Sooner or later, successful bakeries run out of freezer space. New designs of stacker freezers offer a compact configuration as well as enhanced food safety features.

GELITA, the world’s leading manufacturer of gelatine and collagen peptides, will host its bi-annual Food and Health & Nutrition Symposium in Heidelberg, Germany, from October 17-18 this year.

Anuga, the international tradeshow for the retail trade, food service and catering markets, will take place at the Keolnmesse in Cologne, Germany, Oct. 7-11, where bakers, culinary professionals and retail operators will share ideas for the development of products that appeal to today’s foodies who crave flavour, adventure and convenience.

The challenge of achieving the highest quality codes on ultra-fast packing lines with difficult-to-mark substrates in markets such as food and beverage is being met with the launch of a new laser marking solution from Linx Printing Technologies.

The Linx CSL60 laser offers a major technological breakthrough, combining a powerful processor and 60W laser tube with Linx’s unique Visicode® system to produce crisp, clear codes on difficult-to-mark materials such as glass and PET at high speeds. This enables manufacturers to meet all compliance requirements and provides effective brand protection and enhancement.

Add An Extra Dimension to your Packaging

API is leading the way in the creative development of holographic and other highly visual optical packaging solutions with the launch of its custom decorative holography service, Holonique™ Boutique. The service is designed to provide API’s specialised knowledge in the use of holography and 3D Designs, which, as an integral part of the product pack design, can add the extra dimension to brands across the food, drinks, personal care and beauty sectors.

Winners of the 2017 DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation

DuPont has announced the winners of the 2017 DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation. This year’s winners included solutions for novel food storage, fermenting food products, premium beauty products, new packaging materials to target millennials and more. This marks the 29th year of the Dupont Awards for Packaging Innovation, making it the packaging industry’s longest running independently judged competition. This year’s panel evaluated close to 150 entries from 24 countries.

A Gold Award was given to PepsiCo’s Granola Goes Nuts packaging. Designed by PrintPack, USA, Atlanta, this flowwrapper incorporates an easy-open tab that allows consumers to keep their hands clean during on-the-go use. The packaging for Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Bakery Delights received a Silver Award. Bemis, Neenah, Wis., the designer, used a thin-gauge flow wrap film to mimic the look, feel and crinkle of paper.

A full list of contest winners along with descriptions and images can be found here ….

More than 75% of consumers won’t buy food without first checking the label, and for the overwhelming majority of them label cleanliness is truly next to godliness, according to the 2017 Trends in Food Processing Operations Market Research Report. Recently released by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, the report tabs clean labels as the third biggest consumer trend behind only convenience and nutritional value.

Within the baking and snack sector it is also third behind artisan baking and healthy choices but ahead of new flavors, gluten free, portion control servings and sustainable ingredients.

Sprouted flours could put bread back on the table

West Yorkshire-based Spiffing says its new range of sprouted flours uses “natural technology to put bread back on the table for healthy eaters”. The grain used in the flour is soaked for 24 hours and maintained at a temperature of 20 degrees for five days. The grain and sprout are then milled to create an end product that looks the same as flour, but is easily digestible, rapidly absorbed and kind to the stomach.
Read more here…

   Snacking continues to gain popularity

According to a recent Euromonitor study entitled “How We Eat: The Changing Face of Global Mealtimes”, snacking continues to rise in importance as consumers move away from eating three fixed meals a day. Consumers are shifting to a more flexible pattern of snacking and grazing, with snacks now having to serve a nutritional purpose as well as just fill a gap between meals. The report notes that all day grazing, eating outside the home and on the move and eating alone are key trends.

Read more here…

     The non-GMO revolution

Overall, better-for-you snacks continue to grow at a faster rate than the snack category as a whole. According to SPINS data supplied by BFY Brands, dollar sales for natural, organic and specialty chips, pretzels and snacks rose 6.3% compared with 1.5% for conventional snacks for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 28, 2016. “Granted, natural and organic make up only 11% of the overall snack category, but they’re contributing about 31% of the industry’s growth,” noted Gunther Brinkman, vice-¬president, contract manufacturing.

Looking to subcategories, SPINS showed sales of organic snacks jumped 18%, gluten-free up 10% and non-GMO increased at an 8.7% clip. “We’re seeing activity not only in nutritionally better-for-you snacks but also in what we call ‘ethical better for you’ products, such as non-GMO and organic, especially among millennials,” Mr. Brinkman said. “These consumers want to know not only what they are eating but also how it’s made and sourced.”