Pat Reynolds, VP/Editor at Packaging World magazine, has traveled the world over in covering new developments in packaging, and he’s headed to Process Expo to share some of the newest things to hit his radar screen. In the U.S., large particulates are being aseptically packaged in cartons and cook-in bags are becoming popular. In the U.S. and in Europe, microwave shielding technologies are beginning to move from the lab to the store shelf, while High Pressure Pasteurization is poised to greatly extend refrigerated shelf life of a number of foods. In Mexico, plastic cups for baby food can be safety heated in the microwave oven. In the UK, oxygen scavenging films are helping supermarkets extend shelf life of packaged potatoes.
Whole new packaging applications are opening up in rigid plastics thanks to recent improvements in container performance. Better thermal stability, more gas barrier properties, improvements in dispensing ease—these and other developments are things that all food and beverage manufacturers will want to know about. Gordon Bockner will bring the audience up to speed on many of these cutting edge technological advancements. On the sustainability side, he’ll assess biopolymers and new uses of recycled content. Also, what does the vertical integration of PET manufacturing in North America mean to beverage manufacturers?
