Food packaging -- interpack

Image: Juha Hakulinen, VTT Technical Research Center of Finland

30/11/2023

VTT PILOTS CELLULOSE AS ALTERNATIVE TO RIGID POLYPROPYLENE PACKAGING

Researchers at the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have developed formable, cellulose-based webs that they say offer a sustainable alternative to plastic in rigid polypropylene in food packaging applications.

Image: BASF

14/11/2023

Women in packaging: Mia Pettersson – helping take compostable bioplastics to the next level

BASF has been active in the bioplastics field for more than 30 years. Swedish chemical engineer Mia Pettersson is head of BASF’s biopolymer portfolio in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where she works on continuing to develop compostable and biodegradable plastics while supporting women in their advancement in the company.

Digitally watermarked yoghurt and kefir containers

Image: Aldi Süd Gruppe

14/11/2023

Final testing stage for HolyGrail 2.0

Digital watermarks could play a key role in the future when it comes to packaging recyclability. They are invisible to the human eye but carry a wealth of information. The HolyGrail 2.0 initiative aims to implement the technology for large-scale sorting of post-consumer waste, with plans for a test market in France in 2024. The final stage of testing has now begun.

Bild: Checkpoint Systems

11/10/2023

Keeping an eye on reusable containers

Since the beginning of 2023, reusable containers are mandatory in restaurants. For the proprietors, it is often not easy to keep track of stock levels and the necessary order quantities for resupply. This is where RFID systems can be useful, as they help to record each single container quickly and without contact. McDonald’s France is already using this technology for its reusable packaging.

Image: Siegwerk Druckfarben

11/10/2023

How coloured foil bags become colourless granules

Colourful plastic packaging sells well. However, the printing colour also prevents the packaging from being recycled in the form of transparent granules. Now there is a solution that completely removes printing colours and barrier coatings from foil bags. Afterwards, the packaging can be recycled to almost colourless granules.

Image: BASF

12/09/2023

What are the environmental impacts of alternative raw materials?

In mass balancing, chemically recycled or bio-based raw materials are input at the very beginning of plastics production and then computationally assigned to the end products. Using the example of flexible mozzarella packaging, a study investigated whether and how this procedure influences the life-cycle assessment of packaging produced from these raw materials.

Image: Adobe stock/Suttiphong

10/08/2023

What does artificial intelligence have to offer in the field of packaging design?

AI systems have played a role in our everyday lives for a long time now and have become an integral part of the industrial sector. Whether used in manufacturing, logistics or quality control, they complete many tasks more quickly than humans. But what does artificial intelligence have to offer in the creative sphere?

Two men with a tray made from pulp material

Image: PulPac

11/07/2023

Eurostars project for fibre-based packaging concluded

As part of the Eurostars funding programme, PulPac in Sweden and the Bio-Lutions start-up in Germany have together developed a prototype for a new dry-moulded-fibre machine that’s able to process fibres from agricultural waste. The project saw them adapting standard components that are traditionally used to make plastic products.

Detail of a packaging plant with revolving grippers.

Image: Rotzinger

11/07/2023

Wireless automation

Manufacturing increasingly requires automated solutions that intelligently network components within plants. Rotzinger is therefore now using CoreTigo's wireless IO-link technology in its new machine for packaging food. The technology is being employedfor wireless control of grippers on a rail system as they move through the plant performing tasks.

Image: thyssenkrupp Rasselstein

13/06/2023

Tin packaging becomes more climate-friendly

They are regarded as best for recycling: Tin cans, tubes and bottles. But they don’t score well in terms of their carbon footprint because it is not yet possible to produce steel without using coal as the source of energy. Industry is, however, working on more sustainable solutions and has launched the first carbon-reduced steel for packaging.

Food packaging with compostable extrusion coating

Image: BASF

13/06/2023

Compostable coating for food-safe paper packaging

Barrier properties are particularly important to food packaging. Consumers are additionally demanding solutions that are environmentally friendly. BASF has developed an extrusion coating for paper and cardboard packaging, which may be composted both industrially and domestically.

Millad®️ NX®️ 8000 for PP certified by RecyClass for plastic packaging recycling in Europe.

Image: Milliken & Co.

23/05/2023

Mono-material packaging solutions take center stage at interpack

Polypropylene is durable, lightweight and very popular as a packaging material, but often requires multi-material constructions to ensure end-use performance, making such packages difficult to recycle. New material developments –– improving barrier properties and clarity –– are making effective, all-PP packages a reality.

The SoVi app’s user interface being displayed on several mobile-phone screens.

Image: SonicView

16/05/2023

Designing barrier-free packaging

No packaging, no product protection. But how can the visually impaired be sure about what they’re putting in their shopping baskets? A German designer has come up with a clever solution to this problem.

The students worked on the research project in six teams. (Image: BAU)

18/04/2023

SAVE FOOD research project: New food packaging from leftover food

Food production generates a lot of residual material, which is usually not put to use but disposed of. At the same time, there is an increasing demand for alternatives to plastic packaging. Biodegradable and compostable packaging can be a sustainable solution, especially if it is made of leftovers from food production.

Cold shipping with paperfloc eco systems

Impression of a trade fair hall at interpack

18/04/2023

These topics will shape interpack 2023

Circular economy, conserving resources, digital technologies and product safety – those are the four hot topics which will shape interpack 2023 more than any other issue. But what exactly are these focal points of interest all about?

tna’s virtual factory experience at Interpack 2023

tna at interpack 2023

10/04/2023

Advertorial - Virtual processing and packaging world to advance sustainability

tna invites food producers for a virtual factory immersive experience at interpack 2023.

The carbon neutral paperfloc eco systems keep temperature sensitive products cold and can be disposed of completely with the waste paper. (Image: easy2cool GmbH)

13/03/2023

Green shipping package for temperature sensitive products

When food, cosmetics or pharmaceutical products have to be shipped, they sometimes need constant cooling. Often, the solution is polystyrene. The Munich company easy2cool has developed a sustainable alternative. The paperfloc systems are fully recyclable.

Is automation the end-all and be-all? (Image: Rock'n Roll Monkey/unsplash)

10/03/2023

Where does automation help in packaging?

Trend topic or permanent issue? Everybody is talking about automation. However, switching to fully automated packaging solutions is anything but a guarantee for success. Small and medium sized companies should consider several things before investing in large machinery.

Biobased plastic wrap made from coffee grounds

As part of the WaysTUP! project, Aimplas has produced a plastic wrap from coffee grounds. (Image: Aimplas)

14/02/2023

Plastic wrap from coffee grounds

The project WaysTUP! is looking for new use options to maintain organic waste in circulation for longer and to use it as secondary raw materials. The Spanish centre for plastic technology Aimplas is using coffee grounds to make biobased polymers for flexible packaging.

A bottle made of bioplastic stands on top of a moss covered tree stump.

Looks like PET, but is PEF bioplastic. (Image: Avantium)

14/02/2023

Bioplastics in packaging

There is a reason why the packaging industry has been focusing for decades on the many different applications for fossil plastics. Now, companies are increasingly focussing on biobased plastics. But what are the possible applications, and what needs to be considered during the changeover?

The European Green Deal is supposed to make Europe carbon neutral by 2050. (Image: unsplash/Alexandre Lallemand)

17/01/2023

European Green Deal – ambitious concept for carbon neutrality in Europe

The bundle of measures that makes up the Green Deal is supposed to make Europe the first carbon neutral continent. Circular economy is an important stepping stone on the way to achieving this goal. The EU Commission now has presented a suggestion for a packaging regulation which is supposed to create a new order for the European packaging market.

The new film by allvac is suitable for wrapping foods and has a high degree of recyclability. (Image: allvac Folien GmbH)

16/01/2023

Recyclable wrap for food packaging

Film wrapping can achieve an appetising presentation of foods at the PoS. For composite films, their ability to be recycled is especially relevant. allvac has achieved confirmation from the cyclos-HTP institute that their new wrapping film is 100 percent recyclable.

Bottles of Maggi condiment from 1886 to 2011

The Maggi condiment over the years. The dark bottle with the red and gold design remains unique until today. (Image: Nestlé)

25/09/2022

125 years of Maggi in Germany

Some brands seem made for eternity – and so is their respective packaging. Maggi, Swiss manufacturer of condiments, is a fixture in many modern kitchens, and in German-speaking areas every child recognises the brown bottle with its red and gold label.

Close-up of the recycling symbol for polypropylene.

Many companies are switching their packaging to mono-materials like polypropylene. But what are their advantages and disadvantages? (Picture: Shutterstock/ CalypsoArt)