Prepared foods sometimes get a bad rap, but for the busy family or professional, ready to eat meals and prepared foods can certainly be a viable and healthy option. The market has continued to grow steadily, in part because of consumer demand.
Food packagers that produce these meals in high volume find that an automated sleeving machine helps complete the packing process in a much more efficient fashion. This is a great easy-to-use system but sometimes raises issues in the ability to apply a use-before date or a traceability code.
One solution is to code the meal sleeves prior to adding them into the production mix; this solution will save on a stock of pre-printed products and the potential for having to destroy product packaging. Using a traceable system and an automated sleeving machine means a packager could only print the sleeves as they are needed in the production line.
Offline sleeve transport systems can incorporate either a thermal transfer, thermal inkjet or continuous inkjet printer for printing information such as lot numbers, expiry date, serialization or security codes for product traceability on the individual sleeves. What are the benefits of an offline coding system?
Here are some that we have found:
- Increased flexibility in printing and in offline stack materials.
- A reduction in downtime because the system will be able to quickly switch from one product to the next.
- Increased capacity and throughput by replacing a manual system with an automated sleeving machine with online coding.
Food packagers need to look at their systems with a critical eye and see what kind of printing system would meet their unique packaging needs.
Packaging, Printing & Labeling Snacks
Consumers want snack packaging that is easy to open, keeps products fresh, and is easy and convenient to take on-the-go.Continue reading→
Dairy Product Coding & Labeling
Anytime you’re working with food products, there are a multitude of guidelines that must be followed, this is true with dairy packaging and labeling.Continue reading→
Printing, Marking & Coding of Candy Packaging
Candy comes in many forms, shapes and sizes but the common factor is that they all need to be packaged. The package, as it comes down the assembly line, needs to be identified - marked, coded or printed on - and candy is packaged in a variety of substrates.Continue reading→
Labels On Vegan Or Plant-Based Products
Consumers are becoming more savvy with regards to their food choices and many are turning to vegan, or plant-based alternatives. While it may seem these terms are interchangeable, as they both exclude animal products, they are not necessarily viewed the same way, says the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA). Labels on vegan or plant-based products...Continue reading→
Creating Authentic Food Labeling
According to a study conducted by OnePoll, 75% of those who responded, noted that if the term ‘organic’ was used on the label or in the marketing campaign, they were more likely to make a purchase of said item. Nearly 60% were attracted to any given item if it was labeled ‘all natural’. The survey also found that roughly 20% of the respondents have full trust in organic food labels, with less than 60% having only partial trust.Continue reading→
‘Free From’ Labeling
It is estimated that 2 percent of adults and about 5 percent of infants and young children in the U.S. suffer from food allergies. Approximately 30,000 consumers require emergency room treatment and 150 Americans die each year because of allergic reactions to food. As a result, the FDA enacted the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) in 2004.Continue reading→
Aluminum Foil Packaging
Low density polyethylene (LDPE) and flexible metallized films like aluminum foil, are widely used for confectionary and salty snacks packaging. Flexible packaging is the fastest growing packaging type driven by innovations including zippers, gussets and windows. Flexible packaging is also popular because of portion control packaging and lower transportation costs.
Marking And Coding Solutions For Food Packaging
The US Grocery Manufacturers Association estimates that recalls cost companies over $10 million. In addition to the financial burden, recalls for defective products can also be harmful to the health of the consumer, and ultimately damage the reputation of a product and company.
On-Brand Packaging
Almost everything we eat, wear, or use comes in some sort of packaging. The package is a way to get information about your product to the consumer, but in reality, marketing places a large role in how your product is perceived. On-brand packaging creates the first impression on the potential buyer, and it’s important that...Continue reading→
Food Traceability
The global food supply chain has evolved as companies seek to enhance their capabilities to feed the world’s growing population. As the importance of food traceability continues to grow, you can depend on Griffin-Rutgers to provide labelers and coders to meet the demand.
