Kellogg: The Incredible Shrinking Cereal Box!

Kellogg Co. is beginning a six-month test of a more consumer-friendly, space-saving box for its cereal brands in Detroit that could potentially redefine the cereal aisle. Kellogg is testing these new boxes with participating retailers in Detroit to gain valuable consumer and retailer insights that could inform a potential US rollout.

To better meet the needs of consumers and retail partners, the company is testing a new, space-saving box that offers the same amount of food (12 oz) with 8% less packaging (paperboard) material per box. By optimizing the box configuration, Kellogg is able to reduce the package size without decreasing the amount of food. This test marks the most significant innovation in cereal boxes since the 1950s, the company says.

The new packaging is designed to better meet consumers' desire for more space in their pantries. In addition to helping consumers save space at home, the new boxes being tested also could aid retailers in providing more varieties of products for consumers.

"The new compact packaging also allows for more efficient use of retailer space and enables retailers to offer a wider variety of products," says Kim Miller, vice president, Morning Foods Marketing, Kellogg Co.

Press Release -- Converting Magazine, 1/29/2009

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Biodegradable corn cups: Too good to be true?

Via Examiner

"This cup grew up in Blair, Nebraska. It's made entirely of corn. It's 100% compostable. It will disappear no matter what you do with it."

If you go into one of Boloco's several locations in the Boston area and order a drink, that's what your cup will say.

Formerly known as The Wrap, Boloco is a beacon of sustainability in a city full of fast food that's bad for you and the environment. The chain is certified by the Green Restaurant Association, and has completed 8 of the association's environmental steps: recycling and composting cardboard, glass, metal, and plastic, offering sustainable meat options, preventing pollution by not using polystyrene foam, using biodegradable cups, and outfitting its employees in organic cotton uniforms.

Because of their labeling, the corn cups are the restaurant's most obvious green effort, but are they too good to be true?

Most plastic is made from petroleum, but Boloco's cups are made from polylactic acid, or PLA. (This is done by a company called NatureWorks, a joint venture between Teijin Limited of Japan and the oft-vilified Cargill. Kudos to them for exploring environmentally low-impact technologies.) Lactic acid is made from dextrose by fermentation. Dextrose is made from starch, which in the case of these cups comes from corn. In places where corn is less common, the starch could come from crops including rice, sugar beets, sugarcane, wheat, or sweet potatoes.

All of these starch sources are also human food sources, and using them to create plastics instead of as a way to fill hungry bellies presents a problem. But in the U.S., we have more corn than we know what to do with, making the technique harder to argue with. And unlike petroleum, corn and other starchy crops are renewable resources, so making PLA uses far less fossil fuels than making regular plastic. You can see some comparisons of regular (PET) plastic and PLA plastic (marketed under the name IngeoTM) here.

But is PLA really 100% compostable? Probably not in your backyard compost bin, but in the closely regulated conditions of an industrial composter, it does compost within 45 days. And if your cup winds up in a landfill instead of a composter, it still biodegrades better than regular plastic, reacting like other food waste. Perhaps best of all, PLA products can be recycled and turned into more PLA products, which cost roughly the same amount as their plastic equivalents and work just as well.

What can you do to encourage the use of "corn cups" over traditional petroleum plastics? Patronize stores like Boloco that already use them, and be sure to say thanks for the cup. Ask what the cups are made of at other fast food restaurants, and tell the manager that you prefer to spend your money at places that use biodegradable ones.

Of course, if you really want to make a difference, the best thing you can do is bring your own re-usable cup.

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Paper versus Plastic in Packaging to 2012

According to a new study from The Freedonia Group, US demand for plastic packaging will continue to outpace paper in markets where they compete, albeit more slowly as applications mature. The fastest market share increases for plastic will occur in pet food and soy beverage packaging, followed by protective packaging, foodservice and dairy products, among others.

In selected packaging markets where paper and plastic compete, plastic’s overall volume share will continue to expand, reaching 49% by 2012. This percentage understates plastic’s share since less plastic is required than paper in most applications due to its lighter weight. Plastic’s share of the market will expand more slowly than in the past decade, as a number of packaging applications are now fairly mature in terms of the share controlled by plastic. Nonetheless, material enhancements that enable extended shelf life and increased durability, along with reduced material requirements and the addition of convenience features such as resealability and steam cooking, will fuel continued opportunities for plastic packaging.

Plastics’ competitive cost and performance advantages to spur growth

Plastic packaging growth is forecast to outpace that of paper packaging through 2012 in all competitive markets covered in this study and is projected to climb 2.4 % per year through 2012. Advances will result from plastic’s competitive cost and performance advantages, including light weight, moisture resistance, enhanced barrier properties and puncture resistance. Other factors supporting gains include increased consumer spending, and favorable outlooks for foodservice revenues and Internet commerce. The fastest market share increases for plastic will occur in pet food and soy beverage packaging, with good opportunities also anticipated in protective packaging, foodservice, dairy product, fruit beverage and frozen food applications.

Slowest volume advances for plastic will occur in relatively saturated markets such as milk and baked goods, though plastic will log more rapid growth in smaller sized milk bottles, driven by conversions from gabletop cartons in schools and quick service restaurants.

Additionally, below-average growth for plastic in retail bags will be the result of environmental concerns and/or legislative restrictions that will negatively impact consumption. Plastic demand in the detergent market will post an outright decline, the result of the shift to more concentrated liquid formulations that use smaller bottles.

Paper packaging to grow slowly or decline in competitive markets

Due to inroads by plastic, paper consumption in most of these 17 markets will post marginal gains or continue to decline through 2012. In a few markets (soy beverages, foodservice, protective packaging, frozen food, dairy products, and meat, poultry and seafood) paper demand is expected to climb above the average pace despite further inroads by plastic.

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Study Confirms Lifecycle Advantages of Ingeo™ Clamshells over rPET

A first-of-its-kind lifecycle analysis finds that clamshell packaging made from Ingeo™, a unique biopolymer derived from plants rather than oil, emits fewer greenhouse gases and uses less energy when compared to clamshells manufactured with petroleum-based rPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate).

The Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IFEU), Heidelberg, Germany, http://www.ifeu.de/, conducted the head-to-head lifecycle comparison on more than 40 different combinations of clamshell packaging made from Ingeo™ natural plastic, PET, and rPET. Both Ingeo™ and rPET clamshells outperformed PET packaging in terms of lower overall greenhouse gas emissions and lower overall energy consumed. Ingeo™ clamshells clearly offered further advantages over the petroleum-based rPET in numerous comparisons.

“Brand owners and converters will lower the carbon and energy footprint of clamshell packaging by moving away from PET and rPET to Ingeo™ polymer,” said Marc Verbruggen, president and CEO of NatureWorks, the manufacturer of Ingeo™. “This is true with today’s virgin Ingeo™ and, in the longer term, recycled Ingeo™ will decrease that footprint even more. Furthermore, the high performance of Ingeo™ biopolymer in clamshell applications means that less material may be required to manufacture them — on average 25 percent less.”

Representative results of the lifecycle analysis

The study showed that clamshell packaging consisting of 100 percent rPET emitted 58.6 kilograms of CO2 equivalents per 1,000 clamshells. Ingeo™ 2005, a representative grade biopolymer in the study, emitted 49.2 kilograms — an overall 16 percent reduction in CO2 equivalents. The Ingeo™ clamshell was lighter, yet functionally equivalent in terms of top-load strength.

Energy consumed over the lifecycle for 100 percent rPET clamshells was 1.1 gigajoules. This compared to .93 gigajoules for the lighter, yet functionally equivalent, Ingeo™ 2005 packaging — an overall 15 percent reduction in energy consumed.

“The study found that Ingeo™ compares favorably with rPET even when a producer chooses not to lightweight a clamshell,” said Steve Davies, NatureWorks director of Communications and Public Affairs. “The study also showed that the next generation of Ingeo™ biopolymer, which will be available in 2009, offers further improvements in eco-profile and clearly outperforms 100 percent rPET in head-to-head comparisons.”

Clear plastic clamshells, like the ones analyzed in the study, are often used for fresh produce and foodservice packaging — for example, lettuce, tomatoes, sandwiches, or deli salads. Currently this packaging is not recycled in either the U.S. or Europe. In the U.S. clamshell packaging typically goes to landfills after use, while in Europe this packaging may be incinerated for waste-heat recovery. The lifecycle study took both end-of-life scenarios into account.

For a copy of the full IFEU lifecycle analysis comparing rPET and Ingeo™ natural plastic clamshells, click here.

Press Release

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Redesigned environmentally-friendly packaging

To respond to the consumers’ interest in greener products, a large number of companies have taken the opportunity to associate new environmentally-friendly packaging with a new brand image. Here are two recent examples:

Gillette opts for blister packaging. The benefits of Gillette’s use of BlisterGuard include: 1) Packaging reduces the amount of plastic in the environment (by 50-70%); 2) Products are theft-resistant at the store and easy to open at home with scissors; 3) Package increases brand visibility and is more consumer-friendly; 4) Packaging was changed without changing equipment; 5) Assembly process was made more efficient, with minimal retooling.

KFC introduces eco-friendly packaging. Starting this month, KFC in the UK and Ireland will switch its burger packaging from cardboard "clamshells" to paper wrappers, and its individual-portion meals from cardboard boxes to paper bags. The new packaging is made from 100% renewable sources from European forests, which are 100% recyclable and biodegradable. The changes follow an initial measure taken to reduce cardboard waste in 2008, when the business stopped packing boxed meals for eat-in customers, saving approximately 554 tonnes in waste.

Hefestus: Double Shelf Life for Fresh Poultry

Teva-Off, Israel, launches fresh poultry with an eight-day shelf life. This surpasses all other fresh meat and poultry products available in the marketplace. For this dramatic paradigm shift in poultry shelf-life capacity, Teva-Off used proprietary packaging technology by Hefestus, Israel. This new invention helps the producer and the retailer cut product cost and number of returns significantly as a result of improving processes in the supply chain.

Meat and poultry products are highly sensitive to oxidation and, more importantly, rapidly decompose and suffer damage via bacteria. Shelf-life of such products is at most four days. Teva-Off has succeeded in doubling its poultry product shelf life to eight days. This breakthrough in protecting poultry-product freshness and extending shelf life can influence the entire supply chain from manufacturer to consumer. Short shelf life in meat and poultry products typically causes large amounts of returns and discards of expired products, while decreasing profit significantly.

"This is the first fresh poultry product with extended shelf life and we anticipate it will totally change consumer purchasing and cooking behavior," says Amnon Ariel, CEO of Teva-Off. "Most consumers buy fresh poultry with 3-4 days of shelf life, either cooking or freezing it on or near the day of purchase. Doubling shelf life provide consumers excellent opportunity to keep fresh poultry in the refrigerator and cook it at will, rather than wait for it to defrost or worse, have it spoil before they get to it."

Teva-Off developed the new product with Hefestus’ proprietary packaging technology, Hera SLB (Shelf Life Booster). A high-quality applications laboratory performed shelf-life tests on a daily basis over a period of several months. Results showed Hefestus’ advanced technology provided a maximum shelf life of 12 days or more for fresh poultry.

"SLB technology enables manufacturers to pack fresh meat and poultry with residual oxygen of less than 0.4% and extends shelf life up to 15 days in some cases," notes Oded Shtemer, CEO of Hefestus. "We anticipate a growing demand for Hera in 2009.” Hera can pack fresh products with modified atmosphere (MAP) technology at a rate of 1,200 units per hour.

"We chose to pack the new product with the Hera system based on two important parameters: extended product shelf life and impressive speed," notes Ariel. "This new product puts us in the forefront of the marketplace."

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Le mariage du carton et du plastique, pour le meilleur de l’environnement

Le mariage du carton et du plastique n’est pas nouveau, le plus bel exemple étant la caisse outre (ou Bag-In-Box). La combinaison de ces deux matériaux allie la rigidité (par le carton) à l’aptitude au contact alimentaire (par le film plastique). Cette association permet d’utiliser des films beaucoup plus fins et donc d’économiser de la matière. D’où l’intérêt, sur le plan environnemental, suscité par ce concept dont le champ des applications tend à s’étendre vers les emballages individuels. Au prochain salon CFIA, les visiteurs pourront découvrir, notamment, les deux emballages suivants :

Le concept Optimum Pack, lancé fin 2008 par CGL Pack (breveté) et candidat aux Trophées de l’innovation

Cet emballage rigide se veut «une solution minimaliste» comparée aux solutions traditionnelles du marché, notamment la barquette insérée dans un fourreau carton (sur-emballage marketing). Selon CGL Pack, la combinaison des deux matériaux permet de diviser par deux l’impact environnemental, en réduisant la quantité de matériau plastique.

Cet emballage est destiné à conditionner tout type de produits, notamment agroalimentaires solides. Aucun point de colle n’est nécessaire entre le carton et le plastique: les deux parties s’imbriquent solidement, l’une dans l’autre.

Le nouvel emballage mixte Destocup, lancé au CFIA 2009 par Plastic Force

Plastic Force est une société implantée en Belgique et en France, et spécialisée dans les emballages plastiques thermoformés et injectés (PS, PP, APET, PLA). Cet emballage se compose d’un pot plastique thermoformé très fin (rond, ovale, carré…) qui est entouré d’un carton résistant. Cette combinaison permet d’obtenir un emballage rigide tout en étant très léger. Pour le recyclage, les deux matériaux se séparent très facilement. Autres avantages : le pot s’opercule sans problème et le carton autorise une diversité d’impression : offset, héliogravure, flexographie.

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Emballage de l'huile d’olive : "Think outside the Box"

Stéphanie Bérubé, journaliste à La Presse a publié aujourd'hui deux articles sur la fraude alimentaire, un phénomène largement répandu, mais néanmoins méconnu. Dans le premier intitulé : Les escrocs de l'alimentation, on apprend notamment que :

«Le consommateur n'y verra que du feu. Et à moins que l'auteur de cette arnaque soit très malchanceux, il s'en sortira indemne puisque les contrôles sont rares. Très rares.»

«Tout le monde a déjà eu entre les mains un aliment contrefait»

«Selon le FBI, la contrefaçon sera le crime le plus important au XXIe siècle, y compris dans l'alimentation.»
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« Des amendes peu dissuasives : Un constat d'infraction ne mène pas nécessairement à une condamnation. Pour l'année 2006-2007, 18 contrevenants canadiens ont été contraints de payer des amendes totalisant...12 000$! »

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Dans le second, la journaliste se penche sur le cas de l’huile d’olive :

Une bouteille d'huile d'olive sur trois vendues au Canada n'est pas conforme. On y a ajouté de l'huile de canola ou une autre huile moins chère pour la diluer et tout de même la vendre sous l'appellation huile d'olive extra vierge.

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Le consommateur pris en otage. On se demande comment les consommateurs peuvent se prémunir contre de telles fraudes?

Je pense que ce n’est pas en augmentant le nombre d’inspection qu’on va résoudre le problème. Il faut s’attaquer à la racine du problème en offrant de nouveaux emballages, dits « intelligents ». Un emballage attrayant ne suffit plus.

Le temps où les emballages ne jouaient qu'un rôle de barrière inerte et imperméable entre l’aliment et l'environnement extérieur est révolu. L’emballage doit désormais informer le consommateur sur la qualité du contenu. Ces emballages peuvent surveiller et contrôler l'évolution des conditions dans lesquelles un produit alimentaire a été emballé. Ils fournissent également des informations complémentaires sur la qualité du produit pendant toutes les étapes de transport et de stockage précédant sa consommation.

Il faudrait donc «Penser au-delà de la boîte», les emballages intelligents sont souvent considérés comme un moyen prometteur d’améliorer la qualité et la sécurité alimentaire pour le consommateur final.

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Plus beaux, plus frais, plus sains- grâce aux nano-emballages et au nano-additifs

La nanotechnologie fait son entrée dans l’alimentation : sous forme d’additifs ou de matériaux d’emballage. L’étude du centre d’évaluation des choix technologiques (TA-SWISS) apporte une vue d’ensemble des nanomatériaux déjà utilisés. Se basant sur des critères environnementaux et de gestion durable, elle évalue les produits contenants des nanomatériaux et montre les développements possibles et la prudence qui s’impose.

«En Suisse, nous retrouvons très peu d'aliments contenant des additifs de taille nanométrique», souligne Martin Möller, de l'Institut d'écologie appliquée de Fribourg-en-Brisgau, qui a codirigé l'étude. Tout au plus cite-t-il un condiment, l'acide silicique (E551): «C'est un antiagglomérant, constitué de particules nanométriques, ajouté depuis des décennies aux épices pour éviter qu'elles ne s'agglutinent. Mais qui est sans danger, selon diverses batteries de tests.»

En revanche, «les emballages alimentaires ayant des composants «nano» jouent déjà un rôle important en Suisse», poursuit-il. Exemple type: le PET. Ce matériau laisse, à terme, s'échapper le gaz carbonique des boissons - c'est pour cette raison que la bière n'est conservée que dans des flacons en verre ou en aluminium. Pour annihiler ce processus de diffusion, certaines bouteilles de PET sont donc recouvertes de couches nanométriques de carbone ou d'oxyde de silicium, sortes de barrière antioxygène.

Dans un domaine voisin, le groupe néo-zélandais Jenkins commercialise un nanofilm réagissant à des substances aromatiques libérées par des fruits pendant le mûrissement, rapporte le TA-SWISS. La pellicule change de couleur suivant le degré de maturation. Enfin, des sociétés développent des emballages recouverts d'une nanocouche d'argent. L'action bactéricide de ce métal est incontestée, et permettrait d'empêcher toute moisissure.

Le potentiel économique dans ces deux champs d'activité - aliments et emballage - est énorme, selon les analystes. Pour le second, le groupe de consultants Helmut Kaiser estime le marché actuel à 980 millions de dollars; il grimperait à 100 milliards d'ici à dix ans.

Lire la suite…

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PepsiCo measures carbon footprint of Tropicana

PepsiCo, Inc. and the Carbon Trust have launched a partnership to certify the carbon footprint of several PepsiCo products, starting with Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice. The partnership found an estimated 3.74 lbs, or 1.7 kg, of carbon dioxide are emitted into the environment for every 64-oz carton of Tropicana Pure Premium.

About 60% of Tropicana’s carbon footprint is the result of agricultural and manufacturing-related activity, mostly the result of grove management and the energy required to process oranges. Transportation and distribution represent another 22% of the footprint, packaging accounts for 15%, and consumer use and disposal makes up 3%

Read more…

How green is my orange?

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