Food Packaging

Tim Hortons restaurants across Canada will be introducing wooden and fibre cutlery for guests, eliminating an estimated use of 90 million single-use plastics a year, starting in early 2023. The wooden cutlery and fibre spoon are both compostable. In another move to reduce the use of single-use plastics, plastic lids on Loaded Bowls are also being replaced with fibre lids.

Natura PCR, a leading film recycler and postconsumer resin (PCR) producer, says it has received a letter of nonobjection (LNO) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that enables the company’s 100-percent-recycled linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) PCR to be used in direct food-contact packaging applications, including packaging for foods stored at room temperature and for refrigerated and frozen foods.

Endless sustainable materials and pack styles continue to appease the market and challenge automation simultaneously. Brillopak, a leading UK end-of-line retail case loading specialist, will debut the multi-material handling capabilities of its new high-speed Tray & Punnet PAKer. The machine automatically packs trays and punnets into retail cases neatly and is ready for any material trend – now and in the future.

This change in distributorship allows Bartelt to expand and streamline the HFFS product lines both Bartelt and FLtècnics, and strategically aligns them to more effectively provide the best solution for a variety of customer applications. Bartelt is a leading manufacturer of pouching, cartoning, shrink wrapping, case and tray packing systems for numerous markets, including food and confectionary, beverage, pharmaceutical, and others. 

Baby food brand Piccolo has launched what it claims is the UK’s first 100 per cent recyclable baby food pouch suitable for kerbside recycling.

Rather than the standard plastics and aluminium structure, Piccolo’s Yellow & Go pouches are made using a single material, polypropylene. The company has partnered with recycling scheme, First Mile, to ensure that consumers can recycle them from home. The multipack box doubles up as a returns box, with a QR code that allows consumers to download the free returns label to put on the box and send to First Mile.

The company says it has created new packaging for cold and frozen foods that is made from recycled paper, and can be recycled in curbside bins. It rolls out starting this month for Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods grocery deliveries.

The packaging is also produced in different regions of the United States, closer to the locations that will use it, further reducing the environmental impact, says Stephenie Landry, vice president of Amazon’s grocery business, in a post announcing the new packaging.

“CäPeachio’s has always been a brand that keeps up with the times,” says James Anderko, Vice President of Sales. “While the crackers themselves are timeless, it’s important to us that the packaging continues to attract the modern customer.”   

The brand refresh includes all-new photography of the elegantly simple crackers with new toppings. A deeper, more vibrant color palette, coupled with subtle patterns, highlights the range of flavors. As always, CäPeachio’s old-world-style crackers are all-natural, vegan, non-GMO, and kosher.

In August 2020, we flagged that New York took a significant step in becoming the third state in the country to ban the use of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging. At the time, the legislation (S.8817 and A.4739-C) was passed by the New York State Legislature, but had not been signed into law by Governor Cuomo. On December 3, 2020, Governor Cuomo took the final step and signed the PFAS food packaging ban it into law, joining Maine and Washington in banning the use of PFAS in food packaging.