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laboratory work in the Master's programme

Image: Campus Wien / private (students)

NEW!

30/01/2025

Master's Program for Sustainable Packaging Technologies: The Experts of Tomorrow

At the University of Applied Sciences in Vienna, Austria, professionals are being trained to shape the future of the packaging industry. The Master's programme in Packaging Technology and Sustainability prepares students for future-oriented solutions through practical projects such as recycling analysis and material testing. Graduates actively drive innovation and sustainability in the industry.
B!POD vacuum system

Image: WPO

27/01/2025

Stemming the tide on ocean-bound plastic
The NextWave consortium has diverted over 20,000 metric tons of ocean-bound plastic—equivalent to 2.27 billion single-use water bottles. And SABIC, meanwhile, says Italian food-packaging innovator B!POD is using its OBP-based polypropylene in its latest range of food-preserving vacuum-packed containers.
Tomato Jos farmer

Image: Tomato Jos Farming and Processing Limited

16/01/2025

Tomato Jos in Nigeria is the winner of the 2024 SAVE FOOD project competition
Tomato Jos Farming and Processing Limited in Nigeria has won the 2024 SAVE FOOD project competition. This initiative centres on practical solutions in order to reduce the post-harvest loss of tomatoes by approximately 45 percent. Transport packaging plays an important role in this process.
SAVE FOOD Design und SUSTAINABILITY Design Awards

Image: WPO

09/12/2024

SAVE FOOD and SUSTAINABILITY Design Awards for sustainable packaging solutions
This year's SAVE FOOD Design and SUSTAINABILITY Design Awards were presented at the Shanghai World of Packaging in November 2024. The awards recognise innovative packaging solutions along the value chain with a positive environmental impact. The companies honoured are: United Caps (Malaysia), Koch Pac-Systeme (Germany), UBIS (Spain) and Multivac (China).
SnapSlide: Pouring hands

Image: SnapSlide LLC

09/12/2024

New SnapSlide closure offers accessible child-resistant packaging
Several years ago Rocky Batzel wanted to find a better solution to help his grandmother open and close child-resistant packaging caps on her pill bottles. His journey led him to start SnapSlide LLC, which has developed a new type of no-torque, child-resistant (CR) closure that enables single-handed opening of pharmaceutical bottles. The product is now going commercial.

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Portrait of Nerida Kelton

Image: WPO

02/12/2024

Think globally, act locally: a conversation with Nerida Kelton, WPO
The biggest challenge for packaging technology is to find a balance between functionality, economic aspects, consumer requirements and environmental criteria. "Inappropriate packaging is one of the main causes of food waste and is responsible for negative environmental impacts", explains Nerida Kelton, World Packaging Organisation (WPO).
Portrait of Anne Kramer-Münch

Image: PAKi Logistics

02/12/2024

PAKi boss focusses on transparency, understanding and cooperation
In her previous professional life, she had no experience with pallets. Anne Kramer-Münch took over as CEO of the open pooling service provider PAKi Logistics in April – after holding positions at Mars, Henkel, Nestlé and Tomra, the business economist now wants to help shape the topic of sustainability in the Ennepetal-based family business.
Dog in front of a food bowl

Image: Ayla Verschueren/unsplash

02/12/2024

Trends and developments in the pet food market
More and more, dogs and cats are considered as members of the family. The demands of pet owners in terms of nutrition are increasing accordingly. The pet food industry is reacting and promoting healthy products with functional ingredients and new dosage forms. The use of insect proteins could become a trend. Many pet food manufacturers are also switching to more sustainable, recyclable packaging.
Metal fragments in meat

Image: Sesotec GmbH

19/11/2024

Foreign object detection and food safety – in search of the blue glove
Sometimes large quantities of edible food are disposed of for safety reasons, even though only a single product may be contaminated. To avoid this, manufacturers rely on detection systems that recognise foreign objects. Systems specialist Sesotec recommends combinations of sieves, magnets, metal detectors and X-ray systems for this purpose, and thus contributes to the reduction of food waste.
Meeting about product packaging

Image: PAXLY GmbH

15/11/2024

A perfect match – algorithm shows manufacturers the most efficient packaging solution
Demand for greater efficiency and sustainability in the supply chain always entails the issue of ideal solutions for space-saving packaging. The packaging specialist paxly.ai provides a powerful software tool that compares the extensive requirements of a company in need of packaging with the performance data of packaging producers. If there is a match, the seekers and providers come together.
Thomas Sievers shows PTC 200

Image: Uhlmann

14/11/2024

Uhlmann Group: EU packaging regulations accelerate pace of transformation
Less packaging waste, more recycling and increased use of sustainable materials – these are the goals of the EU packaging regulations PPWR which will soon be implemented. For this, the packaging industry has already begun full-scale preparations. For example, the Uhlmann Group from Swabia – in the centre of a region that is one of the world's most important hubs for the packaging industry.
Portrait of Ellen Reichmann

Image: Syntegon Technology

07/11/2024

A technophile engineer leads an application technology team at Syntegon
Ellen Reichmann completed an internship at Syntegon Technology while studying packaging technology. Today, she heads the Application Technology and Product Protection department at the company’s Waiblingen site and welcomes applications from former interns.
Pact Meat tray

Image: Pact Group

06/11/2024

Pact group & partners creating circular solution for pret tray-to-tray recycling
Australia’s meat eaters create a lot of waste with their PET meat trays. But thermoformed PET food packaging is very recyclable, with the right infrastructure in place. So Pact Group is working with Hilton Foods, Woolworths Group and Cleanaway Waste Management to close the loop on this by collecting, sorting and cleaning these PET materials, and remanufacturing them into more food packaging.
EU flag

Image: Antoine Schibler/unsplash

06/11/2024

European ReBioCycle project aims to develop circular solutions for bioplastics
October saw the launch of the new EU-funded ReBioCycle project. It is intended to show that the bio-based and biodegradable plastics PLA, PHA and starch-based compounds can be efficiently recycled on a large scale, keeping them in circulation.
Recyclable label on packaging

Image: iStock

23/10/2024

Sustainable plastics on the rise
Consumers’ growing environmental consciousness leads to added pressure on the packaging industry to develop sustainable solutions. In this context, sustainability is not limited to bio-based or bio-degradable materials. Conventional fossil-based plastics can also be part of sustainable strategies – if they are designed for recyclability or produced using recycled raw materials.
Concept of blockchain technology, graphic showing futuristic chain with digital element

Image: iStock, Jackie Niam

14/10/2024

Rendering packaging sustainability transparent with blockchain technology
Anyone using recycled materials needs to know where they come from, what they are made of and what stages they have gone through. Particularly in times of global, complex supply chains, seamlessly tracing materials is an immense challenge. Blockchain technology can help.
Made possible by MADDOX: the assistance system at work

Image: Peerox

14/10/2024

Our digital colleague will sort it out: self-learning assistance systems in the packaging industry
AI-based assistance systems are highly popular. These digital colleagues help to get a better, faster and more efficient handle on disruptions, downtimes, capacity overloads and production of rejects in manufacturing. Maddox, developed by Dresden-based Peerox GmbH, is a self-learning assistance system that is now being used in a number of packaging companies.
hot melt adhesive, seals

Image: Bühnen GmbH & Co. KG

14/10/2024

The role of adhesives in optimising packaging processes
Adhesives are the invisible backbone of the packaging industry – without them, cardboard, films and other packaging materials could not be held together. Particularly in the food industry, adhesives are crucial for product safety and shelf life. Following the trend towards sustainable packaging, the demand for innovative adhesive solutions like those offered by the Bühnen company is rising.
Andrea Morandini in EcoeFISHent lab

Image: AIMPLAS

24/09/2024

AIMPLAS Working to Develop Valuable Packaging Applications From Fish-Processing Waste
AIMPLAS, a Valencia, Spain-based research and technology center, is participating in a European project designed to develop an eco-friendly barrier coating for food packaging from fish gelatin as well as cosmetics packaging from waste fishing nets.
Hand and cup

Image: Woodly Oy

23/09/2024

Woodly – made of wood, looks like plastic
Wood-based substitute material for plastic offers the food industry new sustainable options. Finnish start-up and SAVE FOOD member Woodly supplies wood cellulose polymers for various packaging solutions and products such as reusable cups. The carbon-neutral material is particularly useful in ensuring that bread is hygienically packaged while staying fresh for a long time and looking appetising.
Stretch film holding tins in place on a pallet

Image: Brangs+Heinrich

17/09/2024

Sustainable packaging film for sleeving, stretching, shrinking and sealing
Plastic film is indispensable in the packaging sector. Used as sealing film, it can seal food trays, it can enclose beverage bottles in the form of sleeves and as stretch film, it lends stability to packaging during transport. Modern packaging films are sustainable, recyclable or are made from recycled materials. With a view to the European Packaging Directive, this is indeed a boon.
Portrait of Clarissa Odewald

Image: thyssenkrupp Rasselstein

17/09/2024

Clarissa Odewald is leading thyssenkrupp Rasselstein through the change of brands in packaging steel
Tin-coated or specially chromium-plated blackplate is also known as tinplate and is used predominantly in the manufacture of packaging. In Andernach, the sole German manufacturer thyssenkrupp Rasselstein produces tinplate for approximately 400 customers in 80 countries. Clarissa Odewald has recently become the Chief Sales Officer and Chairwoman of the Executive Board.
Artificial intelligence

Image: iStock

23/08/2024

Artificial intelligence for more process quality
Artificial intelligence (AI) will play an important part in the future in optimising processes within the food industry. It can lengthen the shelf life of food by allowing precise control of temperature and humidity, for example. AI analyses huge amounts of data in real time in order to guarantee optimum recipes and storage conditions and minimise spoiling.
Five brown eggs instead of six in an open egg carton on an orange background.

Image: Tanaonte/iStock

14/08/2024

More transparency for hidden price increases
Shopping for daily necessities has gotten expensive. But some products have become more expensive without a change in price – there is simply less content per package. Customers often do not notice this practice, called shrinkflation, to begin with. France and Hungary are now combatting this practice and obligating supermarkets to indicate hidden price increases.
Graphic of the 17 Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Sustainable Development and Climate Protection

Image: senkaya/iStock

14/08/2024

Brand manufacturers fail to meet their sustainability targets
The packaging of the future is meant to be recyclable, made of recycled material or compostable. A few years ago, many manufacturers therefore defined ambitious sustainability targets, from which some are now beginning to back away. Corporations like Unilever, PepsiCo and Colgate-Palmolive have already announced that they will not be able to meet their targets by 2025.
Finalist Posters

Image: PKN Packaging News

25/07/2024

Australia’s Female Packaging Leaders Get Their Moment in the Sun

The inaugural PKN Women in Packaging Awards recognize a wide range of accomplishments.

The inaugural PKN Women in Packaging Awards celebrated six remarkable women and a pioneering Hall of Fame inductee. The event highlighted the achievements of women in the industry, addressed the lack of diversity and promoted sustainability efforts. With a focus on innovation and leadership, this celebration aims to inspire and empower more women to make their mark in packaging.
Woman holding bag of feathers

Image: Aeropowder

18/07/2024

Natural insulation from feathers
With their microscopically small hollow fibre structure, feathers are among the lightest natural fibres ever and provide excellent heat insulation. A British start-up utilises these properties and turns feathers, a waste product from the poultry industry, into an insulating packaging material for the cold transport.
Two hands

Image: unsplash/Cytonn Photography

18/07/2024

Partnerships in the packaging industry
Stronger together – the same is true for the packaging industry. Many businesses have recognised this and so, partnerships are currently very sought-after. Focusing on common know-how, sharing resources and technical knowledge all offers an advantage over the competition.
Aldi UK has been at the forefront of many efforts to advance sustainability and reduce the carbon footprint of its product packaging

Image: Aldi

26/06/2024

ALDI UK using AI to provide visibility to its flexible plastic packaging efforts
Aldi UK is pioneering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in its recycling of flexible plastic packaging. The supermarket offers front-of-store collection points for such packaging and then applies technology from Greenback Recycling Technologies to track and verify the flow of material using eco2Veritas system. The project is supported by the brand-backed Flexible Plastic Fund.
Depending on composition, the colour of the final product may vary.

Image: Constanze Tillmann

25/06/2024

Kombucha leather – packaging from the tea lab
The packaging industry is looking for creative solutions to package food both safely and sustainably. A young team of students and researchers in Istanbul is currently working on prototypes of SCOBY, a leather-like biofilm made from fermented kombucha tea.
Long machine taking up three-storeys inside a hall

Image: Sappi

24/06/2024

Sustainable coatings for packaging papers
Food is more and more often wrapped in paper. But this natural material is porous and has next to no barrier properties against humidity, oxygen, grease or oil. Paper producers like Sappi are now coating their packaging papers sustainably using water-based barriers which do not impact later recycling. In research, a common topic is the development of bio-based barrier coating materials.
Portrait Tina Gerfer

Image: Wilhelm Rasch GmbH

21/06/2024

For Tina Gerfer, your word is as good as written
Her grandfather had the idea for a machine that could wrap delicate hollow chocolate figures like a Santa Claus or an Easter bunny in a perfectly fitting protective layer made of printed aluminium foil. Today, Tina Gerfer is head of the medium-sized mechanical engineering company, which has long ago grown beyond packaging for hollow figures.