Need to pay attention to detail in food packaging

Consumers increasingly demand convenient, long-lasting and flavorful food and our expanded product portfolio – through the Excelsior acquisition – allows packaging machine manufacturers to better meet customers’ needs and choose the high quality of food packaging machine suppliers.

The Retailer Survey found that confusing multiple date labels had been mostly removed, and there was good progress on improving freezing guidance. But it found that some product date labels have cut the time available to eat food and weight feeder.

We know that changes to packs and labels, which give clarity around date and storage options, can have a dramatic effect on how much good food ends up in the bin so getting the right messages in place is critical.

The information available on pack not only helps to ensure people have safe food, but that it makes it as easy as possible for them to manage and store their food to ensure less is wasted.

Loss-in-weight feeders on the overall process accuracy

Loss In Weight Feeder require periodic refill from an external device such as a screw conveyor, bin activator, pneumatic conveyor, slide gate valve, or rotary valve. Capacity requirements of the refill device and desirable refill frequencies are often overlooked by process engineers, yet they can have a major impact on the overall process accuracy.

A loss in weight feeder consists of three components: a scale with a dedicated controller to weigh material; a feed mechanism (screw, vibrating tray, etc.) with a variable-speed drive to introduce material into the process; and an integral weigh hopper for material storage. As the name suggests, the unit measures a loss in weight over a certain period of time and adjusts the feed mechanism output accordingly. In reality, of course, today’s loss-in-weight feeders do not sample weight every hour but approximately every 50 milliseconds to achieve the precise second-by-second control required by modern processes.

A typical accuracy statement for a loss-in-weight feeder specifies repeatability as a percentage of the sample-size at a given statistical confidence level. For example, a repeatability of 0.5 percent of sample size at 2 sigma means that if a sufficient number of consecutive 1-min. samples are taken at a 6000 lb/hr feed rate, then 95 percent of the samples will weigh between 99.5 and 100.5 lb (assuming perfect linearity). Implicit in this statement, however is an assumption about the refill rate. Compared to the feeding time, the refill time needs to be as short as possible to maximize the percentage of time the feeder is under gravimetric control. Although higher percentages are preferable, the following example will assume that a loss-in-weight feeder needs to be under gravimetric control for at least 90 percent of its cycle time for the accuracy expectation to be valid. Remember that the time in volumetric mode is defined as refill time plus scale stabilization time.

About the weight feeder and loss-in-weight feeder

As the name suggests weight feeder, the unit measures a loss in weight over a certain period of time and adjusts the feed mechanism output accordingly.

A typical accuracy statement for a loss-in-weight feeder specifies repeatability as a percentage of the sample-size at a given statistical confidence level.Compared to the feeding time, the refill time needs to be as short as possible to maximize the percentage of time the feeder is under gravimetric control.

Loss-in-weight feeders require periodic refill from an external device such as a screw conveyor, bin activator, pneumatic conveyor, slide gate valve, or rotary valve.

A loss-in-weight feeder consists of three components: a scale with a dedicated controller to weigh material; a feed mechanism (screw, vibrating tray, etc.) with a variable-speed drive to introduce material into the process; and an integral weigh hopper for material storage.

Why packaging machinery is important in the food industry

Food industry is experiencing a massive growth in developed and developing economies that in turn intensifies the sales of powder packaging equipment during the forecast period.

Apart from that many spices are available in the market in powder form which further intensifies the growth of powder packing machine market. The demand of small pouches of tea, coffee and other different spices are rising which is expected to further boost the sales of weight feeder packing machine.

Automatic and modern powder packing machines offer a wide range of durable and flexible pouch designs along with different sizes. The pouches can be customized according to the needs and requirements of clients. Powder packing machine is extensively used in the fast moving consumer goods especially for detergents which is expected to positively impact the sales of powder packing machine during the forecast period.

Many food products along with medicines are launching in the market in a powder form which is expected to fuel the global powder packing machine market. Moreover, the acceptance of powder packing machine is rising due to the various properties of the powder packing machine such as production speed and ability to produce different pouch formats.

Pharmaceutical packaging industry needs the innovation of packaging

In the last few years, the drugs packaging industry has successfully accepted the various challenges in the pharmaceuticals sector and devised suitable strategies for this highly specialised business. Thanks to its huge capacity for innovation, the supply industry to the former “pharmacy of the world” is also well equipped for the future.

Pharmaceuticals packages have to perform numerous tasks. They have to not only meet the complex needs and constraints of technology and safety, but also win through at the point of sale against a host of competing products. This applies particularly to over-the-counter medicines, although the competitive pressure among prescription drugs has risen significantly due to the increase in generics.

More and more medicines are being developed for which manufacturers are called upon to achieve greater complexity with ever smaller batch sizes. There is a trend away from standardisation and towards individualised treatment. For plant manufacturers and packaging machine manufacturers, the high flexibility and rapid retooling already demanded in the market is thus intensifying further.

The fact that patient leaflets in a medicine package do not always have to be in printed form is illustrated by the latest further developments in packaging equipment technology, now made possible for the first time by near-field communication (NFC). Facilitating cashless payment and keyless vehicle entry, NFC is already familiar in everyday life. Thanks to widespread smartphone use, contactless and wireless short-distance data exchange has also become of interest to the packaging sector. The possible applications range from reading-out the patient leaflet and the automatic re-ordering of drugs through to more detailed information.

The screw is the component of the feeder that provides the “feeding.”

The agitation ensures that the screw flights fill uniformly. Screws are selected to achieve maximum and minimum feed rates. The screw diameter and pitch are sized to achieve the feed rate at an optimal screw rotational speed. At too low a screw speed the “pulsing flow” may cause an undesired variation in the final product. Too high a screw speed may cause an incomplete filling of the screw. Below are discussed three common screw types.

Spiral Screw: The single spiral screw is the most common selection. It is “open” for the ingredient to freely flow into the flights of the screw. It has a smaller surface area that helps reduce adherence of the ingredient that changes the screw volumetric geometry. Ingredients are transferred with low shear. On the negative side, aerated ingredients can easily flood past the screw flights.

Blade Screw: The single blade screw offers more resistance to aerated ingredients however, because there is more surface area, adhesive ingredients can adhere reducing the volumetric geometry. Blade screws are often preferred for heavy powders with bulk densities over 80 lb/cu ft.

Twin Screw: Twin concave screws can provide superior performance for poor-flowing powders. Twin concave screws are solid and the screw flights have a low volume compared to spiral and blade screws. The screws are intermeshing and as such are self-wiping. The negative effects of some adhesive powders are reduced with the self-wiping of the two screws. Twin concave screws are co rotating. The powder flows around the flights of both screws. The shear on the powder is high, particularly in the screw tube. The screw tube is typically short to reduce negative effects of high shear.

Twin concave screws are ideally selected for powders with feed rates below 5 cu ft/hr. The cross section of the two screws is wider than an equivalent single screw reducing the tendency to bridge in the transition from the screw trough into the screw. Also, screw speeds for twin concave screws can be higher than single screws for the same feed rate because of the larger inlet and low volume of screw flight. Higher screw speeds reduce the negative effects of pulsation.

Packaging with resealable applications provide a modern design with increased functionality

As lifestyles change, food-to-go and sharing packs are becoming an increasingly important category for retailers. Packs with resealable technology address all these issues by offering a solution that is easily accessible and designed for repeated use. This enables consumers to enjoy a full product life and better manage their weekly purchases.

In order to drive product sales, food packaging machine manufacturers need to focus on user-convenience, provide an effective way to store products for longer, offer sustainable initiatives, and an ability to provide differentiation on-shelf.In a world where many cost-conscious consumers buy food in bulk, the ability to confidently re-close the package to keep food fresh is critical to prevent food waste.  

Apart from easy opening and convenience, resealable packaging equipment technology has many other benefits to offer to both manufacturers and the consumer. Resealable packs promote sharing and encourage consumers to reduce portion sizes. They can be opened and closed up to 25 times and are a great on-the-go option for healthy-snacking when travelling or away from home.

With resealable technology products remain in their branded packs when they are kept at home in the refrigerator after first opening, avoiding the need and cost of repacking in cling film, freezer bags or rigid containers.

A re-seal feature can keep food fresher for longer.  Households waste large amounts of food and that's an environmental disaster. Ten times more resources are invested in growing and processing food than in the packaging used to protect it.  It's well worth spending a little more on the packaging if that results in less food waste.

There are certainly challenges with easy open and reclosable solutions. Brand owners and converters need to balance the need to have a robust seal for the purposes of the supply chain process, yet allow easy opening and reclose functionality for consumers.