Packaging & Labelling

Consumers are wary of the Union Jack symbol on packaging

Consumers ignorant and suspicious of provenance

By Rod Addy

Consumers are ignorant of some quality standards marks and how much food really comes from the UK, according to research conducted by England Marketing on behalf of Love British Food.

Bottle caps fell foul of '100% recycled' claims

Drinks firms in trouble for '100% recycled' packaging claims

By Rod Addy

Soft drinks firms Pepsi Lipton International and Roxane UK have fallen foul of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which banned adverts that attracted complaints for making 'misleading' eco-friendly packaging claims.

Morrisons is to scrap use-by dates on its own-label milk products

Morrisons scraps use-by dates on milk

By Gwen Ridler

Morrisons has announced plans to scrap use-by dates on its own-label milk packaging by the end of January, in a bid to prevent waste.

Hansford (pictured): 'For processors looking to move into this market, flexibility of infrastructure is important'

Opinion

MAP gases and freezing considerations for plant-based foods

By Gwen Ridler

Neil Hansford, food packaging and cryogenic freezing expert at Air Products, discusses the freezing considerations and the application of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) for plant-based foods or meat analogues.

The UK Plastics Pact arose out of a time of great public concern about plastics pollution

Plastic packaging: strong progress announced by WRAP

By Michelle Perrett

Problematic single-use plastic items were reduced by 46% while the amount of plastic packaging in supermarkets fell by 10% from 2018-2020, the UK Plastics Pact’s third annual report reveals .

The Portman Group is calling for calorie labelling to remain voluntary

Alcohol manufacturers move towards calorie labelling

By Michelle Perrett

Almost half (47%) of alcoholic drinks from leading UK brands now carry calorie information on their labels, in addition to other warnings, the drinks watchdog The Portman Group has revealed.

AMP: metal cans are the most recycled drinks packaging in the world

Ardagh Metal Packaging to build $200m NI can plant

By Rod Addy

Ardagh Metal Packaging (AMP) has announced plans to build a $200m drinks can plant near Belfast in Northern Ireland, creating many full-time jobs for engineers, technicians and other roles.

The U-label scheme uses QR codes on wine or spirits bottles to convey information

Why voluntary nutrition labels for alcoholic drinks won’t work

By Richard Horwell

A voluntary e-label scheme has been developed by European wine and spirits trade bodies Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins and Spirits Europe enabling wine and spirit producers to communicate nutritional, calorie and allergen information via QR codes...

Martin: 'Companies must start their compliance early'

Legal opinion

Get to grips with low-to-no-alcohol labelling now

By Pete Martin

Consumers determined to ditch booze or reduce their intake have seen the no- and low-alcohol sector soar over the past two years, with the category growing by 51% in the year to February 2021 (Kantar Worldpanel).

Coveris has launched RecyclaPEel modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) sandwich skillets

The Complete Package

The Complete Package: recyclable packs take high profile

By Rod Addy

Recyclable packaging innovations took a high profile this month, with Coveris announcing a string of developments, while transport issues look set to drive up testliner costs and steel costs have rocketed over 12 months.

Tesco has entered a partnership with Loop over reusable packaging

Tesco partners with Loop on reuseable packaging

By Michelle Perrett

Tesco has entered a partnership with global reusable packaging platform, Loop to launch a new way for its customers to shop and buy a wide range of food, drink, household and beauty products in reusable and durable packaging.

Recalls can be prevented by safeguarding against 'never events' in the factory

Preventing recalls by avoiding ‘never events’

By Gwen Ridler

Up to half of all food and drink recalls could be prevented by avoiding ‘never events’, easily preventable packaging and labelling mistakes that trigger an allergen related recall, management consultancy RQA has claimed.

New launches, rebrands and developments in materials feature in this packaging round-up

Packaging round-up: Rebrands and new developments

By Gwen Ridler

New recyclable packaging at TruffleHunter, the development of paper-based bags at Bauck and a ‘first of its kind’ integrated bottle cap all feature in this round-up of food and drink packaging developments.

Coca-Cola GB is rolling out 100% rPET on all its on-the-go bottles from September

The Complete Package

The Complete Package: June packaging trends

By Rod Addy

Coca-Cola GB's roll out of fully recycled rPET across on-the-go bottles, a water bottle that reminds consumers to keep drinking and Graphic Packaging's new dual-ovenable tray all feature among the latest packaging trends.

Molson Coors has invested £25m in a new canning line and upgrades to beer and cider packaging

Molson Coors invests £25m in new canning line

By Gwen Ridler

Molson Coors Beverage Company has invested £25m into a new hard seltzer canning line and upgrades to its beer and cider packaging facilities at its Burton-upon-Trent brewery.

Pressure to crack down on plastics waste and improve recycling is increasing

Complete Package

Complete Package: two-week packaging trend snapshot

By Rod Addy

Valpak outlines options and urges engagement as Extended Producer Responsibility consultation nears end, while Menzies maps out the state of play on the Plastics Packaging Tax in our latest packaging trends overview.

New developments in food and drink packaging feature in this round-up

Packaging news and development round-up

By Gwen Ridler

From bottles made from wood pulp to new advances in packaging machinery, we round-up some of the latest developments in the food and drink packaging space.

Raithatha: 'Methods are being developed to understand subconscious associations between sensory features and a brand'

Ask The Expert, in collaboration with the Institute of Food Science & Technology

Ask The Expert: sensory analysis of food packaging

By Carol Raithatha

In this Ask The Expert, Carol Raithatha, who runs a UK-based food and drink research consultancy specialising in sensory evaluation, offers insights on the latest developments in that field.

Food and drink packaging trends in April

The Complete Package

The Complete Package: April packaging trends

By Rod Addy

One fish processor boosts output by upgrading packaging machinery, an automatic food pack stacker has been launched for end-of-line operations and aluminium drinks can recycling rates rise - plus the latest packaging data.

Image: Fibrepak

Producers urged to fight DEFRA’s packaging cost plans

By Jerome Smail

Packaging Federation chief executive officer Dick Searle has warned producers are in the firing line for ‘unfair’ costs under Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) extended producer responsibility (EPR) proposals.

Paper and plastic both have roles to play in this packaging round-up

Latest trends in food and drink packaging

By Gwen Ridler

Packaging-free aisles in Aldi, paper packs for Smarties and cardboard beer sleeves all feature in our latest food and drink packaging round-up.

Air Products UK and Ireland has experimented with combining MAP with freezing

Opinion

Modified atmosphere and cryogenic freezing

By Neil Hansford

Neil Hansford, Air Products UK and Ireland Freshline Applications product line manager, discusses the potential of combining cryogenic freezing with existing modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) tech to ensure good standards and quality for food products....

The EPR consultation looks at how packaging producers will pay the full cost of managing packaging once it becomes waste

Alarm as packaging consultation predicts £2.7bn EPR cost

By Rod Addy

The predicted £2.7bn costs of extended producer responsibility (EPR) for post-consumer packaging waste would undermine industry investment to make packaging more eco-friendly, according to one trade body responding to the Government's EPR consultation.

reducing plastic has been the biggest trend in food packaging this month

Food and drink packaging round-up

By Gwen Ridler

From plastic reduction in processed meat packaging, to the world’s first Aluminium Stewardship Initiative certified beverage cans, we run down some of the latest developments in food and drink packaging from around the world.

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