The 2009 Global Pouch Forum was held last week in Sawgrass, FL.  While the trends in the packaging market were becoming apparent at Global Pouch 2008, it is clear that flexible packaging - which includes formats such as stickpacks, beverage pouches, and liquid bag-in-box - is gaining share on PET Bottles and Cartonboard Packs for a wide range of consumer packaged goods categories. 

Dennis Calamusa from AlliedFlex Technologies gave a Keynote address entitled "The Repackaging of America".  In the words of Mr. Calamusa, " The momentum of global change toward Flexible Packaging is dramatic and unstoppable." 

Driving the trend toward flexible packaging are the evolving priorities of consumers and brand owners for sustainability, convenience, and food safety, as well as the need to compete for shelf appeal.  Flexible pacakging technology advancements have been addressing  these priorities, with notable innovations such as reclosability features (spouts, zippers, sliders, fitments), more alternatives to creating shelf stable product (aseptic filling and retortable pouches), and increasingly "cooler" designs (with many originating in Japan).  

Of particular interest, Laurence Last of IPN discussed the dramatically lower carbon footprint of the spouted beverage vs. traditional packaging formats based on raw material and production:

AEB has been active in developing solutions for aseptic pouch filling, as discussed n a prior blog post.  Josh Epstein, Director of Marketing for AEB, continued the discussion at Global Pouch 2009 with a talk entitled "Electron Beams: Enabling new Opportunties for Aseptic Flexible Packaging."  To download the entire presentation, click the icon below.

 

Download PDF version of presentation.

AEB hosted a unique event at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) annual technical conference and Food Expo in Anaheim, CA on June 7.  Moderated by AEB Marketing Director Anne Testoni, a panel discussion was held that included four world-class researchers who sat down to discuss Emerging Applications for Low Voltage Electron Beams. 

As a platform technology, electron beams can be applied to a wide range of industrial applications.  The panelists' presentations can be downloaded below:

Organization	Presenter	Presentation
	Dr. Mikhail Laksin	Electron Beam Curable Inks and Coatings for Food Packaging
	Dr. Wilfredo Ocasio	Validation of Electron Beam Sterilization for Low Acid Aceptic Applications
	Dr. George Sadler	Embedding Functionalities in E-beam Curable Resins to Create Active Packaging
	Dr. Anne Testoni	Emerging Applications for Low Voltage Electron Beam Technology

• Using high levels of preservatives in the product
• Cooking (or retorting) the food in an already sealed package, such as a can, jar, or bottle
• Hot filling, where the product is heated to a high temperature for both the pasteurization of the food product as well as the sterilization of the inside of the food product container
• Refrigeration

The Open Innovation movement is an emerging trend in which companies are reaching out beyond their own R&D groups to partners, customers, and the public in search of new innovation.   This is opposed to the traditional process of relying on internal resources for R&D and innovation.  Open Innovation initiatives have grown in popularity over the past few years at both technology companies, like IBM, and consumer product companies, like Proctor and Gamble.   Kraft earned recognition as the first packaged food company to employ the principles of open innovation, going so far as to establish a toll free hotline (1-800-OPN-IDEA) for innovators with a burning need to share their ideas.  In the past month, Campbells and Nestle have both discussed their Open Innovation initiatives, sending the call out for new product concpets, packaging technologies, and business models.  NineSigma is a company that manages open innovation programs for a broad range of companies, including (according to their website) General Mills, Philip Morris, Unilever, and Kimberly Clark.   

The Open Innovation model is a powerful tool for consumer product companies to explore new product opportunities and to address urgent challenges associated with sustainable manufacturing.  Advanced process technologies - such as low energy electron beam - can play a role in enabling the development of new product concepts and drastically reducing the environmental impact of package converting and aseptic filling operations.  Integrating new process technologies requires collaboration between technology providers, equipment suppliers, system integrators, and the suppliers of packaging material. Traditionally, innovation related to process technology has been closed and highly guarded by the brand owner or equipment manufacturer hoping to increase profits with proprietary technology.   To effectively address the challenges facing modern consumer packaged goods companies, the industry must abandon some if its secretiveness and employ, at least some level, of Open Innovation principles.

AEB is interested in collaborating with all members of the consumer packaging ecosystem - brand owners, co-packers, converters, filling equipment providers, printing technology providers, packaging material providers, ink and chemical companies,and raw materials providers.   Our Applications Consulting Group and System Integration team can be valuable partners in designing solutions to complex Aseptic Filling and Printing and Packaging challenges.  

 

A good summary of trends in parenteral drug packaging appears in the March issue of Phamarceutical and Medical Device Packaging News.  The piece, titled, Prefill Revolution: A Market Segment on the Rise, discusses the primary drivers of adopting prefill syringe packaging, including:

1.  Minimizes contamination risk.  Traditional vial packaging introduces contamination risk each time a new dose is drawn up.

2.  Less waste: Traditional vials are overfilled by 20-24%.

3.  Smaller capital investment: By moving to prefilled syringes, manufacturers and contract fillers eliminate the need for vial wshing, depyrogenation, and preparation of vial components such as stoppers and crimp caps.

4.  Higher efficiency: Leveraging modern automated filling technology and barrier isolator systems, fill-finish lines are smaller, have higher throughput, and have longer validation windows.

The article fails to cover the trend toward electron beam sterilization tunnels for aseptic transfer of pre-filled syringe tubs.  AEB Partners Skan and Metall + Plastic offer electron beam tunnels based on AEB's low energy electron beam technology.   When manufacturers and contract fillers invest in state-of-the-art filling and isolation technology, they need a sterile transfer technology that delivers high througput and high levels of sterility assurance.  Electron beam offers significant benefits in this regard over the traditional spray and wipe approaches.

 

In past posts we have discussed the topic of Food Irradiation and how AEB's low energy electron Beam technology relates.  We have always been cognizant of the competing forces of Food Safety and Consumer Acceptance and how they battled each other to shape whether or not this decades old technology will be accepted as a mainstream food processing technique.  The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has long been a proponent of food irradiation and recently issued a comprehensive summary on the topic.  Broad-based acceptance from brand owners and retailers has been slow, primarily due to fears that consumers would react poorly to the FDA-mandate that products must be labeled as having been "Treated by Irradiation."

With the spate of highly visible, embarrassing, expensive, and deadly food contamination outbreaks over the past few years, the tone is changing.  In a recent article in New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Dennis Maki urges the industry and the public to "stop reliving history" and take a serious look at adopting new food processing technologies, such as food irradiation.  Perhaps even more indicative that consumer attitudes are creeping toward acceptance of this technique is the softening of the tone taken by mainstream health media, such as in a recent University of California, Berkely Wellness Letter article.

AEB's low energy electron beam technology would provide a novel solution for high speed, surface decontamination of foods.  Low energy electron beams concentrate sterilizing energy on the surface of the treated product, which is where contamination is greatest.  Since the energy from the electrons does not not penetrate more than a few microns, the bulk of the food is unaffected.  Interestingly, the USDA may be moving toward considering low penetration electron beam treatment as a processing aid, which would therefore exempt the product from labeling requirements.

The opportunities to use compact, cost effective electron beams for in-line food treatment has enormous potential to improve the safety and extend the shelf life of fresh foods.  We are looking forward to working with forward thinking food producers and food packagers on defining solutions that increase the competitiveness of their products, deliver healthier foods, and improve the safety of our global food supply. 

AEB has discussed in prior blogs and at conferences the potential for using compact electron beam emitters for sterilizing the interior of PET Bottles.  This breakthrough in electron beam technology enables a chemical free, room temperature alternative to traditional approaches of sterilizing bottles for Aseptic Packaging. 

 Please watch this short video of "In the Bottle" electron beam sterilization taken in our applications lab. 

Please visit AEB at the upcoming Novapack 2009 Conference, February 18-20th in Ft Lauderdale, FL.

Michigan State University's School of Packaging held its 2nd Packaging Executive Forum this week.  The forum discussion focused on plans for the school, general trends in packaging engineering, and, more deeply, the subject of sustainability.  

While the term, "Sustainable Packaging" can border on cliche, the speakers and panels at the forum probed the subjet from new angles.  Here is a quick summary of the points that caught my attention:

1.  Sustainability of a packaging concept has many dimensions including: Carbon footprint, Recyclability/reusability profile, Pollution (particulate and VOC) created in the manufacturing of packaging, Protection of public health, Performance of the package (e.g. does it protect the product as it should).

2.  The performance of a package is as important - if not more so - than the environmental footprint of the package alone.  For most packaged goods, the energy consumed to grow, process, and transport the product before it is packaged is, in fact, larger than the energy needed to manufacture the package.  If the product cannot be consumed or used as intended, due to package failure, than it does not matter how environmentally friendly the packaging is.

3.  Plastic vs. paper vs. carton vs. metal vs. glass | flexible vs. rigid.  There are pros and cons of each package concept and a time and place for each.  Format selection decisions need to consider package performance and consumer use in addition to how sustainable the manufacture of the packaging is.

4.  Adoption of new technologies need cooperation from the entire value chain: brand owners, material suppliers, converters, fillers, equipment suppliers, and researchers.

Not surprisingly, we see many opportunities for electron beams to help make packaging and packaged products more sustainable in every dimension.

Or he at least seems to be leaning in that direction.  Now that President Obama is in office, there will likely be swift action on economic stimulus legislation.

Last week, the House Appropriations Committee came out with their proposed version of the stimulus legislation.  This unprecedented legilsation aims to kick start the economy, notably by providing targeted investments in clean energy, science, and technology.

AEB sees low energy electron beams as a key component of the green factory of the future by making sustainable manufacturing possible and profitable.  There are many areas that we think we can, with the help of this legislation, assist in the development of a green economy.  In the near term, the proposed funding for industrial energy efficiency will encourage the adoption of clean, efficient, and innovative industrial processing techniques.  Furthermore, there is significant funding for cutting edge energy, science, and technology university research that should drive the development of new electron beam applications.

To discuss collaboration opportunities with AEB, please contact us.  To keep abreast of our interactions in this regard, please subscribe to our blog.

Packaging World recently featured Josh Epstein, Marketing Director at AEB, in a podcast on E-beam technology and packaging.

Josh discusses market trends towards shelf stable packaging and opportunities created by low energy electron beam sterililzation.  He discusses the benefits being realized by end users who are adopting this cold, dry, and effective form of sterilization for aseptic packaging.

Click here to listen to the podcast.