Every package will tell a story and contribute to a zero-waste world

Fruit and vegetable products are often touted as “value-added,” regardless of the type of container that holds them.

We are now entering an era where the container itself can accurately be described as “value-added,” telling consumers about what’s inside and even enhancing the contents, and doing it all in a sustainable fashion.

“Fundamentally, the role of the package is to keep what’s in in, keep what’s out out, provide physical protection and marketing or branding. Once you get beyond that and then ask what else it can do, you get into intelligent or active packaging,” said Jeff Brandenburg, a consultant on flexible packaging and president of the JSB Group.

The phrases “intelligent” and “active” are often used synonymously in reference to packaging.  However, there are differences in the two definitions.

“Generally, an active package senses what’s going on inside, such as an atmosphere change, and then responds. An intelligent package senses and signals. Some packages can be hybrids,” said Kay Cooksey, a professor at Clemson University’s Department of Food, Nutrition and Packaging Sciences.

This trend will accelerate in the coming years, say packaging experts and futurists. Packaging will be seen as its own technological platform, able to better sense, respond and signal. Already, packaging has been developed that has its own ability, through radio frequency identification (RFID) and other technologies, to send reports about the condition of its contents, and do so without the use of separate sensors, including RFID tags.

eAgile is an example of technology that adds RFID technology into package seals. Cryolog’s Traceo is a transparent film attached to the barcode that monitors the microbial quality of the contents and changes color when the food inside is no longer safe to eat.

“This will mean the customer doesn’t have to figure out how fresh something is. They can just scan and find out how many days of optimal quality are left. We now have to get the devices really reliable. That’s the number one thing we’re trying to work on, to deal with the food waste issue and to ensure customer convenience,” Cooksey said.

This kind of packaging will be able to do one more thing: actively enhance the quality of its contents. The mechanism for the improvement could be the introduction of selected biological agents, including beneficial bacteria, which could attack and overwhelm organisms that promote disease or decay of the product. The package may not by itself be able to provide a kill step for bacteria, but it should be able to assist the desired microbials as they do their work.

“The package of the future for fruit and vegetables has to be smart,” said Lowell Catlett, agricultural futurist and professor at New Mexico State University. “It has to have more than a QR code or a scanning device, but must have the ability to detect biological materials.”

One area of technological advancement will be in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). Today’s MAP is accomplished by technologies such as microperforations in the bag and absorbent pads that control the rate of ethylene gas released during ripening. Researchers are looking for the ability to do more, including adding antimicrobials and ways to control liquids and humidity.

“What kind of sciences can be developed to add to this technology platform we call modified atmosphere packaging? These will all fall within the realm of intelligent or active packaging,” Brandenburg said.

As technology is mobilized to achieve the objective of a “zero waste world,” sustainability will become a huge factor in packaging, whether it is metal cans, plastic bags, glass bottles or paper.

“Making a package that has the appearance of sustainability is fairly easy. Making a package that is truly sustainable is more complex,” Brandenburg said. He sees a continuing push toward polymers that are compostable, an emphasis toward recyclability and using fewer materials to make the package. There will be more technologies, such as the recent Wada Farms potato bag made from potato starch.

Catlett believes the package of the future will be sustainable in a dramatic way.

“Everything’s going to be biodegradable instantly, or in some other form,” he said.

The metal can of the future will take its place in the smart packaging revolution, Catlett said. This “smarter” can will include a shelf-stable sensing device that will do more than provide a date. It will be able to alert the customer to the optimal time to consume what’s inside. The coatings now placed on the inside of cans to ensure a more stable shelf life should also improve.

“The can is not dead by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.

For fresh-cut products, Brandenburg sees the continued evolution of trays as an alternative to bags. Trays have a perception of containing value-added products, while bags are seen as being used for commodities, he said.

“I think you will see that trend continue. There is a lot of work being done in the tray arena with the idea of being able to make easy-open peelable lidding stock over the trays. There’s a lot of work going on with seal technology and trays,” Brandenburg said.

More changes are expected in closing and sealing mechanisms for packages. A major focus in research and development is balancing the right melting point of polymers with having them be secure, especially in packages that are peeled and resealed multiple times.

Another trend is a move away from zip closures, which poses a challenge from an equipment standpoint, Cooksey said.

“From a machinery standpoint, it’s very difficult to do, especially for cold storage products,” she said. “Having more of a peelable seal is definitely something we’re looking at. But can they (the packages) make it through distribution in a secure form?”

The size of the packages, especially for fresh produce, will trend smaller, which is something already taking place in Europe, Catlett said.

“If you go into any high-end European supermarket over the last five years, you’ll see individually wrapped apples or pears with their own UPC and QR codes.  You can trace it back to where it was grown and the conditions it was grown in. I see a tremendous increase in this kind of individual or pair packaging,” Catlett said.

— By Lee Dean, editorial director