Food Processing - June 2008 - (Page 59)

PAC K AG I N G Know your consumer: Spitz International shrink-wraps its sunflower seed package with a wax-lined paper cup that doubles as a spittoon for seed hulls. It fits in car cup holders. one of the first national brands in any category to use the symbol on its packaging. The Frito-Lay RECs are part of the PepsiCo RECs purchase, announced last year, that matches the electricity use of all Frito-Lay U.S.-based facilities, including the manufacturing sites that produce SunChips snacks. (Electricity is one of several energy sources used to produce SunChips.) Other green approaches include lightweighting packaging materials and structures. For the form-fill-seal bags in which it packages its all-natural potato chips, Kettle Foods Inc. (www. kettlefoods.com), Salem, Ore., recently switched from plastic-coated paper to allpolyethylene film bags. Making packaging more environmentally friendly is difficult for snacks like chips, which require high-barrier, oil-resistant packaging. “You reach a limit where technology puts up the barricade, and this is as green as you can get,” says Jennifer Hauge, Kettle’s marketing communications manager. However, she adds, “We want to be on the forefront of whatever technology exists to have greener packaging.” Switching to the polyethylene bag, which uses 20 percent less material than the paper-based package, is a step in that direction. “We’ve reduced [the package] on the whole, which is the most we can do in terms of making it greener,” Hauge says. She explains that currently there are no recyclable or biodegradable films that can sufficiently protect the freshness and flavor profile of Kettle chips. Michael Osborne Design (www.modsf.com), San Francisco, designs the graphics for Kettle’s packaging, and Printpack Inc. (www.printpack.com), Atlanta, supplies the bags. Taking a different green approach, Clif Bar & Co. (www.clifbar.com) Berkeley, Calif., is sponsoring a program to keep energy bar wrappers out of landfills. Clif Bar has created the initiative, called the Wrapper Brigade, with TerraCycle Inc. (www.terracycle.net), Trenton, N.J., which provides wrapper collection and reuse expertise. Wrapper Brigade participants receive four collection bags that hold 200 energy bar wrappers each. They mail the filled bags back to TerraCycle, designating the charity they want to support with their wrapper donation; the program will donate two cents to charity for every used wrapper. All shipping fees are covered by the program to encourage people to collect as many wrappers as possible. foodprocessing.com The collected wrappers will be fused and woven into a material that will be used to make backpacks, gym totes and other products. These items are expected to be available at major retailers by early 2009. Free sign-up for the Wrapper Brigade is available at www.terracycle.net/brigades. Clif Bar also uses non-toxic inks and recycled-paperboard in its packaging, has eliminated shrink wrap and has developed litter-reducing innovations, such as the stay-attached tear top on Clif Shot gel packets. more on the web Whether your interest is packaging (583 articles, 108 news stories, 89 new products and nine white papers) or snack foods (375 articles, 49 news stories, 27 new food products and one white paper), do your searching on www.foodProcessing.com … where there also is a Resource Center devoted to packaging (see the left navigation bar). Did you miss last October’s Pack Expo? Our report on all the packaging developments unveiled at the show is at www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2007/298.html. June 2008 food processing • 59 http://www.terracycle.net/brigades http://www.FoodProcessing.comc http://www.FoodProcessing.comc http://www.FoodProcessing.com/articles/2007/298.html http://www.foodmachinery.com http://www.modsf.com http://www.printpack.com http://www.clifbar.com http://www.clifbar.com http://www.terracycle.net http://www.terracycle.net http://www.foodmachinery.com http://foodprocessing.com

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Food Processing - June 2008 Editor's Plate NewsBites Show Report The Trends Rollout Food Biz Kids Consumer Taste Test A Bevy of New CEOs Ingredients Packaging Plant Operations MRO Q&A New Supplier Products Toops Scoops Contents

Food Processing - June 2008

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