepts and the protective function of packaging can effectively help to tackle the problem of food waste, addressing global policymakers and consumers. The packaging industry needs to communicate packaging more strongly as part of the solution for more sustainability rather than to the continuous limited discussion regarding the question of disposal, the organisers claim.

Many governments and policy makers have however ignored in the past what the food packaging industry has long realised. The UK’s new waste review, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in June 2011, completely missed out on the issue of food waste. While the government commits to putting a series of measures into action to tackle and reduce packaging waste ‘towards a zero waste economy’, no steps to tackle the problem of food waste were mentioned even though ‘all aspects of waste policy and delivery in England’ had been reviewed.

One positive example in the battle against food waste comes from Denmark, where the Stop Wasting Food movement is raising consumer awareness and triggering a change in their behaviour. Supported by members of the Danish Parliament and EU politicians, the movement has received major press coverage in the country’s media, bringing the issue to every Danish household.

Stop Wasting Food is also one of the developers of the Joint Declaration Against Food Waste, an international document disclosed to the EU and the UN. It contains proposal for sustainable use of food and commits to the global reduction of food waste of at least 50% by 2025.

Smart packaging

While policymakers should concentrate on the education of consumers, the packaging industry has to tackle the growing food mountain with more practical and hands-on measures. Today’s food packaging has to reflect changing consumption habits and other social changes resulting from demographic factors and altered lifestyles. People are becoming more urban, single households are more common and also the aging populations have influenced the shape, size and the design of packaged food. In the future, different products, different amounts and different packaging sizes will be in demand.

Intelligently designed containers have to ensure their content is entirely consumed and that no residual amount remains in the package, while ensuring product safety, convenience, marketing and sustainability, technological advancements significantly prolong the shelf life of perishable foods.

Trays, wraps and other forms of physical barriers not only protect the food from their environment but also maintain safety and flavour, keep out oxygen and microbes, and make seasonal food available all year. Better transport packaging reduces bruising, crushing and other damage and mitigates the risk of food being thrown away before even arriving at the supermarket.

A step further has been made with the development of active packaging materials, which do more than simply protect, store and transport food. The different plastic films interact with the food, adding to the product’s shelf life without reducing its nutrients, adding unwanted tastes and odours, or changing the texture and appearance.

The example of a simple salad bag shows the complexity active packaging: what may look like a mere sheet of transparent plastic consists in fact of up to seven different layers. Each of the layers has unique chemical properties, laminated into one single sheet only a few hundred microns thick. The result is a bag that provides the perfect environment for the fresh and perishable salad leaves. The rate of respiration is precisely controlled and gaseous exchanges of carbon dioxide and oxygen are calibrated to perfection. The release of moisture is controlled so the leaves neither drown nor dry out, while another layer filters out UAV lights to slow down plant aging.

Another area of interest with the potential to overhaul the packaging industry and the problem of food waste in years to come is nanotechnology.

Manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale, the opportunities seem virtually boundless. For instance, scientists at food giant Kraft, in cooperation with Rutgers University in New Jersey and the University of Connecticut have been working on nano-particle films and packaging with embedded sensors.

One of the biggest sources of consumer food waste is the mix-up of ‘best-before’ and ‘use-by’ dates on packages. Such smart technology could be able to detect food germs and to trigger colour changes in the packaging to alert the consumer if the contents have gone bad.

A new era of food consciousness

According to Julian Carroll, the efforts of the packaging industry and movements such as the Danish Stop Wasting Food campaign show that society is beginning to recognise that it must tackle the growing food mountain at the right place. “The fact that we are gathered here today is a sign that these insights are beginning to leave the pages of packaging trade journals and are entering the mainstream,” he said in his speech at the Save Food Congress in Düsseldorf in May 2011.

According to non-profit aid organisation Welthungerhilfe, however, a transition cannot only take place through packaging: it must first and foremost take place in consumers’ minds and behaviour. Food in general has to become more valuable in developed countries, as what is carelessly thrown away here can mean deprivation somewhere else.

Source:Foodprocessing Technology

packaging food waste, packaging, Smart packaging

Major food manufacturers are revamping their packaging amid concerns over the long term health hazards posed by mineral oils leaching from recycled cardboard into foods.

Weetabix, Kellogg’s and Jordans have all taken steps to change to packaging that does not contain mineral oils, according a report from the BBC.

The Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) said steps were already being taken to address the issue and that the industry regarded it seriously. The paper and board sectors were investigating ways to phase out materials containing mineral oils, CEPI managing director Teresa Presas told FoodProductionDaily.com

An opinion from the European Food Safety Authority on the matter is also due out later this year.

Recent Swiss study

The possible health threat from mineral oils – that come from inks and chemicals used in newspaper production – surfaced last year in the wake of the publication of a Swiss study.

The research by Dr Koni Grob at a government-run food safety laboratory in Zurich found that three quarters of 119 food products from a German supermarket contained mineral oils. Of these, most exceeded the European Union safe limit of 0.6mg per kilogram by more than 10 times. But products left on the shelves for longer periods could eventually exceed the limits by up to 100 times, he estimated. Mineral oils were also found to penetrate some inner linings.

Long term exposure to mineral oils has been linked to the chronic inflammation of various internal organs and cancer but consumers who eat balanced diets are not believed to be at risk, said Grob.

Newspaper-free cardboard and Kellogg’s liners

The food and packaging sectors are both taking steps to address the issue, with giants Kellogg’s and Weetabix altering their packaging.

“We are working with our suppliers on new packaging that allows us to meet our environmental commitments, but will also contain significantly lower levels of mineral oil,” Kellogg’s told BBC radio. “We are also looking at alternative inner liners for our packets.”

Weetabix said it uses 100 per cent recycled cardboard for environmental reasons but added that it was “actively engaged with its packaging suppliers to consider alternative recycled packaging that does not contain recycled newspaper”.

The company stressed: “Our data… does indicate that none of our products pose a risk to consumer health”.

Cereal company Jordans denied it had changed its packaging as result of Grob’s research but acknowledged that, like Weetabix, it was seeking to source newspaper-free recycled board.

“The latest research emerging from Switzerland on the content of recycled board is relatively new and Jordans did not change to use accredited board specifically in response to this issue,” a spokesman told FoodProductionDaily.com. “However, we will be discussing improved supply of recycled board that avoids content from newspapers with the industry and our suppliers.”

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it was “not aware of any firm evidence to suggest that there are food safety risks related to mineral oils in recycled food packaging”. It said the research was interesting but incomplete.

“Manufacturers are responsible for ensuring the food they produce is safe, and some have chosen to review their use of recycled packaging,” added the FSA spokesman. “The agency continues to review evidence in this area and will act to protect consumers if the evidence shows it is necessary to do so.”

Source: Bakery and Snacks

packaging mineral oil, packaging

A constant cause of concern for industrial bakers and supermarkets alike is the damage to delicate food items during transit. The problem costs bakers and retailers both in cash terms and in its impact on the environment.

In response Europe’s leading multi-material food packaging manufacturer, LINPAC Packaging, has developed an innovative new range of recyclable PET transport trays.

Currently, bakery products such as iced doughnuts are packed inside traditional carton board boxes, without separators, for transportation to retailers. Because of their delicate nature the food items can be packed only one layer high, which increases the transportation costs because of the empty space in each box.

However, despite efforts to minimise damage, products often arrive with the icing-coat cracked or missing and, as a result, don’t make it on to the shelf – at considerable cost.

The new transport tray from LINPAC Packaging, with its cavitised design and special rib architecture, keeps individual products protected and separate. By turning the trays through 180-degrees, up to three times as many products may be packed in an individual box than before.

This provides a far stronger protective environment, and by enabling more items to be transported in a single box, distributors can deliver more cakes per trip – reducing costs and helping to limit carbon emissions.

Ian Perkins, Business Development Manager for LINPAC Packaging, said: “Products such as doughnuts often come with delicate coatings and, as with most products, presentation is key if the customer is going to select the items and take them home.

“Up until now, distributors, packers and retailers have had to contend with a packaging solution that not only left merchandise subject to damage in transit, but also resulted in a lot of wasted space and unnecessary journeys.

“With our new transport tray, we’re confident we have created a solution that meets both of these costly problems: better protection for products, resulting in less waste, and a reduced carbon footprint – due to increased capacity and fewer journeys.

In summary, the key benefits of LINPAC Packaging’s new transport trays include:

• Empty trays stack together very closely, thereby reducing delivery costs.

• When the trays are filled and turned through 180-degrees the rib design ensures products do not touch each other from one layer to another.

• Products can be packed 40 or 60 to a box, rather than the current 20

• The increased payload in relation to volume saves on transport costs and reduces fuel consumption.

• The trays are lightweight and can be recycled – offering further environmental benefits.

• The robust design reduces the risk of damage during transit.

• The new packaging is available in a range of colours – including black and opaque, so retailers can clearly differentiate between product ranges for consumers.

• The stylish trays can be used as point-of-sale display units, as well as transport trays.

LINPAC Packaging is a leading supplier of food packaging products. The company’s head office is in Knottingley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom, with manufacturing sites at Featherstone and St Helens – supplying both the UK and the rest of Europe. LINPAC Packaging is a multi-material packaging supplier to the protein, bakery, fresh produce and foodservice markets across Europe and beyond – working with customers to offer consumer-focused packaging solutions.

packaging LINPAC, packaging

Packaging that alerts consumers to food which is starting to go off is being developed by researchers at Strathclyde.

The project aims to improve food safety and cut unnecessary food waste by developing a new type of indicator, made of ‘intelligent plastics’ which give a warning, by changing colour, of when food is about to lose its freshness because it has broken or damaged packaging, has exceeded its ‘best before’ date or has been poorly refrigerated.

An estimated 8.3 million tonnes of household food- most of which could have been eaten- is wasted in the UK each year.

The indicator is to be used as part of a form of food packaging known as modified atmosphere packaging, which keeps food in specially-created conditions that prolong its shelf life.

Freshness indicators typically take the form of labels inserted in a package but these come at a significant cost. Strathclyde researchers are looking to create a new type of indicator which is an integral part of the packaging, and so is far less expensive. The project has received £325,000 in support from the Scottish Enterprise Proof of Concept Programme.

Professor Andrew Mills, of the Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, who is currently leading the Strathclyde project, said: “At the moment, we throw out far too much food, which is environmentally and economically damaging.

“Modified atmosphere packaging is being used increasingly to contain the growth of organisms which spoil food but the costs of the labels currently used with it are substantial. We are aiming to eliminate this cost with new plastics for the packaging industry.

“We hope that this will reduce the risk of people eating food which is no longer fit for consumption and help prevent unnecessary waste of food. We also hope it will have a direct and positive impact on the meat and seafood industries.”

By giving a clear and unambiguous sign that food is beginning to perish, the indicators being developed at Strathclyde could resolve potential confusion about the different significances of ‘best before’ dates and ‘sell-by’ dates. They could also help to highlight the need for food to be stored in refrigerators which are properly sealed.

Lisa Branter, acting head of the Proof of Concept Programme, said: “Through the Proof of Concept Programme, we are creating the opportunities to build high value, commercially viable spin-out companies from ground-breaking research ideas. What we want to achieve are more companies of scale created as a result of the Programme, and this project is a great example of an idea which offers real business opportunities.”

packaging food safety, indicator, intelligent plastics, packaging

Chocolate lovers have a new opportunity to learn about the history and processing of their favorite treat with the opening of Nestlé’s new Maison Cailler. At the chocolate center, visitors will learn the fascinating story of the Cailler product line by Nestlé, Switzerland’s oldest chocolate maker. Opened April 1st 2010 in the picturesque Swiss town of Broc-Gruyère, La Maison Cailler includes packaging machines from Bosch Packaging Technology. The innovative Module++ line features one Paloma D2 delta robot and one Pack 201 horizontal flow wrapper to mimic the actual Cailler production process. This project represents the latest phase of Nestlé Cailler’s and Bosch’s decade-long collaboration.

At La Maison Cailler, visitors can see the actual techniques used to make Cailler chocolates, attend a presentation on the history of chocolate, participate in a chocolate-making workshop and visit La Chocolatiere café. Mr. Diego Calame of Nestlé Cailler described the chocolate center as, “a real opportunity for consumers to see how our concoctions are translated into tasty reality. Along with our team of experts and quality operations, Bosch’s packaging solutions play a key role in Cailler’s ability to deliver finished products that live up to our idea of chocolate perfection.”

The adaptability of the equipment within Bosch’s Module++ line concept derives from a low engineering content, allowing standard machines to be linked together with minimal effort and downtime. At La Maison Cailler, Bosch’s two machines are combined with a third-party extruder to package the Cailler Branches brand of confectionery.

While normally the Paloma D2 delta robot processes products at dizzying speeds, the machine has been slowed to give visitors a clear look at Cailler’s packaging operations. The robot is known for its lightweight arms, which allow it to move with greater fluidity compared with traditional, heavier rivals. Its quick-to-assemble stainless steel structure and oil- and grease-free operation allow for easy cleaning for compliance with hygiene standards. The pick-and-place robot cell processes chocolates with pinpoint accuracy, guaranteed by Gemini 3.0 vision-guided software.

Bosch Paloma D2 delta robot

The robot then places the chocolates into the infeed chain of a Pack 201 horizontal flow wrapper, which is ideal for delicate foodstuffs. The line is arranged to use as little energy as possible and to operate with a small footprint.

Dragan Dragojlovic, Product Manager, Bosch Packaging Technology, said: “We at Bosch are excited to work with Nestlé on such an important project that will give Nestlé Cailler fans an opportunity to see the care with which their favorite chocolates are handled.”

Chocolate, Companies, packaging Bosch Machinery, Chocolate Production Line, Nestle, packaging

UK cellulose acetate film supplier Clarifoil has produced a new ultra-gloss white film for luxury confectionery packaging to meet the demand for differentiation in this category.

The satiné lamination film was launched in Q1 2010 and took 2 years to develop. Clarifoil said the new film is made from a renewable polymer and is biodegradable. The film is accredited to EN 13432 and ASTM D6400 standards which means it biodegrades at least 90 per cent within six months and has low heavy metal content.

Clarifoil marketing manager Marion Bauer told that the standout qualities of this new material was its “bio-degradability and compostability, its brilliance and its scratch- and scuff-resistance”

Properties and benefits

The film, which possesses similar physical properties to Clarifoil’s standard P20 grade cellulose di-acetate films, is produced using cellulose from non-GM wood from managed forests.

The firm said extremely pure whitening additives with a small amount of brightening agent gave the film a bright white finish.

“The film gives good adhesion with standard water and solvent based laminating adhesives, and also accepts foil blocking well,” said Clarifoil

The company also advised using primers and/or over-varnishes for over-printing, especially with UV curing systems.

Metallic trends

Bauer said that demand for an environmentally friendly high gloss metallised film were informing future developments in cellulose acetate film manufacturing.

Confectionery industry trend watchers claim that white is the new black in premium chocolate packaging, with the organisers of the 2010 Cologne-based Pro-Sweets trade show at the end of January noting that the colour white symbolises freshness and lightness and, as it is a reserved colour, “it also reflects a certain qualitative value”.

European Union Producer Responsibility Obligations, set to take effect in 2012, stipulate that EU companies with a turnover of over £2m and that use over 50 tonnes of packaging annually, must ensure some or all packaging is recyclable, compostable or reusable.

packaging cellulose acetate, Clarifoil, film, packaging

Food-packaging products made from dairy ingredients could provide a viable alternative to petroleum-based packaging products, according to a chapter written by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Peggy Tomasula for a new book, “Dairy-Derived Ingredients: Food and Nutraceutical Uses.”

The book was written by an international team of contributors and published by London-based Woodhead Publishing in October 2009. It serves as a guide to new developments for the dairy and nutraceutical industries, as well as researchers in those fields.

Tomasula works at the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, Pa., where scientists are developing strong, biodegradable dairy-based films that are better oxygen barriers than petrochemical-based films. Tomasula leads the center’s Dairy Processing and Products Research Unit.

Most food packages are made of multilayer films that are thin, continuous sheets of synthetic polymers. But consumers and food retailers are concerned about the waste generated during the manufacture of such packaging. Many, it seems, are interested in replacing petroleum-based packaging with biobased packaging.

Tomasula’s chapter in the new book is titled “Using Dairy Ingredients to Produce Edible Films and Biodegradable Packaging Materials.” The chapter focuses on films made from dairy proteins, with an emphasis on those based on casein and whey, the major proteins found in milk. It also covers research efforts to improve the proteins’ mechanical and barrier properties so that these natural materials eventually could be used in a variety of future applications.

As a dairy ingredient, casein shows good adhesion to different substrates. But while casein is an excellent barrier to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and aromas, it is a weak barrier to moisture. Because the water-soluble nature of those proteins poses a challenge, much of the research on edible casein films to date is directed toward improving their water-vapor-barrier properties.

More information on the book can be found at www.woodheadpublishing.com. ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Source :  ARS

Unespecified biodegradable dairy-based films, dairy ingredients, packaging