Packaging

Packaging meeting today’s modern demands. Some people think there is too much packaging but the world is changing and, as with any other product, packaging has evolved to meet the needs of modern society.

Today’s packaging designs and materials are constantly being influenced by many factors such as changing retail environments, increased need for health and safety precautions, and most important the consumer. Industry has responded through technical evolutions in packaging to meet these needs and continue to provide value to the consumer.

Often, packaging critics have dueling ideas about packaging: their perception of packaging as excessive is at odds with their expectations of functionality. These critics fail to recognize the evolving sophistication of packaging materials and designs that have been tailored to meet society’s modern demands.

Increased health and safety requirements
Busy lifestyles
Demographics
Retail operations
Preventing waste
Reducing our environmental footprint
Plastic Packaging Timeline

Global Concerns for Increased Health and Safety

In today’s global business environment, goods are shipped seamlessly from all over the world. This creates the potential rapid transmission of air-borne viruses. Threats of bio-terrorism and product tampering are other real-life concerns being experienced today. All of these have contributed to the need for modern packaging to provide product safety and integrity.

At the same time, concerns for healthy populations and a nation-wide increase in obesity, cardiovascular diseases and Type II diabetes, have led consumer product manufacturing companies to disclose more product information to the consumer at point of purchase. On the flip side, consumers are becoming educated shoppers and demand to have a variety of information, beyond brand and price, before they purchase. Modern packaging has responded, and is the main vehicle to communicate important messaging such as nutritional information, diabetic warnings, sugar and sodium content, cholesterol, expiry dates, and allergy warnings.

• In 1990, almost no medical packaging had tamper-evident devices. Today, nearly 100% of all pharmaceutical packaging has plastic tamper-evident seals and closures.
• Blister packs, because of their sophisticated design, have emerged as a leading technical package for tablet medicines. Plastic trays formed to the perfect size and shape of the product reduce breakage, and the foil overlay ensures a tamper-evident seal. The cardboard sleeve contains important directions, warnings and dosage.
• In Canada, product labels must be clearly written in English and French and disclose nutritional information and ingredients to the consumer at point of purchase. For nutritional supplements, like vitamins, this means the bottle is often larger than necessary. This is done to accommodate the required information.
• Fresh food that used to be sold loose and handled directly by the consumer, like salad greens and mushrooms, are now packaged in film bags and rigid containers in order to reduce the high potential for transmission of disease through frequent handling.
• Evolution in packaging design has extended the shelf life of perishable food products to reduce the likelihood of spoilage at store and in-home.
  
• Atmosphere-controlled packaging reduces the amount of oxygen that comes in contact with fresh meat to help preserve colour, texture and taste.
• New plastic flexible films, like bacon wrap, are constructed of up to seven different types of plastic and are designed to keep oxygen out, which prevents spoilage and incidents of salmonella and E. coli.
• Intelligent plastic film, used to cover ready-made meals, can detect the possible presence of bacteria in the food underneath. The film is coated with anti-body sensors that detect food-borne pathogens, like salmonella and E.coli, and will alert the consumer by generating a warning sign directly on the package.

Busy Lifestyles

Today, we are a society of busy households. Busy lives call for quick meal choices and convenient preparation. Innovations in packaging materials and design have afforded us choice, convenience and time while eating at home and on the run.

Industry has responded to our busy lifestyles by making available three main options for quick-dining experiences. Each of these is designed to offer the consumer choice, convenience and fast service – all of which requires many different kinds of packaging and materials to get the job done.

Grocery stores are increasing the amount of space dedicated to fresh, prepared foods for take home. “Meal Solutions” sections in grocery stores offer a variety of foods like pay-by-weight salad and olive bars, deli-made sandwiches, sushi, pizza and roasted chicken dinners. There is also more of a selection of frozen ready-made meals in the freezer aisle. Tasty, new international flavours reminiscent of Thailand, Asia and India are offered alongside vegetarian and calorie-wise options. Quick-service restaurants offer quick full meals to consumers on the go, and continue to expand their menus to include a variety of meal choices to suit all kinds of consumers.

• Microwavable and oven-proof trays, used to hold prepared, frozen meals, are specifically designed to absorb heat energy without melting or burning the product inside as they heat. These plastic trays are developed through specific formulations to withstand temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Celsius without loosing their shape and rigidity.
• Rigid plastic dome packaging, such as the containers used to hold whole roasted chickens, are leak-proof, re-closable and transparent so that purchasers can inspect the chicken for quality and freshness without opening the lid.
• Store-cut fresh fruit and vegetable trays are often packaged in large re-usable plastic containers covered with either a thin plastic film or a rigid top. The bottom tray can be custom molded into a multi-cavity tray that keeps juices from mixing and keeps food crisp, and the transparent cover allows consumers to see the condition of the fruit before purchasing.
• Modified-atmosphere packaging, in the form of flexible plastic films, are often used to hold fresh produce such as lettuce and other salad mixes. The plastic pouch is actually composed of many thin layers of technical materials that are designed to control the permeation of oxygen and carbon dioxide into the bag. These highly sophisticated barrier properties maintain the crispness, freshness and vibrant colour of our greens longer at the store and in our fridge.
• Quick-service restaurants have extensive menus to accommodate a variety of customer tastes and serving sizes. Items are sold by the piece and in a range of sizes. A variety of packaging materials and sizes are required in order to accommodate different consumer preferences.

Demographics: Responding to One- or Two-Person Households

In North America, the traditional family unit is shrinking. Households are moving towards one to two people. In Canada, 58 per cent of the households are now comprised of one to two people. This dictates shopping habits, which result in the use of more packaging.

• Research conducted in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands concluded that one- to two-person households use 57 per cent more packaging than four-person households. (Jan Kooijamann for the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (INCPEN), 2000 and SVM-PACT, 2000)
• Manufacturers recognize that smaller households have different eating patterns and requirements than larger households. To meet this need, many foods are now offered in prepared and pre-packaged smaller portions.
  
• Small portions of meat, like roast beef, are often not available fresh from the grocer, but are available in the prepared foods aisle in just the right size. The smaller, prepared roast requires a label sleeve to list ingredients, cooking instructions and nutritional values, plastic wrap and a heat- resistant tray. A larger fresh roast would require less packaging, but would not be practical for a one- or two-person household.
• Milk is also offered in various packaging materials and sizes (eg. a single bag of three plastic pouches or in cartons). Large households would tend to buy the 3-litre pouch option; whereas smaller households would tend to buy milk in single cartons because three pouches would likely not be consumed before the expiry date, resulting in spoilage and waste.
• Individually frozen fillets, such as steak or fish, can be purchased in quantities of six or eight. Vacuum-sealed packaging, used to protect each fillet, gives smaller households the luxury of specialty cuts in preferred portion sizes. Larger households, if buying fish, would likely buy a frozen, half or whole salmon and likely consume it all in one sitting. Individually frozen fillets require more packaging.

Retail Operations

The retail environment has changed dramatically over the past few decades. With the explosion in population, large volumes of goods are being sold on a daily basis. Retail operations are adjusting to meet consumers’ demands for easy, fast shopping and more product selection by moving to larger facilities that encourage one-stop shopping. In doing so, there is huge competitive pressure to keep prices as low as possible. One of the ways retailers are accomplishing this is by staffing fewer service personnel and using as much automation as possible throughout the store.

In response to this increased competitive retail climate, packaging, to a great extent, has become the main communication device to aid the consumer in making decisions about product selection. This has added to an already complex set of roles that include: communicating a variety of information about the product (eg. instructions for use, product features and components, visual image and clearly identifying the brand); ability to track products for inventory control (eg. stocking merchandise) and product recalls through the use of UPC codes and security features to isolate products of concern; preventing theft or slippage through the design of packaging that prevents consumer access to the product before purchase (slippage is one of the highest cost components in retailing today); and acting as a billboard to display company brand and marketing information.

• Blister packs are an example of the technical evolution in packaging design that offer an organized, efficient and cost-effective way to shop. Designed to hang on peg boards, blister packs make shopping easier for the consumer because the product is clearly displayed and within reach. Items such as nails and screws, for example, are easily identified, along with the diameter, length, application and quantity, through the transparent dome or by reading the label. Blister packs help reduce theft and prevent easy access to the product, thereby preventing damage to goods or loss of product integrity due to potential consumer handling.
• With the rise of self-service and the absence of service personnel oversight, smaller, high-cost items, such as USB drives, are being packaged in larger casings to deter theft by shoplifting. These packages are constructed in such as a way as to prevent them from being opened in the store before purchase, preventing theft and in-store trial of goods.
• Shrink wrap, often used to protect CDs, provides a strong and effective package with the minimum amount of material. The shrink wrap is designed to preserve the CD cover from damage caused by retail necessities like metallic security stickers, price tags and general wear and tear from consumer handling. Often, collectable items are packaged in shrink wrap to maintain their original value in quality and integrity.

Preventing Waste

When food is wasted before being consumed or used, so is the energy spent to grow, process, package, transport and retail it. Up to half of the food in developing countries is spoiled before it is consumed or used. In Western Europe and North America, less than three per cent of food is spoiled, thanks to our use of advanced technology and packaging. Packaging reduces food waste.

• Less than one per cent of packaged food is damaged in transit from factory to the grocery store. (INCPEN, 2008)
• Vacuum-sealed packaging can be produced with a wide range of barrier levels to extend shelf life and freshness. Pouches designed specifically for fresh meat are manufactured to be strong enough to resist abrasion and puncture, yet are clear enough to allow the consumer to inspect the product before purchase. Oxygen and moisture barriers constructed through the many layers of plastic film extend the at-store shelf life of the meat so that consumers can be confident of the freshness when the meat is stored at home.
• Packaged, processed foods, like fresh, frozen peas or corn, reduce the amount of waste going to municipal landfills. There are no pods or husks to deal with in the bags purchased from the store because they are removed during commercial processing and recycled into animal feed. Only 10 grams of packaging is required to hold one kilogram of fresh, frozen peas. Packaging fresh, frozen peas in plastic film bags eliminates about 700 grams of waste for every 454 grams of packaged peas.
• Oil and grease proof foil/laminate bags used to package potato chips and snacks are made up of several layers and types of materials that are specifically designed to control the amount of oxygen that is allowed into the bag, which prevents the chips from going stale. This technical blend of materials is also able to accommodate nitrogen at the point of packaging to protect the chips from being crushed.

Reducing our Environmental Footprint

Industry is constantly trying to balance the environmental impact with the functional requirements of packaging. It is in the best interest of industry to continually reduce the quantity of material used in packaging because it also reduces cost during the manufacturing process. Efforts to maintain low production costs help industry to keep prices low for the consumer. So, at the end of the day, the packaging that gets the job done and uses the least amount of material is a major focus for manufacturers. Packaging reduction also translates into significant energy and resource savings during the manufacture, distribution, and retailing of the product, as well as reduced greenhouse gases and other emissions. Examples include:

• 10 times more energy is used in the production of the food in the package than the package itself. (INCPEN, 2008)
• A recent European study (Gesfellschaft fur umfrassende Analysen GmbH (GUA), Austria, 2004) concluded that without the current use of plastics in packaging in Western Europe there would be:
• An additional annual energy requirement of 101.3 million barrels of oil.
• An additional 42.9 million tonnes of CO² equivalent per year. That’s equivalent to the CO² emitted by 12.3 million passenger cars per year, which represented 72 per cent of all private passenger vehicles registered in Canada in 1995. 
• When first introduced, a 4-litre plastic milk jug weighed 95 grams; today, a jug of the same capacity weighs only 60 grams. That’s a 40 per cent reduction.
• Plastic fruit and vegetable bags on roll dispensers were 1.05 mils thick in 1970. Today, they are .5 mils thick.
• The use of down-gauging and new mold designs in rigid plastic margarine tubs have reduced their original weight by nearly 30 per cent, saving about 2,500 tonnes of material each year.
• Through the use of 2-litre plastic pop bottles
• Less than 1 kilogram of plastic can deliver over 40 litres of soda
• Soda bottles now weigh almost 30 per cent less than they did in 1977. This reduction saves more than 93 million kilograms of packaging each year.
• Garbage bags have been reduced by half their original weight, and plastic shopping bags have been reduced in weight by around 70 per cent since their introduction.