Archive for January 2011
Paper-based protective packaging is SFI-certified
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Alcohol industry grapples with nutrition labeling
By Michelle LockeUnless, that is, the beverage is alcohol.
Some folks want to change that.
“In the year 2011, it’s sort of bizarre that alcohol’s the only consumable product sold in the United States that you can’t tell what’s inside the bottle,” says Guy Smith, executive vice president in North America for Diageo, the world’s leading distilled spirits, beer and wine company.
Diageo is supporting a proposal presently before the federal Tax and Trade Bureau — the agency with authority over alcohol labels — to list nutrition information such as calories, carbohydrates, serving size and alcohol per serving.
But not everyone in the industry is as enthusiastic.
At the Beer Institute, a trade association based in Washington, D.C., officials support listing calories, carbs, protein and fat content, as well as alcohol by volume. But they oppose the idea of defining serving size by fluid ounces of pure alcohol, or as 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of 80-proof liquor, on the grounds that you may get more than 1.5 ounces of liquor in a cocktail depending on what else is in the drink and the accuracy of the bartender.
But Smith says consumers know when they’re getting a large martini. The point is, he says, to give them a point of reference so they can generally know what to expect.
At the San Francisco-based Wine Institute, officials are asking that the labeling requirements be on a voluntary basis only. (Diageo also supports voluntary compliance.)
If labeling is made mandatory, then the Wine Institute is asking for accommodations, such as being allowed to generalize the calorie and carb counts on wine, rather than needing to have each vintage of each variety analyzed. Additionally, they want the option of choosing the style of label, perhaps putting the information on a thin strip-style label rather than the more traditional (and much larger) box format that appears on other foods and drinks.
“There shouldn’t be a significant cost impact on wineries,” says Wendell Lee, general counsel for the institute.
It’s unclear when federal officials might rule. Agency spokesman Tom Hogue said the Tax and Trade Bureau is working on the issue, but it’s a complicated one that doesn’t lend itself to a quick solution.
The current push for nutrition information was started in late 2003 by a coalition of consumer and public health advocates. Diageo announced its support for the move at the time and last December issued a statement calling on officials to rule.
The Distilled Spirits Council, based in Washington, also supports putting serving information on bottles.
Current labeling law is complicated.
Wine, beer and liquor manufacturers don’t have to list ingredients — and the nutritional labeling proposals being considered don’t require them to start doing that. However, they must list substances people might be sensitive to, such as sulfites, FD&C Yellow No. 5 and aspartame.
Wines containing 14% or more alcohol by volume must list alcohol content. Wines that are 7% to 14% alcohol by volume may list alcohol content or put “light” or “table” wine on the label. (Most wines in that category, however, do list alcohol by volume.)
“Light” beers must list calorie and carbohydrate content only. Liquor must list alcohol content by volume and may also list proof.
Food activist Marion Nestle, who researched the laws while writing about calories, was stunned by their piecemeal nature. She doesn’t see the point of listing protein, fat and carb content of alcohol, since it contains none or little of those, but would like to see labels that list the amount of alcohol, number of calories, number of servings in the bottle and ingredients.
“Alcohol has calories and calories are an enormous issue,” she says.
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Stephen Colbert Makes Fund of PepsiCo’s Tropolis
In previous blogs, I’ve discussed the inherent tension between our increasing realization that we should stick to raw and whole foods and the need of food and beverage companies to add value to these foods by processing and fortifying them. Stephen Colbert hilariously demonstrated this tension with a hammer and a banana, cleverly making fun of PepsiCo’s recent initiative to sell fruit puree in plastic non-recyclable containers by commending them for making it easier to eat such “difficult” food.
I wonder if PepsiCo 
realizes how absurd some of their initiatives are or whether they really think that they represent constructive members of society.
Have a look, he talks about this at about the 4 minute mark of the clip
Colbert Clip on Comedy Network – Canadian audience
Colbert Clip on Colbert Nation – Non-Canadian audience
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Killer Paper for Next-Generation Food Packaging
ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2011) — Scientists are reporting development and successful lab tests of “killer paper,” a material intended for use as a new food packaging material that helps preserve foods by fighting the bacteria that cause spoilage. The paper, described in ACS’ journal, Langmuir, contains a coating of silver nanoparticles, which are powerful anti-bacterial agents.
Aharon Gedanken and colleagues note that silver already finds wide use as a bacteria fighter in certain medicinal ointments, kitchen and bathroom surfaces, and even odor-resistant socks. Recently, scientists have been exploring the use of silver nanoparticles — each 1/50,000 the width of a human hair — as germ-fighting coatings for plastics, fabrics, and metals. Nanoparticles, which have a longer-lasting effect than larger silver particles, could help overcome the growing problem of antibiotic resistance, in which bacteria develop the ability to shrug-off existing antibiotics. Paper coated with silver nanoparticles could provide an alternative to common food preservation methods such as radiation, heat treatment, and low temperature storage, they note. However, producing “killer paper” suitable for commercial use has proven difficult.
The scientists describe development of an effective, long-lasting method for depositing silver nanoparticles on the surface of paper that involves ultrasound, or the use of high frequency sound waves. The coated paper showed potent antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus, two causes of bacterial food poisoning, killing all of the bacteria in just three hours. This suggests its potential application as a food packaging material for promoting longer shelf life, they note.
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The dram in a can: Scottish whisky the way South Americans like it…
By MARK HOWARTH
A Panama-based company believes outdoor drinkers would prefer to crack open a tin rather than lug round a bottle of whiskyIt is a sight that will have whisky connoisseurs spluttering into their drink – a dram in a can.
A Panama-based company believes outdoor drinkers would prefer to crack open a tin rather than lug round a bottle of their favourite tipple.
Now bosses at Scottish Spirits – which retains an office in Glasgow – is testing out the novelty on its Caribbean and South American markets.
But last night the Scotch Whisky Association said it would try to ban the cans for breaching international labelling rules.
A spokesman for the body said: ‘We are concerned that consumers may be confused whether or not the product is real Scotch and we will be investigating the matter further.’
Scottish Spirits launched the tins last week, the first time straight whisky has been sold in a can.
Chief executive Manish Panshal said: ‘We are really thrilled with the idea – it’s going to be a part of every lifestyle and occasion.
‘The can is the perfect size to be shared between three people who can mix it with other things like cola.
‘It’s lightweight and portable and entirely recyclable, which is good news. It will be one of the hot picks for any outdoor activities.’
World-renowned expert Jim Murray – author of The Whisky Bible – admitted he was intrigued.
He said: ‘Obviously, this is not the traditional way to sell a dram but I’ve seen it on draught in Chicago and out of plastic sachets in Uganda, so it might catch on somewhere. It will certainly be cheaper than buying a big bottle and Scotch spends some of its life in metal containers during the distillation process anyway.
‘But you probably wouldn’t want it in aluminium cans for too long, because it would affect the taste.
‘And my biggest problem with the idea is that there’s no way of knowing what it is you’re buying – and this isn’t proper Scotch.
‘I taste around 3,000 types a year and I can honestly say I have never come across these brands.’
He added: ‘I can’t see it taking off here because a can would cheapen a product that Scots are rightly proud of. A tin of whisky could never make your heart skip a beat like a fine Scotch.’
Whisky in its more usual container. Scottish Spirits launched their tins last week, the first time straight whisky has been sold in a canScottish Spirits – which is canning its own-brand tipple and a blend called Sir Edwin’s – was censured by the Advertising Standards Agency last September.
The watchdog ruled that its advertisements wrongly suggested it was a home-grown company selling Scotch.
A rival company made a complaint after spotting Scottish Spirits’ ads in a trade magazine.
Scotch whisky exports are big business, with global sales three times those of its US rivals.
But when it comes to the home front, the picture is less rosy for the spirit, whatever container it comes in. UK whisky sales slipped by 11 per cent between 2005 and 2009.
There is little respite in sight. Sales are predicted to stay static at 6.5million cases until 2014, data from industry analyst International Wine and Spirits Research reveals.
The UK is the third biggest market for Scotch, after the US and France.
But industry insiders claim there is no cause for alarm.
Paul McLaughlin of food export quango Scotland Food and Drink said: ‘I don’t think this is a cause for concern because the key focus is on exports. The home market is not the be-all and end-all.’
From MailOnline
WORK Beer
Designed by WORK Labs | Country: United States
“WORK Beer started with a art director that dreamed of having his own beer(seriously, who doesn’t dream about having their own beer?). That dream led to beer for the American worker, WORK Beer—For A Job Well Done. It became the brewers best selling beer, going from local to available in all the surrounding states within a matter of months. No detail was overlooked, from the non-conventional label, to the box, to the coasters, to the pint glasses to the ads and TV spots. The WORK Beer tap handle stands out in a line-up pretty well, too, it’s a hammer. As far as we know here at WORK, we’re one of the only agencies in America to ever have our own brand of beer.”
Designed by WORK Labs | Country: United States
“WORK Beer started with a art director that dreamed of having his own beer(seriously, who doesn’t dream about having their own beer?). That dream led to beer for the American worker, WORK Beer—For A Job Well Done. It became the brewers best selling beer, going from local to available in all the surrounding states within a matter of months. No detail was overlooked, from the non-conventional label, to the box, to the coasters, to the pint glasses to the ads and TV spots. The WORK Beer tap handle stands out in a line-up pretty well, too, it’s a hammer. As far as we know here at WORK, we’re one of the only agencies in America to ever have our own brand of beer.”
From Lovely Package
Steel and Poly Strapping Price Increases
Everyone knows packaging prices jumped like crazy in 2010 and they are still on the rise in the start of 2011. It’s not only plastic prices that are rising but metal as well. I have heard from a few sources that strapping is the next thing to jump in pricing. The poly strapping increase is due to dramatic resin price increases from resin suppliers, which are actually the largest that the industry has ever seen. We have received notice of cost increases of over fifteen cents per pound for this month, and have been advised of additional increases pending for the near future. This means there will probably be another round of price increases in the next few weeks.
Many types of metal costs are also at record highs right now and steel is no exception. Steel strapping and steel seal pricing will also be increasing at the end of the month. The exact price increase you will see for these products on January 24th are:
– Polypropylene Strapping 8%
– Polyester Strapping 4%
– Steel Strapping and Seals 8%
I would encourage you to take a look at your strapping and see if you are able to use alternative, less expensive strapping sizes or strengths to help offset some of this increase. If you need help figuring out what strapping alternatives will save you money while still working for your application send me a message on the Contact Form and I will get a hold of you to talk more.
Lex
From Packaging Kid
85 new jobs at Dungannon meat plant Linden Foods
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster with Trevor Lockhart, Chairman of Linden Foods.
Eighty-five new jobs are to be created at a new retail packaging facility in Dungannon.
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster with Trevor Lockhart, Chairman of Linden FoodsEnterprise Minister Arlene Foster with Trevor Lockhart, Chairman of Linden FoodsLinden Foods, which is involved in meat processing, has secured a £10m investment for the operation which will create the new posts over three years.
The 5,800 sq m building has received funding from Invest NI of £500,000.
Opening the new premises, enterprise minister Arlene Foster said that the food industry was a “key contributor” to the NI economy.
She added that the sector had shown impressive resilience to the economic downturn.
Gerry Maguire, managing director of Linden Foods, said that its business strategy remains focused on innovation.
“I would like to the thank all the organisations who have helped us secure and develop this site including the Northern Bank,” he said.
Linden Foods anticipates that as a result of the investment the company will be able to increase sales by 32%, most of which will be in markets outside Northern Ireland.
Linden Foods was established in 1998 from the merger of Granville Meats, then owned jointly by Fane Valley and Ulster Farmers’ Investments Ltd, and Milltown Meats based in Newtownards.
The company forms part of Linden Food Group which has a turnover in excess of £300m and employs 1,100 people on seven sites in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and England.
From BBC News
Before and After: Frydenlund Beer
“Frydenlund is a beer with a proud heritage dating back to 1859 and is brewed by Norway’s largest brewery, Ringnes. The beer had long been enjoyed by Connoisseurs but was no longer relevant for younger consumers. The new packaging by Frank retains the beer’s traditional elements but has been simplified to give it a fresh but authentic new look. Sales of the product have increased dramatically and have introduced Frydenlund to a new generation of beer drinkers.”
Designed by Oslo based FRANK.
From The Die Line
15 examples of good typography in packaging
December 28th, 2010 by Mirko in Inspiration, Packaging
Staying simple is a good way to create elegant and efficient packaging. These packages use typography as the main visual element and succeed to create great packages.
1. Lintar
2. Jason
3. Adirondack
4. Clif bar
5. The Black Animals
6. Anmob
7. Clearspring
8. Bro Vodka
9. Black Mowler
10. 359
11. Kaffe 1668
12. Lait LAB
13. Hallertau
14. Feez
15. Biscuits & stuff
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GT QuickPack 