Packaging 360 provides credible Knowledge Sharing and Networking Platform for the Food & Beverage Packaging stakeholders and brand owners in Bengaluru with the successful launch of the Packaging 360 Outreach.
Prabuddha Das Gupta, food packaging veteran from HUL & now industry consultant, set the tone for the deliberations with a high-impact keynote highlighting the role of packaged products in modern society. He emphasized that packaging was vital to the growth of food and beverage sector serving to minimize wastage. The evolution of the modern organized retail chains would not have been possible without customized packaging across the diverse range of solid & liquid food products. Yet the materials used for protection & preservation of F&B products, notably plastics have come under attack due to the indiscriminate use & littering across land & oceans. This has unfortunately caught the attention of the media, leading to a worldwide call for a ban on single -use plastics. Hence industry must evolve & practise reduce, Recycle, recover & reuse plastics for a successful transition from linear to a circular economy.
The industry keynote presentation was delivered by Dr.Vijay Habbu, Sr.V.P. Reliance Industries Ltd. He began by enunciating the principles of packaging, which is preservation, dispensation & information. Globally, plastics (rigid & ?exible formats) constitute 42 % of the total quantum of materials used for packaging use, followed by paper (31%) & metals & glass. Today, plastics in different forms have been successfully replaced metals & glass in many F&B applications including milk & edible oil. Plastics are therefore, the material of choice for many different categories of food products. PET bottle has successfully replaced glass in mineral water, CSD, Juices, Flavoured milk, Wine, sweetened syrups etc. Addressing the safety aspects of PET, he asserted that the polymer meets all the standards & regulatory requirements laid down by BIS, FSSAI in the India context. PET is a truly sustainable polymer as it is effciently recyclable into a into a textile application pioneered by RIL.
Atin Chaudhari, Dy. GM Technical Services Huhtamaki PPL, in his paper dwelt on the theme of
the various food safety legislations citing numerous examples from various countries. Specifically, he
discussed the issue related to mineral oil & toluene free inks for food packaging applications.
P. N. Sridharr, Dy. GM Marketing ITC LTD, highlighted the role played by Bio-based Paper & paperboard for F&B uses. Stating these were fully compliant & essentially compostable, ITC is also actively involved in implementing the EPR guidelines.
Shailesh Nema, Vice President & Managing Director Michelman, pointed out that three major trends: E commerce, On the go packaging & Circular economy are going to shape innovations in packaging.
The growth rate of ?exible packaging market in India stood at 11% p.a. & favourable factors were young
population, & their preference for snack foods. On the technology front, he said there are alternatives to
metallization, & multilayer laminates through the use of water-based coatings for achieving preservation &
protection of food products.
Sanjiv Kalra, Business Manager, Industrial Adhesives, Pidilite Industries Ltd, began by stating
that adhesives constitute about 5% of the total packaging. He described in detail the various factors
involved in the selection of adhesives for packaging & also enumerated the regulations applicable to
adhesives. He described the various US FDA, EU & FSSAI standards & regulations applicable to adhesive
applications.
Mahuya Biswas, Chief Technical Manager, DIC India Ltd, gave a detailed account of the de?nition of
safe inks used in printing for food packaging applications. In the Indian market, there is a demand for the socalled non-toluene (NT) inks, non-toluene non-ketone (NTNK) inks, mineral oil-free inks, etc. However, safe inks should not be misled with such terminology adopted by the market, as such inks may not be safe.
Safe inks (or migration-optimized inks) are inks with careful selection of raw materials, so that none of the components of the printing ink formulations impact consumer safety. Hence, the next time one is looking
for safe inks, he/she should ask for migration-optimized inks.
Sachin Agrawal, COO & Co-Founder, Bizongo, took the audience to a different level of the potential of high
technology for adoption by the packaging industry. The potential of technology could be in the area of artwork management, design & development, strategic sourcing,
inventory & production planning.
Sunanda Kadam, Business Unit Manager, Intertek spoke in detail on the EU and EU Member States Food
Contact Regulations. She presented an overview of EU Regulations applicable to Plastics, paper and
paperboard materials. She also gave an insight into the upcoming legislations for Food & Beverage Packaging.
T
he team of Venture & LabThink presented two papers on package testing & quality control. Darren,
LabThink gave an exhaustive description of the tools & methodologies required to establish a quality control
system for a packaged food business unit. Vishal Vijaybabu emphasized the use of simulated testing
indoor & outdoor to determine the stability of packages. He also explained the use of weathering test & light
stability tests for achieving near actual use results.
Sunil Adsule, Director Scienti?c & Regulatory Affairs, Coca-Cola India, spoke on the various
regulations in use in different countries. He also highlighted the role undertaken by FSSAI in India & the
BIS standards for various categories of packaging materials.
Rajeshwar Matche, Senior Scientist CFTRI Mysore, delivered a paper on smart packaging technologies
developed at CFTRI & available for commercialization by industry. He reiterated that CFTRI would work with
industry to identify solutions for different class of food packaging.
Amit Saurkar, Head Packaging Development, MTR Foods dwelt on the various facets of customer-centric
packaging concepts. Customer Centric means putting the customer at the centre of everything that you do, or, doing everything with the customer in mind. He cited examples of shift of RTE foods from pouch to tray
formats, which offered Compact Shape with Trendy Look, On-the-Go Convenience, Easy of opening and
Carrying.
Ayaz Kagzi, Vice President, Cavin Kare Foods Ltdspoke on Trends in Foods & Packaging. With illustrative
examples, he drove home the point that packaging helps conserve food & minimizes wastage. He also
pointed towards the importance of digital printing for package customization.
Raghuvamshi Rao, CEO, Elixir Technologies, made a case for Modi?ed Atmosphere Packaging for a variety of food products. He pointed out that composition of food decides the gas mix to be deployed for shelf -life
extension of packaged product.
Nishant Shah, Director, Imaginarium illustrated the potential of 3D printing technology for packaging
industry, including short runs, pre-market trials & customized packs for a variety of food & non-food
product.
Swati Agarwal, Head-Branding, Yash Compostables Ltd, introduced the concept of sustainable packages based on sugarcane waste which has potential to be used in trays for food serves.
The concluding & perhaps signifiant paper on EPR & sustainability was presented by Dr Vijay Habbu, Reliance Industries Limited. Extended Producer Responsibility is an environmental policy approach in which the producer’s responsibility for reducing environmental impact and managing the product is extended across
the whole life cycle of the product, from selection of materials and design to its end-of-life, and especially for their take-back, recycling and disposal. In short, Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) refers to a
mandatory type of product stewardship. Instead of local government carrying the sole burden for disposal costs, EPR places the primary responsibility on the producer or
the brand owner of a product.
The Key Take-Aways:
– Packaging has enabled growth of modern lifestyle, but has also created the problem of postconsumer
waste management.
– Contributed to food safety & minimize wastage.
– Increased awareness towards use of safe inks, adhesives & other ancillary materials used along with
primary packaging.
– Continuous evolution of laws, regulations & standards in keeping with changing times.
– FSSAI & BIS standards are comparable to globally acceptable norms for ensuring food safety.
– Concerted efforts to evolve sustainable packaging solutions by industry & academia.
– Increased commitment towards EPR & sustainability programmes by all stakeholders in the supply
chain.
Packaging 360 is a comprehensive knowledge sharing ecosystem for the Indian packaging industry. Our services include an online content platform to deliver news, insights and case studies; organising conferences seminars and customised training; Providing Bespoke Project Consulting, Market Research and Intelligence.
