Produce packaging gets smarter all the time

The image of a bag of fresh-cut lettuce talking to you from its place in the produce department refrigerator evokes the memory of many a cheesy TV commercial.

But it’s not so far from reality.

As manufacturers, processors and marketers continue to press forward on all fronts to deliver produce in a variety of convenient, easy-to-use forms, packaging is part of the, well, package. It’s also evolving, guided by increasing demand for food safety, shelf life, waste reduction, sustainability, flexibility and graphics that both inform and sell.

Intelligent Packaging

A BreatheWay label on Apio packaging.
A BreatheWay label on Apio packaging.

Those packages that talk to you? Well, they don’t actually speak. But new technology would provide time-temperature indicators with each package.

Such packages would indicate the status of the contents inside via a chemical, physical or microbiological reaction that would occur when there’s exposure to undesirable temperatures, said Eva Almenar, an associate professor in Michigan State University’s School of Packaging.

“What they are going to tell us is extremely important, since they will inform us if an appropriate temperature has been maintained to extend the shelf life of the produce,” Almenar said. “So the visual piece is that the consumer can see … look for a specific bar on the package, and if it’s this color, it’s safe.”

If it’s a different color, it tells the consumer that the product should be used quickly or maybe discarded entirely.

“An example of a time-temperature indicator that has been used in retail is FreshCode, a smart barcode label manufactured by Varcode USA,” Almenar said. “The contents of the barcode change as it is exposed to temperature abuse.” It’s the sniff test with the human element removed, explains Claire Sand, owner of Minnesota-based Packaging Technology and Research, and an adjunct professor at MSU.

“We can have sensors that sniff,” she said. “We are starting to do that with fish, but produce is likely one that will happen.”

It’s basically an extension of the time-temperature indicators that track most shipments of produce now to make sure that the cold chain has been maintained from processor to retailer.

“We do a really good job up to (arrival at) the retailer now with time-temperature indicators,” Sand said. “With time- temperature sensors already being used in produce shipped to retailers and the high amount of consumer-derived waste after produce has been purchased, indicators (that these sensors will be used at retail) for produce are imminent. “Degradation sensors detect actual spoilage so they can prevent unsafe produce from being consumed.”

Active packaging

Another growing niche is packaging that, via the material used to create the package itself and/or added elements such as a pad or card, aims to enhance the integrity and shelf life of the contents.

A tray of mixed vegetables, with their respiration controlled by BreatheWay technology.
A tray of mixed vegetables, with their respiration controlled by BreatheWay technology.

“You put in some compounds that can escape the space of the package and interact with the produce,” Almenar said. “It’s something that is starting to be used now and that we’re seeing more and more of … and it’s going to grow a lot.”

Almenar described the BreatheWay membrane owned and in use by Apio. Attached to a cut-out section of a flexible bag or tray that is customized according to the type of produce and the package size, it passively maintains appropriate levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide. It’s proving particularly effective with items like broccoli and cauliflower and party trays like those found at Costco that have multiple ingredients, said Neeraj Sharma, head of packaging at Apio.

Here, we have an example of a package that is able to sense the surrounding environment in order to change as needed to ensure produce freshness for extended periods of time,” she said.

Sharma said the results are, in a word, “phenomenal.”

“It is a function of the type of produce and amount of produce in the package,” he said. “If a product is highly respiring, we need to use it for that particular product. If certain products are not highly respiring, we may decide not to use it.

“It gives us a competitive edge regarding shelf life.”

Another form of active packaging involves incorporating antimicrobials into the packaging material or within the container to slow microbial growth, including pathogens and spoilage microorganisms.

“Antimicrobials are food grade, kind of like a spray, so it’s almostamist—anatomization,”Sandsaid.”Theindustrysprays antimicrobial onto product or includes them as a bioactive layer in the package film.

“The microbial load goes down, and you get longer shelf life.”

Flexible standup pouches

Karen Caplan, president and CEO of California-based Frieda’s Specialty Produce, said pouch bags with handles are popping up all over in produce packaging. They can be used for a variety of commodities, she said — everything from apples and peaches to grapes and peppers, and specialties like Frieda’s watermelon radishes, shishito peppers and new Sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes, the edible roots of a particular North American sunflower plant). Dried products like cranberries and craisins are also produced in pouches.

pouch_bags_friedas
Pouch bags with handles are a combination of shelf-life extension and consumer convenience.

A pouch “extends the shelf life for the consumer, they’re easy to merchandise at retail (and have) eye-catching graphics,” she said.

The technology behind the pouches has helped make the proliferation of products that go into them possible.

“The big thing is high-barrier packaging,” Sand said. “We need defined oxygen and water barriers, and what that has meant historically is we have multi-layered films (by extruding as many as seven or eight layers of film together).

“That flies in the face of everybody who wants to recycle. So we’re seeing a lot of innovation in polymers so we can get back to a single-layer structure, because then it is recyclable.”

Sand cites a company called Ecolean that has developed a standup pouch that she said could be adapted for produce and can be made recyclable.

“One of the things you want a stand-up pouch to do is stand up,” she said. “They’re using it for milk.

“Instead of adding another layer or making a polymer, they’re adding talc to the polymer itself. It just fills in the gaps in the structure of the polymer … It ends up being pretty stiff, and it’s recyclable.”

And that’s important to retailers.

“They want them to stand up straight on the shelf, they want them to look good and be presentable, as opposed to just flopping,” she said. “There’s a lot of innovation going on.”

But even the non-recyclable pouches have sustainability features. They tend to be lighter and use less overall material, which helps reduce shipping costs.

“People have done life cycle analyses and pouches frequently come out on top, even if the pouch is not recycled,” Sand said.

They also offer the versatility needed to meet what Active and Intelligent Packaging Industry Association Communications Director Andrew Manly said is consumer demand for portion packs, on-the-go formats and easy open and close functions.

friedas_pouches

And they provide real estate for graphics, which Flex Pack North America Adhesives Market Manager Justine Hanlon said are only getting better, too.

“The printing on flexible packaging is getting more and more complex,” Hanlon said. “We’re seeing a lot more colors, a lot more intricate graphics.

“There’s a lot of new inks coming on that everybody is very excited about because it allows you to do multiple colors and go faster.”

Multi-functioning packaging

As consumers look for meal solutions and kits that eliminate having to purchase multiple ingredients, packaging has risen to that occasion as well.

“One of the big trends we’ve been seeing is smaller sizes with multi- component, multi-function packaging,” Hanlon said. “Packaging companies are making packs that have multiple film structures to accommodate different types of produce.”

That simple package of salad, with the dressing and croutons and maybe some protein or carrots or other ingredients, is actually pretty complicated.

“That would be three or four different types of structure just to have a single-serve product,” Hanlon said.

All of the emerging technologies don’t necessarily cost less.

“Alotofthe—excusethepun— low-hanging fruit for cost savings has gone away,” Hanlon said. “It used to be a way to save money to downgrade your film or paper, but everyone I’ve talked to said we’ve pretty much ended that era.”

Innovation might cost more, but it can save in other ways, like how a greater number of lighter-weight pouches can be packed into a case/ shipment to reduce transportation expenses. Hanlon cites the example of a heat seal lidding adhesive her company developed that reduces clogs to equipment.

“It costs a little bit more, but we’re able to reduce the down time by 25 percent,” she said.

And when it comes to produce packaging innovation, Sand said, it’s going to keep coming fast and furious.

“I feel like we’re on the cusp,” Sand said. “The technology is out there. There are so many market forces really driving big change to reduce food waste.”

— Kathy Gibbons, contributing writer



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