Sustainability

Plastic beer bottle could be big

Australian brewing giant Carlton United Breweries has high hopes for a barrier beer bottle made of plastic. In the meantime, it's launched a monolayer PET bottle that's causing quite a stir.

December 31, 1996

Machinery: Page 1163

Flexible packaging

Header labels applied automatically

Three years in the making, a machine that automatically applies header labels to pouches produced on vertical form/fill/seal machines is ready for the packaging marketplace.

December 31, 1996

Coding, Printing & Labeling

FDA taking new look at medical foods

FDA is re-evaluating its regulation of "medical foods" and is seeking comments on the criteria used to determine if a product meets the definition of a medical food, appropriate safety standards, claim substantiation, labeling, quality control procedures and postmarketing surveillance requirements.

December 31, 1996

Converting equipment

Graphics, coex make for noteworthy tube

Colgate-Palmolive Canada is counting on graphics representing a trio of Looney Tunes characters from Space Jam to spark sales of its Colgate Junior brand toothpaste.

December 31, 1996

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Skimming fat, not nutrients

FDA has issued new rules on milk labeling designed to eliminate consumer confusion about the fat content of milk and milk products. Until now, milk was not held to the same nutrition labeling standards as other products on the use of terms like "low fat." As a result, many consumers believed skim milk contained fewer nutrients than other types, and that 2% milk was low fat.

December 31, 1996

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Replacing Kessler at FDA

The man who changed the face of food package labels is leaving the Food and Drug Administration, and Congress and industry are waiting to see who is named to succeed Dr.

December 31, 1996

Converting equipment

AquaPenn bottles Gerber, adds band

Milesburg, PA-based AquaPenn Spring Water Co. signed an agreement with Gerber Products Co., Fremont, MI, that gives AquaPenn the rights to fill 1.5-L of Gerber® Baby Water into clear polyethylene terephthalate bottles.

December 31, 1996

Coding, Printing & Labeling

Shrink label gives this mule a kick

From Russia by way of the U.K. comes a vodka-based drink called the Smirnoff Mule in a glass bottle with a label that's nearly as exotic as the beverage itself.

December 31, 1996

Feeding/inserting/unscrambling

Supplier news: Domestic acquisitions, agreements

Hoppmann Corp. (Chantilly, VA) acquired certain business interests of Feeder Systems (Vista, CA). Hoppmann also acquired exclusive rights to a labeler line from Applied Technologies, Inc.

December 31, 1996

Bag/pouch fill/seal (pre-made bags)

No-fluff package

O'Tec, Inc., one of the few producers of bagged cotton candy for the retail market, attributes much of its success to the high-barrier flexible bag it uses to protect the spun sugar from moisture.

December 31, 1996

Blisters/clamshells/skin packaging

CR packages: another bone of contention

Among the packaging regulatory battlegrounds between Europeans and Americans is child resistant packaging. It is covered by ISO 8317, which is considerably weaker than the law established here by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

December 31, 1996

Controls & Machine Components

Bundled data exchange

PLCDirect has bundled its DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) Server with Intouch(TM) Lite software by Wonderware® to provide users with an object-oriented man/machine interface suitable for use on most PLC systems.

November 30, 1996

Controls & Machine Components

Tray former

The Combi TF2 is a low-cost tray former from Combi America (Canton, OH) designed to fold and glue die-cut trays. It forms trays measuring from 12" x 9" x 2" to 22" x 16" x 4" at speeds of 18/min.

November 30, 1996