Active and intelligent packaging - a meaningful development or just a fashion trend?
Author: Blagovesta Lohwasser
Marketing Manager at Yamato Scale GmbH
Preservation of quality and shelf life extension of coffee through intelligent and active packaging
We have seen many inventions come and go, without these could significantly affect our life. Renewals fail for a number of reasons, sometimes their characteristics, sometimes the lack of acceptance of the consumer but often also the lack of economic efficiency of innovations. These facts justify the skepticism of many consumers with regard to the new trends - active and intelligent packaging. The key questions are: What is behind this term? And: What does society have of it?
Active and intelligent packaging fulfills certain tasks. It monitors the condition of packaged food and provides information, among other things, on their quality and shelf life. All parties, along the entire food chain, can gather from the packaging, whether the product has been properly treated. For example, interruptions of the cooling chain or the development of germs can be seen. To this end, freshness or time-temperature indicators are applied, which are attached to the packaging film and make visible deviations in the quality by a color change.
However, what makes the application of active and intelligent packaging even more exciting is the quality and shelf life of food. Even if the majority of consumers do not consciously perceive these functional packaging, these have long taken a firm place in our everyday lives. Some examples of this are the moisture regulators in meat packaging, the oxygen absorption, which prevents the oxidation of sensitive products such as mashed potatoes, or the light regulators, which protect the beetroot or carrots from color changes by means of integrated UV protection.
Industry and science work together very closely, as in the past. However, what has changed is the implementation process of the inventions in practice. Today it takes only a few months until the theoretical approach becomes a practical application. This also means being constantly open for the companies who are responsible for new applications and courageously taking new paths.
The scale producer Yamato Scale provides a concrete example for the production of active packaging. Since the packaging process of foodstuffs requires 85% individual solutions, the experienced engineers at Yamato are used to flexibility and innovation requirements. The task - clearly and simple defined - is to package coffee beans in 500 gr and 1,000 gr bags. However, there are also the requirements of the manufacturer, which consist in offering a packaging that conserves the aroma and preserves the quality. The options presented above for an active packaging offer the right solution at the right place. For this purpose, nitrogen is added to the desired amount of coffee beans in the bags. Decisive for the preservation of quality is that the oxygen content in the packaging must be reduced to less than 4%. To achieve this, a specially designed cabin is installed around the multihead scale. This enclosure consists of two separate chambers. The upper part encloses the weighing and / or container area of the multihead scale. Here the hygienic aspect is emphasized by creating an effective barrier against dust or insects. A complete cover of the feeding belts ensures that the high-quality coffee is not contaminated even on the way to the multihead scale. The second chamber encloses the lower area of the multihead scale, which consists of a collecting tray and a discharge hopper, and also includes the format tube of the tubular bag machine. During the packaging process, nitrogen is pumped into this thoroughly sealed chamber. In this way, an exactly weighed amount of coffee beans on the one hand and nitrogen on the other hand gets into the bag. Thus, the oxygen contained in the air is displaced and the coffee is effectively preserved.
In order to give the product the best shelf life and to store the packaging safely, the bag is provided with an aroma protection valve. The necessity for this valve is explained by the fact that the packaging process takes place immediately after the roasting process. However, since coffee after roasting releases roasting fumes, a way must be found to allow them to escape from the packaging without the possibility of oxygen penetration
A similarly structured packaging process is used for a whole series of products. This can include grated cheese, snacks, nuts or sunflower seeds. The active acting packaging protects fatty and oxygen-sensitive foodstuffs from becoming rancid.
To offer a product in the best possible quality is now a complex and responsible task. Both producers, dealers and consumers - everyone from their own perspective - are interested in the fact that the packaging maintains what it promises. In order to meet these high quality requirements, Yamato Scale is continuously investigating in research and development. The established network of cooperation partners ensures an excellent quality. From the accuracy and performance of the equipment to the quality of the content, all of these requirements are mastered professionally and sovereignly. The biggest advantage, however, is the company´s expertise to offer everything from a single source and to realize the implementation of such a system under a project management.
This short visit behind the scenes of coffee production describes the development of an intelligent and active packaging. You may realize now that you recently purchased a product packaged in this way, which is just the proof that intelligent packaging for some time now has been supporting our everyday lives. It is highly probable that the product has even been weighed and packaged with Yamato machines. A good example for a reliable performance that significantly affects the quality of the product and yet so far and incomprehensible to most consumers.
In general, the image of the packaging industry remains a dilemma. It is a fact, however, that even if it is criticized again and again because of environmental pollution or other prejudices, no one is willing to dispense with product quality. That is why public debates on consumer education are absolutely necessary. In fact in order to meet customer expectations, the field continues to be intensively researched and developed, and Yamato Scale is just one example. What is also often left behind in the background are rising costs for the implementation of modern packaging. Consumer´s expectations to consume at constant or even declining prices is thus obsolete. A process of rethinking should be initiated here, since one of the fundamental values that are lived in Germany is an appreciation of the goods we need to live.
Conclusion:
Summarizing we can say, that the intelligent and active packaging will not be a short-term phenomenon. I can truly say that we are only at the beginning of this development and can experience as a contemporary witness a radical transformation of the food industry. And there will be plenty of winners: consumers, producers and the environment - and thus the society as a whole.
INFOBOX
Yamato Scale GmbH ist der weltweit führende Hersteller von Wiegetechnik und Verpackungslösungen und konzentriert sich seit mehr als vier Jahrzehnten auf die Entwicklung von Mehrkopf- bzw. Dosierwaagen. Der Hauptsitz des Unternehmens befindet sich in Japan, wo sowohl die Forschung und Entwicklung als auch die Produktion und Qualitätssicherung der Systeme stattfindet.
Für die Kunden in Deutschland sind die Zentrale in Willich/ Düsseldorf und die neu eröffnete Niederlassung im baden-württembergischen Krauchenwies zuständig. Ein höchst motiviertes und freundliches Team steht unseren Kunden für Beratung in den unterschiedlichen Produkt-, Engineering- und Kundendienst-Bereichen jederzeit kompetent zur Verfügung.
Blagovesta Lohwasser M.A.
Marketing Manager
YAMATO SCALE GmbH
Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Str. 13
D-47877 Willich
Germany
Phone +49 (0) 2154 9159-47
Fax +49 (0) 2154 40626
© Blagovesta Lohwasser | Marketing Manager