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How are environmental issues affecting food packaging?

Concerns about the environment have led to some major changes in the way our food is packaged. Gone are the days of layers and layers of plastic and polystyrene. Today, eco-conscious manufacturers are looking for ways to pack food while minimizing the impact on the environment.

How Would You Like Your Food Packed?

Food packaging may not be the most glamorous area of the culinary world, but the way our food is packed speaks volumes about the way society is changing and billions of pounds are spent by the food industry each year on trying to find ways to keep up with increasing consumer demand for food packaging machinery that has as little a negative impact on the environment as possible. Not so long ago, caterers would stick everything from coffee to burgers in CFC-packed polystyrene containers which is a practice that today would have eco-conscious consumers boycotting the product. Recycled cardboard has replaced polystyrene in many cases and excess packaging has been cut down, with many manufacturers employing a ‘less is more’ approach to food packaging.

How Can Food Manufacturers Keep Up With Modern Packaging Trends?

Food packaging equipment of course needs to keep up to speed with modern demands and there have been some serious (and seriously expensive) shakeups in the industry in recent years, with manufacturers of food packaging machinery also having to keep up with an increasing demand for fresh produce over dried or tinned goods, for example, while soups once came either tinned or in a packet, today’s food-conscious buyers are looking for fresh soups with relatively short shelf lives, that tend to come in cardboard cartons or in plastic pots.

Food Packaging Machinery In The 21st Century

Food packaging equipment needs to be able to provide solutions that will keep hot food hot, cold food cold, fresh food fresh and ingredients tasting good. Vacuum sealing, freezing, drying and chemical sealing are some of the ways that manufacturers are packaging their edible goods and there are so many items of machinery on the market that it would be impossible to list them all here. Food packaging machines range from small-scale machines for packaging deli goods, for example, to mammoth operations where piston filling machines fill bottles, jars and pouches with soups and sauces for big brands. Net Weight Fillers are another popular way to package food and are a good way to package dry goods ranging from crisps and biscuits to spices and herbs.

The Future for Food Packaging

There is no question about the fact that consumers are increasingly selective not only about the type of food they are buying, but also in the way that it is packaged. In order to sell, food products need to be attractively packaged, without too much paper or plastic and with a high proportion of recyclable materials. It seems likely that this trend will only increase over coming years and the food technology industry will have some interesting challenges to face as sellers compete for consumer loyalty.

Mark Dyson is a food technology writer who regularly contributes to a range of food industry websites and blogs. He is interested in the way that food packaging equipment has evolved to meet the public’s demand for environmentally-sound packaging.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Emily hall .