Flexibles

Liquid dairy packaging offers global opportunities

Worldwide, nearly 270 billion packs were used in 2006 for liquid dairy products, including white,

September 5, 2007

Prepared Foods: Page 28

Meat/Poultry/Seafood

Lessons from China are for your quality program

At some point, headlines about problematic products from China give one leave to ask, What’s up with China?

September 5, 2007

Conveying & accumulation

Rising to the occasion

A bakery installs new metal detectors to reduce downtime and guarantee the quality of its organic and preservative-free breads.

August 9, 2007

Conveying & accumulation

Picking, packing, and palletizing with robots

Robotics—a flexible automation system that improves productivity, quality, and workforce capabilities—continues making inroads into packaging.

August 9, 2007

Flexible packaging

Packaging machinery revs Fine Foods' production

Much like drivers appreciate the performance, handling, and flexibility of the finest sports cars, Italian contract manufacturer/packager Fine Foods opts for similar characteristics in the packaging machinery it specifies.

August 9, 2007

Closures

French vintner shakes things up

Traditional glass is but one of many options when it comes to packaging at France’s Boisset Vins & Spiritueux. PET is launched (right) and an aluminum bottle is on deck.

August 9, 2007

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Poultry/pork processor bags big benefits

Albertville Quality Foods saves labor, improves bagging speeds, cuts giveaway by installing intermittent-motion vf/f/s machine and radial scale.

August 9, 2007

Closures

Pepsi Americas relaunches juices in curved carton

New aseptic carton line in Prague helps Pepsi Americas Central Europe Group provide a 12-month shelf life that extends ambient distribution of Toma and Tropicana juice brands in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland.

July 12, 2007

Beverage

Target VP: experiences inspire great design

Compelling design gives consumers what they want before they know they want it, says Minda Gralnek, vice president and creative director for Target Stores. Target and SuperTarget reflect this philosophy in the design of store brands, and the company’s recent development of the Wine Cube carton offers one example of this thinking.

June 11, 2007

Beverage

The outlook for aseptically processed low acid beverages in pet bottles

After many years the flood gates are about ready to be opened: Aseptically processed low-acid beverages in PET bottles produced in the U.S. will finally be a reality. Look out America! Anyone who has followed the saga of aseptically processed low-acid beverages in PET bottles knows that this is a story that would be challenging to describe in a just a 750-word column. Consider this the abridged version.

June 11, 2007

Blisters/clamshells/thermoforming materials

Baking soda label acts as a freshness timer

WS Packaging Group (www.wspackaging.com) has solved a long-standing consumer conundrum of knowing when to replace the Arm & Hammer-brand Baking Soda refrigerator air filter.

June 11, 2007

Flexibles

Deli-quality sandwiches in microwave packaging

Madison, WI-based Oscar Mayer, a unit of Kraft Foods, has teamed up with Graphic Packaging International, Inc. (www.graphicpkg.com) to launch Oscar Mayer Deli Creations refrigerated, modified atmosphere-packaged sandwiches in GPI QuiltWave™ microwave receptor trays.

June 11, 2007

Prepared Foods

Also in China, cold chain begs improvement

Serious problems exist in the processing, packaging and transportation of perishable goods in China.

May 31, 2007