Packaging food today does more than protect the product. The most important function of food packaging, right from packaging through transport, storage, and retail, is to ensure that all contents reach private homes in one piece. Design and material have an impact on purchasing decisions. More people are looking for food in more sustainable packaging.
Without packaging, most foods can’t be transported, stored, or sold. They would also spoil if they were not packaged. Protective wrapping prevents the food from being damaged or ruined by light, oxygen and humidity. Extended shelf-life can be a significant contribution to reducing food wastage.
Globally, more than 930 million tons of food are wasted every year along the value chain. This figure is based on the UN Environment Programme (UNEP)’s last report. Food Waste in Switzerland even claims that a third of all food wastes or is lost from the farm to the table. It is also part of UN Agenda 2030 that aims to cut global food waste by half by 2030. Food waste is also a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Food Waste Index Report 2021. This wastefulness can be minimized by packaging.
Following the “Sustainable Development Goals” of the United Nations is also the SAVE FOOD Initiative, which was founded in 2011 by Messe Düsseldorf, the FAO and interpack. Their mission is to increase public awareness and find counter strategies and solutions with society, politics, and the industry. Innovations from the packaging sector are particularly important. SAVE FOOD is currently conducting research to find out how food waste and other by-products can be used to make biodegradable packaging.
Protection and sustainability in one package
Packaging does more than prolong shelf-life and freshness. Customers are demanding more environmentally-friendly packaging. Packaging should be recyclable or made of sustainable materials and provide maximum protection for perishable goods. This means that food packaging is an extremely high-tech product. For example, the company allvac Folien GmbH has developed an eleven-layer polyamide/polythethylene food wrap which is fully recyclable and for this has been awarded certification valid throughout the EU by the cyclos-HTP institute. “Offering no eco-friendly packaging solutions is no longer an option. The pressure on food manufacturers simply is too great.” says Andreas S. Gasse, CEO of allvac Folien GmbH.
Polyamide films with bi-axial orientation are suitable for aroma-proof packaging. These films can be used to package oily, fat, or frozen foods. These films have special properties that are due to certain stretching processes. This is why there is a growing demand for suitable film stretching lines. One manufacturer of such lines, interpack exhibitor Brückner Maschinenbau, also focuses on greater efficiency while producing the films. From a mechanical engineering perspective, this is achieved through less use of resources, less consumption of energy and a “zero waste” policy in film manufacture. Brückner has now developed matching concepts for factory lines.
Recycles with food contact
Greiner Packaging has used packaging solutions made up to 100 per cent PET recyclates (so-called rPET) and hopes to prove that this is how the future food packaging will look. The heat-resistant material (rPET HTS) will make recycled PET usable for sterilization using heat. The packaging manufacturer has also developed a self-separating cardboard-plastic-combination which is supposed to make recycling easier. The cardboard wrap is used to stabilize a plastic cup with thin walls. It then separates from the cup during the waste collection. The first separation of plastic and cardboard can be done before the packaging reaches the recycling facility.
PET recycling has been a well-established process. It provides recyclates that can be used to create new food packaging. However, other plastics can also used to produce packaging for food. BASF, which uses the chemically recycled polyamide UltramidCcycled to make sustainable packaging, especially for the fresh food sector, offers new opportunities. The chemical group is exploring new opportunities to use plastic waste in its “ChemCycling” project and is further developing pyrolysis technology which is used to gain new resources from plastic waste which would otherwise be energetically recycled y or sent to a landfill.
“A thermochemical process lets our partners gain recycled raw materials from old plastics, which are then fed into the BASF system. The mass balance can be used to track the raw material to specific products such as Ultramid Ccycled. This allows for the replacement of fossil resources and is a significant step towards a circular economy. As chemically recycled plastics are equal to new products with regard to their quality and safety, the range of sustainable plastics which can be used to package fresh goods is increasing”, says Dominik Winter, Vice President of the European polyamide business at BASF.
Automating the packaging procedure
Machine manufacturers and packaging producers have long been adapting to these new demands. Syntegon machines that are used to package food have recently been able also to process sustainable materials. One example is that carton erectors can now produce paper trays for biscuits instead of using plastic trays. As well as processing plastics, vertical tubular bag machine are also capable of producing paper-based products. For example, they produce pillow bags for frozen products and stand-up pouches for dry food.
Manufacturers and producers need to be flexible due to the shift in retail towards efoods and the continuous demand for fresh foods. The Schubert Group offers a robot-based packaging machine as a solution. The robots were created by the company and allow automation with optimal harmonization in packaging processes. They can pick up fresh products like sausages and baked goods straight from production and place them in primary packaging such as trays or flat bowls. Special tools may be required to adapt to the product’s shape and make it suitable for food hygiene. Schubert developed the 3D printer Partbox. Customers can now make parts on-site, so they are ready in a matter of minutes. Customers can quickly replace defective parts and create new products by themselves. Schubert also offers the matching printing material plastic Partbox Black. It is food-safe, meets all requirements and has excellent mechanical properties.
Printing on compostable film is not possible
The Domino Laser Academy in Hamburg has a team of experts who are constantly researching new substrates to help companies code and mark their food packaging. “We spend a lot of time analysing new packaging materials. Due to the new European legal requirements for recycled plastics, around 95 percent of the food packaging samples we need to test are recycled or recyclable plastics. The coding of these substrates is possible with our fiber and uv lasers. We believe that there will be a greater demand for compostable solutions in the next few years. We therefore want to be prepared to offer our customers relevant advice and solutions for these new materials,” says Stefan Stadler, team leader at the Domino Laser Academy.
This is why the laser team tested the NatureFlex compostable film products from Futamura to determine their suitability for laser code. The laser produces crisp, white codes on the film without altering the film’s integrity, chemical composition or the properties of its moisture barrier. Print-free coding is not dependent on additional materials. This will make it much easier to obtain certification for the final packaging.
There is no hygiene option
Packaging companies in the food industry must follow strict regulations that require a high standard of hygiene. Hygiene goes beyond just cleaning and disinfecting. For many purposes, compressed air is used, including in the food sector. It must not come into contact with food, or be used for cleaning. SMC Deutschland developed a bacteria filter that meets strict hygiene requirements. With a filter performance of 99.99 percent, it makes sure that international food standards can be met. This is applicable to compressed air being used to open and keep open packaging during filling.
Visitors are most likely to interpack the food sector, which is evident in the variety of their presentations. At the world’s leading trade fair for Processing & Packaging in Düsseldorf from 4 to 10 May 2023, visitors can discover which sustainable solutions for the future the food industry has ready. Halls 5 and 6, as well as 11-14, are home to the majority of the food industry. You can find more information on interpack at www.interpack.com
(Our correspondents Shardul Sharma [email protected] and Naresh Khanna [email protected] will cover Metpack in Essen and Interpack in Dusseldorf this May for www.indifoodbev.com, www.healthtekpak.com and www.packagingsouthasia.com.)