Natural chemical might keep fruits and vegetables fresh for longer

Researchers working at the University of Guelph in Canada have discovered they can use hexanal (a compound naturally produced by fruits and veggies) to keep produce fresh for…

Herb packaging presented in 3D

Do you want to present new packaging? Mediane knows just how to do that. They recently presented their organic herb packaging on social media in 3D. Check it out below!

What are the trends in food packaging?

Reducing, reusing, and recycling are the pillars of waste management, including in the packaging sector. These are the basis of the upcoming trends in food packaging, mainly…

First commercial sale of shelf life extension treatment for bell peppers

Save Foods, an agri-food-tech company focused on developing and selling eco-friendly products specifically designed to extend the shelf life and ensure the safety of fresh…

"A manufacturing breakthrough in packaging sustainability"

The latest food packaging technology has provided a major leap forward for the sustainability of heat-sealed fresh produce punnets and trays. A series of new punnet and tray designs, launched by Westpak Group Ltd, offers grocery retailers and their suppliers a set of commercially viable paper-based…

Silphie packaging for Lidl and Kaufland

Lidl and Kaufland are promoting the use of packaging made with locally grown silphie plant fibre. PreZero, the environmental division of Schwarz Group, has spearheaded a…

"We have the most advanced and market ready tray sealer"

Over the years there have been continued calls from fruit packers for faster, more efficient tray sealing machines and now one UK company has come up with the technology to do this. Packaging Automation has been in the business for close to 60 years and has a lot of experience in designing and…

"Healthy interest in sustainable packaging, even among discounters"

The topic of sustainable packaging in the fruit and vegetable trade seems to be experiencing a renaissance after the months-long impasse during the lockdown. Due to the approaching plastic ban within French food retail from 2022 onwards and similar negotiations going on in several other European…

FEFCO launches testing methodology for printed corrugated board in food contact

The European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers (FEFCO) has issued the FEFCO Testing methodology for printed corrugated board in food contact. At EU level there is…

Twin Creeks greenhouse packing 7 T peppers per hour

“We take a lot of pride in our operations. For our packing line, we had other companies price out systems but the features of the Greefa system made the difference for us,” says Mike Cornelissen of Twin Creeks Greenhouse in Watford, ON. 40 acresTwin Creeks Greenhouse has been producing peppers since 2017,…

Durable and recyclable net bags for fruit and vegetables

Reducing the use of plastic for fruits and vegetables is possible, and Sicily's M.T. Reti, which has been producing net bags for citrus fruits and vegetables for more than 20 years, is taking important steps in this field. Antonino Testa and Giuseppe Martorana of M.T. Reti "We have long been looking for alternatives…

South Africa: Packaging innovation is the solution to creating a circular economy

Manufacturers and retailers are looking to innovation to find sustainable solutions to replace single-use plastic. One such solution is the locally manufactured Freshpact range of paper punnets, developed by Mpact, a South African packaging manufacturer and recycler. This relatively new concept in fresh…

"The price of wood has tripled, and we have never seen anything like this before"

Fruit and vegetable growers and marketers are facing rising costs when placing their products on the market. One of the inputs that have seen the highest price increase is packaging materials, including cardboard, plastic, and wood. This is a consequence of high energy and fuel costs and severe supply…

UK: Timber packaging and pallet industry battles challenges

The packaging and pallet sector is under pressure from Covid, Brexit, and other factors, according to Timber Packaging and Pallet Confederation president, John Dye. “While the…

Vacuum cooling and cleaning for indoor farming

Weber Cooling has been supplying vacuum coolers to indoor and vertical farming growers worldwide. Although crops are grown nearby consumers, cooling still remains an essential part of the entire process that is needed in order to guarantee the preservation of the high produce quality to the end consumer.…

“We are working on the packaging of the future”

2JV Emballage is based in the north of France, not far from Douai. This young company created in 2016 offers a complete range of packaging for the agri-food sector, from fruit and vegetables to meat, poultry, and fish. At first, the company revolved around endive packaging (boxes, trays, bags), but it…

Colruyt washes crates for fruit and vegetables itself thanks to brand new crate wash

Colruyt Lowest Prices recently installed a brand new crate washing installation that washes 17,000 crates of fruit and vegetables every hour. This installation, which was developed by the company's own teams in consultation with Euro Pool System (EPS), is unique in Europe and ensures a shorter transport…

United Fresh attends White House signing ceremony for infrastructure bill

United Fresh president and CEO Tom Stenzel attended the White House ceremony yesterday as President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. “United Fresh has worked with the Administration and bipartisan Congressional leaders to pass a comprehensive infrastructure…

PMA advancing efforts in PLU innovations

Produce Marketing Association (PMA) has announced a breadth of efforts to advance innovation and industry involvement with regulators on PLU stickers. This follows the decision for many countries across Europe to pass regulations that ban non-home compostable PLU stickers, the only effective way to…

Researchers create bioplastics from tomato skin that decompose within a month at sea

Researchers at the La Mayora Subtropical and Mediterranean Hortofruticulture Institute have developed bioplastics from tomato remains that have similar properties to…

Biodegradable polymers for use across multiple industries

A "100% biodegradable polymer" is one that will be completely turned into carbon dioxide, humus, and water by soil microorganisms. Genecis produces biodegradable polymers…

OutNature/Schwarz Gruppe

Sustainable silphia packaging from OutNature at Lidl and Kaufland

The environmental division of the Schwarz Group, PreZero, is developing new, sustainable fiber and paper products for packaging solutions via its OutNature brand. Following a successful pilot phase, the two retail divisions Lidl and Kaufland are now introducing paper packaging based on the silphia plant…

Sustainable lidding film for the soft fruit industry to maintain longer freshness

Heat seal coating specialist Sappi Rockwell Solutions has launched a recyclable, lightweight heat seal, a lidding film designed specifically for the fresh produce market. The highly versatile RockFruit lidding film range provides a strong, peelable seal onto a wide variety of substrates including rPET,…

“We will have to manage the flow of raw materials and the soaring costs”

With a commercial career path in various sectors and industries including horticulture, Séverine Didier, with her extensive experience and strong customer orientation, is now…

"Sustainability is going to be a key factor in packaging"

The production of food packaging is conditioned by the consumers' purchasing decisions, and this trend will increase in the future, according to the technician of the packing…

Paper is an effective and cost-effective cold chain packing solution

During the pandemic, use of ecommerce spiked, including online purchasing of food products that require thermal protection during the shipping process. In most cases, products are delivered within 24 hours, and traditionally, many of these products have been shipped using expanded polystyrene (EPS) boxes…

"Packaging with a natural look and without plastic find increasing resonance"

Herxheim-based packaging supplier Martin Dradrach exhibits at the Karlsruhe trade fair again this year. "We have noticed how important expoSE/expoDirekt is for customer care," Petra Anders told Freshplaza.de. The company has been one of the regular exhibitors at the two-day trade event in the Karlsruhe…

Why does the Spanish food sector defend plastic against the packaging decree?

The food sector as a whole – farmers, manufacturers, supermarkets, and hoteliers – has presented objections to the Government's Draft Royal Decree on Containers, defending…

Demand for fresh produce boxes soars during lockdown

Covid-19 has meant a huge increase in business for Joanne Webb, who manages Christchurch-based business Eatlocal.nz. The company saw orders skyrocket when the recent New…

The story behind packaged vegetables

With the aim of communicating the great care that goes into the entire production process in order to guarantee a quality product that meets both the consumer's needs and health requirements, Op Oasi, as a partner of Bonduelle, organized a visit to its plant in Battipaglia (Salerno) on 27 October 2021. Arugula…

"NeRa nestable, rackable, and stackable heavy-duty plastic pallet can deliver game-changing efficiencies"

In August 2020, Tosca, a specialist in reusable packaging and supply chain solutions, acquired Contraload NV, a company in plastic pallet pooling in the United Kingdom and European Union. The acquisition of Contraload enabled Tosca to service supply chains end to end, from the first mile to the last…

Tipa Corp

Compostable produce packaging adds shelf life and sustainability

Compostable packaging solutions from Tipa are being implemented worldwide in Europe, Australia, and the US. There is a particular focus on food and fashion industries, as these are two key markets that use a high volume of flexible packaging. In the US, Tipa worked with Fresh Harvest to deliver solutions…

"This machine now makes cardboard packaging not only ecologically, but also economically interesting"

Tomeco, a partnership of Belgian tomato growers, is taking a new step in the transition from plastic to cardboard packaging. With the purchase of a new machine, the group is able to pack products in cardboard on a large scale. "The possibilities with this new machine are endless, and it also fits in…

The solution to extending the shelf life of fresh food & fresh produce?

The fresh food, fresh produce, and packaging sectors have been looking to source a product that can extend the shelf life of growers' and suppliers’ products for a long time.…

Tesco

Tesco to launch PET ‘tray to tray’ recycling initiative with Faerch

Supermarket chain Tesco and sustainable packaging solutions company Faerch have collaborated on what they claim is an industry first, closed-loop recycling solution that ensures secondary plastic packaging used to transport and display products on shelves is retained by the food packaging industry. The…

High temperatures are in the past: cold sealing is here

Most packages are sealed under high temperatures. However, there is now a new, not so hot way of enclosing the produce: cold sealing. At the Fruit Attractión 2021, Juan José Cruz, manager of Earis, presented Cold Sealing, a technology suitable for sealing fruit trays and other fresh products. Cold sealing…

Single-use plastic products banned in Slovakia

In Slovakia, an amendment of the Act No. 79/2015 Coll came into force on July 3, 2021, prohibiting companies from placing certain single-use plastic products as well as…

Folding stacking crates offer new possibilities

With this folding stacking crate, Remmert Dekker Packaging has reinvented the iconic fruit and vegetable crate. According to this Dutch manufacturer, it is both foldable and stackable.…

New recyclable barrier paper keeps salads fresh

Mondi, a global player in packaging and paper, has introduced its first recyclable functional barrier paper bag for salads in the Group LSDH’s Les Crudettes range. Sustainable packaging is a fully integrated solution – Mondi operates across the value chain from sustainably managed forests to producing…

Greenhouse plastic waste in Spain

Last week, France 24 broadcasted a documentary report called 'Spain: the challenge of plastic recycling in Andalusia, the garden of Europe'  in which it delved into the issue of…

Washington farm takes on plastic packaging problem

Diamondback Acres, based in Lake Chelan, Washington, has been farming organic produce since 1991. Farm owners Bill and Angell Clark have put sustainability at the core of the…

Grover and Ada: water-saving robots that grow hydroponic produce

Developed by a Silicon Valley startup called Iron Ox, these farming robots are integrated with a hydroponic system that allows plants to grow in a water-based solution. The robots are called Grover and Ada, and they are making the most of water and electricity. In essence, these robots are growing more crops…

"The first ever Online Customer Days proved to be a success"

The first-ever virtual Customer Days have been a success for Kronen GmbH. Eleven workshops with subsequent question and answer sessions and over 60 open as well as individual live machine demonstrations were held. Of the over 270 participants from around 40 countries who registered for the Customer Days,…

A patent to fully recycle plastic

Siropack, a company based in Cesenatico that develops packaging technologies, has set up the "Respect" patent to fully recycle the plastic of food containers, fresh produce included. On October 6-7, 2021, Canadian multinational Cascades visited the Siropack facility to sign an agreement for the exclusive…

AU: Public wants Government to back compostable packaging over recycling

Responding to a landmark new poll, almost 8 out of 10 Australian adults (78%) believe using compostable packaging is a more effective solution to the plastic waste crisis than recycling plastic. Almost 9 out of 10 (89%) are concerned about the plastic waste generated from packaging, and a further 79%…

Waddington Europe offers new punnet that's easier to recycle, using less plastic

European thermoforming packager Waddington® Europe, a division of Novolex®, has launched a new 100% mono-material protective soft-fruit punnet thanks to the company's MONOAIR™ cushion technology. Traditionally, punnet bases require an additional layer of bubble padding attached with a glue adhesive to…

“Yes to the reduction of plastic packaging, but in a realistic and concerted way”

The publication of the implementation decree of the anti-waste law for a circular economy in France, voted on in January 2020, appeared on the 12th of October 2021. From…

Packaging machine works with plastic and alternative materials

The Wrap Box machine is a valid solution for the protection of citrus fruits, apricots, cherries, kiwis, apples, tomatoes, pears, peaches and grapes, just to mention a few. It works on cardboard or wooden boxes of different shapes and sizes. The Bologna-based company GNA srl is now offering its Wrap Box wrapping…

Limits and taxes on plastic will cost the food industry 2 billion euro

Limiting the use of plastics in packaging will cost food and beverage companies, as well as the drugstore and home hygiene industry - the most affected by the measure - 2,000…

Packaging machine works with plastic and alternative materials

The Wrap Box machine is a valid solution for the protection of citrus fruits, apricots, cherries, kiwis, apples, tomatoes, pears, peaches and grapes, just to mention a few. It works on cardboard or wooden boxes of different shapes and sizes. The Bologna-based company GNA srl is now offering its Wrap Box wrapping…

New prototype lettuce harvester could cut manual labor by 50%

An Agri-EPI project, established to solve the problem of crippling labor shortages in the fresh produce sector, could bring mechanical lettuce harvesting another step closer.…

“Before installing the vacuum cooling system, it took a long time to cool vegetables”

Finnish vegetable grower Päivi ja Kalle Vuorenmaa have recently upgraded their cooling system, and is now using vacuum cooling. According to Kalle Vuorenmaa, the process is a lot faster than their previous cooling system: “Our company has a broccoli farm, which produces broccoli, kale, broccolini, and…

Australian veg exporters want to double shelf life of their produce

Australian vegetable exporters are looking at new tech to double the shelf life of some of their produce. They are also scrutinizing ways to increase their competitiveness…

PACCAR begins extensive field test with self driving trucks

DAF’s parent company PACCAR and FedEx have begun an extensive field test in the US with self-driving trucks. The vehicles will be driven on the route between Dallas and Houston – a journey of around 400 kilometers. The self-driving technology has been jointly developed by PACCAR and Aurora with the aim…