Controls & Machine Components

PCs penetrating packaging lines

In an exclusive PW survey, nearly half of packagers now report using PC-controlled packaging equipment, with more growth projected. However, commitment to PLCs remains strong.

May 31, 2000

Prepared Foods: Page 62

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Nutrition labeling for fresh meat

Packages of all fresh meat and poultry would be required to bear the same nutrition labeling as processed and frozen meat and poultry under legislation introduced by Rep.

May 31, 2000

Flexible packaging

Amboy breaks new ground in smaller aseptic pouches

F/f/s machine enlarges Amboy Specialty Foods’ reach to pouches as small as 3 oz. Products represent the most viscous application of the supplier’s technology in the world.

May 31, 2000

Dairy

Visual impact

Little Rock, AR-based TCBY’s ½-gal frozen yogurt packaging got a complete makeover from Fisher Design (Cincinnati, OH). The previous package featured illustrations of the flavor’s ingredients paired with light latticework set against a white background.

April 30, 2000

Prepared Foods

Short shrift

NFPA and the American Frozen Food Institute object to a proposal by FDA that it be allowed to give a “brief denial” to citizens’ petitions deemed to have no public health significance.

April 30, 2000

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Packager survey: details & prices, yes; e-commerce, no (sidebar)

Capsule reviews

April 30, 2000

Labels

Sleeve label dresses exotic Chai teas

Celestial Seasonings’ stunning full-body sleeve label provides marketing advantages for tapered, square bottles of hot-filled Mountain Chai tea lattes.

April 30, 2000

Flexible packaging

Packaging of chicken wings takes off

When Canadian poultry producer Olymel automated the packaging of its chicken wings, it was able to redeploy 12 operators formerly required for manual packaging.

April 30, 2000

Flexibles

Prisma-powered drinks are aimed at adults

An acknowledged leader in aseptic filling of PET bottles, Lassonde Industries is among the first to install a Prisma aseptic packaging system from Tetra Pak. It is used for 236-mL packages.

March 31, 2000

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Labels on crab

Some people in Maryland don’t want consumers to think they are eating Maryland crab when they’re not. The Maryland legislature is considering a bill that would require country-of-origin labeling of any container of crab meat packed or processed outside the U.S.

March 31, 2000

Flexible packaging

Flexibles feed on innovation

Keebler’s contour pouch for cookies doubles as a hand puppet, while a wrap for frozen, microwavable sandwiches provides source reduction, and an all-plastic bag offers oxygen and moisture barrier for dry pet foods.

February 29, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Unsaleable product costs reach $4.2 billion in '98

Packaging is often the problem when products and packages are diverted from retailers to reclamation centers. Credits issued are a growing cost for distributors and manufacturers, says a new report.

February 29, 2000

Secondary Packaging

Dean dips into single-serve cups

Dean Foods creates a new refrigerated foods category with four-packs of 2 3/4-oz chip and vegetable dips marketed in colorful die-cut folding cartons.

February 29, 2000