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Emerging trends in food packaging & manufacturing systems and technology
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Wednesday, 06 March, 2019, 15 : 00 PM [IST]
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Amar Shah
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 Being a traveller and explorer, I witnessed a shift of different food packaging materials at various restaurants. From washable cutlery to disposable paper containers, from polythene plastic bags to paper or cloth bags, from plastic/metal cutlery to disposable cutlery we evolved with time and that’s I called a development which becomes a trend.
Every QSR brand is now shifting to disposables. QSR gaints like Domino’s, KFC and Subway are the best examples of brand hammering using disposables for every culinary use. Disposables became a trend now.
The idea of our company initiated when we came across the food packaging methods followed in Western countries and traditional Indian food packaging methodologies. While studying different types of disposables packaging, our main aim was to meet global standard packaging level. Factors like shape, size and material were taken into consideration while designing the desired packaging. Environmental pollution was the main concern while selecting material for the packaging, we opted ITC food-grade paper which is biodegradable and recyclable. As a paper, it has a large uninterrupted labelling area for custom branding opportunities.
Achieve two goals
A trend is a change to achieve the best than the previous. In food packaging, it may vary depending on the type of food category, whether it is a pre-packed or takeaway purpose. Generally, a trend in food packaging tends to achieve two goals: reduce its impact on the environment while still differentiating a brand and food purchasing experience through packaging improvement.
Humans are adaptable, they evolved with time and so the human needs. Considering the fast-paced lifestyle of humans, food packets need to be easy to open and then reseal them, without the food getting wasted. Apart from consumers convenience of handling packaging, it should help the manufacturer to pass their message. A good eye-catching printed packet attracts customers, printed packets include a list of food ingredients, date of manufacturing and expiry and so on. These kinds of presentational aspects of food packets do not actually do anything to keep the food in better condition.
Such packaging increases awareness about the food product which results in a good sale by creating a brand image that the buyer instantly recognises. It also achieves the goal of appealing customers in terms of shape, convenience, size and colour.
Innovative packaging techniques
Food packaging market is possibly the biggest application section of the packaging sector and consists of over one-third of the total global packaging industry. Changes in consumer demand, industrial production trends, retailing methods, and customer lifestyles are the major forces driving the evolution of food packaging and innovative packaging techniques that preserve and supervise food safety and quality, extend shelf-life, and reduce the environmental impact of food packaging.
Plastic, paper, and clothes are flexible packaging materials. To maintain the quality of high-value product packaging of glass and metals have been used which are corrosion- resistant and stronger. Polymers (plastics) have many desirable characteristics like transparency, softness, heat sealability and good strength to weight ratio.
Commonly used plastics
The most commonly used plastics in the packaging industry are Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), and polyamide. Polymers are neither totally recyclable nor biodegradable they cause undesirable changes to the environment causing risk to human health and ecosystems.
If paper for food packaging is taken into consideration it is also not supposed to come in direct contact with the food as it contains phosphorus contents. It should be laminated with some type of food grade coating which will act as a barrier between food and paper. Although the packaging industry is producing new products, paperboard packaging may remain the first priority of packaging for the packaging companies. The reason behind this is the innovation of coated paperboards that could be used to appeal to growing global food markets.
Most of the packed food has inline packaging which is automated using robotic arms. Automated food packaging saves time and neglects manual errors which may occur during manual packing. Food manufacturers use different machines for different production lines and for various purposes. These machines are integrated into a single packaging line to produce and pack food in one go.
Wrapping, labelling, picking, placing, cartoning are some functions which execute during in-line packaging. Another type of food packaging is where packaging material is produced at one place and it gets distributed to various consumers to meet their packaging requirement. Disposable food and beverage packaging manufacturers are more likely to produce ecofriendly cutleries.
Disposable food packaging
Disposable food packaging refers to disposable items which are used in fast food restaurants, takeout restaurants, and catering services. Plastic, paper, wood are major material used to manufacture disposable items, they can be moulded into containers, bowls, and trays. Recently there has been a backlash against a large amount of waste produced from disposable food packaging particularly plastic packaging with consumers demanding a change to biodegradable material.
The most important task of food packaging is to maintain food safety. According to the USFDA, more than 75 million people per year become ill due to bad packaging which can also lead to food poisoning. To maintain food safety, packaging inspection is mandatory. Automated packaging inspection reduces labour costs and maintains high productivity.
Today’s consumers are demanding and always are on top of the toes. They are attracted to creative and functional packaging. The key players in the food packaging industry have accepted this challenge and further will also be ready to meet the high expectations of today’s customers. We can expect packaging to evolve tremendously which meets aspects such as functional, greener, sustainable, ecofriendly, lighter but stylish at the same time.
(The author is director at Packwingz Packaging Llp.
He can be contacted at amar@packwingz.com)
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