Active and intelligent packaging is a topic that can get even the most sober of packaging technologists hot under the collar as they let their imaginations run wild about future possibilities.
Take Stephanie Watts, packaging consultant at research body Pira International. Ask her what to expect from the smart packaging of tomorrow and she is soon talking about e-paper and how moving images will one day be a common sight on packaging.
Back in the present, food manufacturers can already choose from smart packaging such as oxygen scavengers for extending shelf-life, time and temperature indicators (TTIs) for food safety, and radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. The problem is that most manufacturers don't use them.
"It's because of the time and costs involved," says Watts. "If a company wanted to add a TTI to its packaging, it would have to check it was legal, explain how it works to customers and ensure that it wouldn't be liable if something went wrong. Then there's the cost. If the packaging for your product costs 2p, adding a TTI could double that."
The key to successful smart packaging, says Watts, is persuading retailers of its value, while keeping costs down. "If you tell a retailer that you can add 10 days shelf-life with active packaging, they'll say: 'let's do it'. But if it's going to double packaging costs, plus the retailer has to pay for R&D, it's a different matter. Unless a retailer is certain they can reclaim these costs, they aren't interested."
Low margin obstacles
These are exactly the kind of issues that intelligent packaging company Timestrip has encountered. Its Timestrip label is activated by consumers once they have opened a product. This then informs them when they should eat it by. Joint chief executive Reuben Isbitsky says there are clear benefits to the technology, such as preventing food poisoning, reducing waste and ensuring people eat food at its best. Yet, the industry has been wary.
"There is little margin in food to do something new. People aren't willing to get off the fence and take the lead, especially when the market is so tough," he says.
Timestrip faces a chicken and egg situation. Brands are reluctant to invest in the technology because it is untried on the market, but unless someone takes a risk this will not change.
With each strip costing between one and five pence, depending on volumes, Isbitsky says higher value items where food safety is critical, such as fresh prawns, are a key target market. The foodservice sector, where hazard analysis critical control point rules mean operators must track when food is delivered and when it should be used by, could also be a breakthrough market. Indeed, Nestlé's foodservice division already uses Timestrips on its Maggi ready-to-use sauces.
Oxygen scavenging
One area of smart packaging that has seen success is oxygen scavenging technology. Multisorb's oxygen-absorbing sachets, labels and cards are widely used in processed meat products to extend shelf-life. However, Jim Renda, executive vice president and chief operating officer, says UK manufacturers in other categories, such as fresh meat, cakes and ready meals, have been slower to adopt them.
Part of the reason, he says, is that manufacturers and retailers are often unaware of the shelf-life and quality benefits that the technology can bring. "There is another piece to the puzzle, though - consumer acceptance," he says. "Many brand owners see something extra in a pack [such as an oxygen-absorbing sachet] as a negative. Consumers see it and might wonder if there is something wrong with the food.
"In Japan, there is a totally different attitude. Oxyfgen scavengers are seen as a badge of quality. They are actually promoted on labels."
John Hirst, md of active packaging supplier Emco, predicts a bright future for oxygen scavengers in the UK, despite consumers' misgivings.
"Supermarkets are demanding that preservatives are removed from products and companies are looking at alternatives for extending shelf-life," he says. "Oxygen scavengers are widely used in France in cakes and confectionery, and consumers and manufacturers in the UK are getting more used to them."
Breweries are also waking up to the benefits of the technology, according to Lyn Dudley, sales manager at Constar International. Its Oxbar oxygen scavenging material is used in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) beer bottles by Stella, Fosters and Grolsch, extending shelf-life from a few weeks to a year. These are sold at concerts and other events where glass is not permitted.
The company has also introduced a single-layer PET bottle - MonOxbar - where the material is blended into the plastic. This cheaper and lighter option can be used for still drinks.
Alcohol for the retail market is still largely packaged in glass, but Dudley says retailers are showing interest in PET because it is cheaper, lighter and more durable. "It's only a matter of time before it happens," she says.
Legal confusion over smart packs
Campden BRI has recently published a review of active and intelligent packaging and will run a conference on the subject from April 1-2 in Gloucestershire www.campden.co.uk/training/conference.htm. Alan Campbell, packaging manufacturing manager, says a confused legal situation has deterred the take-up of smart packaging, but this is set to change. Until 2004, he explains, EU legislation stated that 'packaging materials must not interact with food', but this was resolved with EU Regulation 1935/2004, while more detailed regulations governing smart packaging are to be approved in the coming months. "There is definitely renewed interest in the area now the legislation is becoming clearer," he says.
This is not to say that there are not already good examples of active packaging in the market place. Campbell points to susceptors in the packaging for microwave chips and popcorn as a good example. Comprising a metallised film, susceptors absorb microwave energy and become very hot, thereby helping to cook the food.
Simon Balderson, md of absorbent pad supplier Sirane, says its new susceptor pads are proving popular with microwave burger and snack companies, whose products are heated up in outlets such as garage forecourts.
Sitting under the food, the pad helps cook the product via the built-in susceptor, but also soaks up liquid and provides insulation so the pack can be held after cooking.
It is these kinds of multiple benefits that packaging companies need to demonstrate if they are to be successful, says Balderson. "Companies have been talking about smart packaging for years and there have been some great designs and elegant technology, but there is often no real value to them."
Sirane recently launched a dehumidifying pad for moisture sensitive products, such as croissants and pastries, which prevents condensation in the pack. It has also developed compostable cushioning pads for a new variety of strawberries that were prone to bruising.
"Absorbent pads are not expensive - often less than a penny - and the value they add more than justifies the outlay. In some cases, you couldn't sell the product without the pad," says Balderson. "Our customers are cost-sensitive, so we are trying to integrate absorbency with other packaging elements. We've developed an absorbent, rigid board that could be used as a tray replacement for fish or meat. Firms buy one integrated material, rather than paying for two separate pieces."
It is this kind of nuts and bolts approach, with maximum benefits squeezed from minimal outlay, that will probably shape how smart packaging develops in the future. Sexy temperature labels and complex digital graphics still seem a long way off.
Retailers' radio days
The Metro Group in Germany announced last year that nearly 400 of its stores and warehouses were now radio frequency identification (RFID) enabled, with over 600 suppliers routinely tagging cases and pallets.
Retailers in Britain have been far less enthusiastic about the technology. So far, only Marks & Spencer has invested in RFID tagging on reusable plastic trays for its ready meals.
According to David Lyon, business manager at RFID standards organisation EPC Global, the M&S scheme, which launched in 2003, will save the retailer just under £5M over 10 years compared to applying barcodes. Of equal importance is improved availability, less wastage and an 80% reduction in intake times at its distribution centres.
With entry level tags now down to around 5p each, from some 30p four years ago, why haven't other UK retailers followed M&S's lead?
"Undertaking large-scale supply chain change is a huge undertaking and there are other priorities at an operational level at the moment," says Lyon. "It's not down to tag price. It's a key decision that has to come from a high level."
However, he is adamant that in the long term the business case for RFID tagging stacks up. "Livestock in Ireland and New Zealand is now regularly RFID tagged, while (Dutch retailer) Schuitema has recently introduced case-level tagging for fresh produce. Once UK retailers see the benefits being reaped by foreign competitors the situation may change," he says.