Amongst the innovations at 2019 Fruit Logistica, is the launch of ‘Infinite’ technology film by It’s Fresh, described as a ‘purposeful packaging’ technology. A proprietary ‘active ingredient’ is printed directly onto existing packaging for fruit, vegetables or flowers to prolong shelf life and extend freshness and quality by absorbing the natural ripening hormone ethylene. [...]
To meet the demands of a growing global population and already stressed food and water ecosystems, IBM researchers around the globe are working on 5 new technologies – including AI, blockchain, IoT and cloud – that will dramatically transform the food supply chain over the next 5 years. Here’s a summary of the predictions [...]
Urban Farming: As people all over the world move from rural areas to cities, urban centres sprawl to accommodate them. Often that means a loss of arable farmlands that usually surround towns and cities. It is predicted that by 2050 the world population may be around 10 billion. How to feed the world [...]
Food waste and the use of surplus food has become much more important to everyone over the last few years and is widely acknowledged to be a serious problem with environmental as well as social and economic consequences. The global dimension to the food waste issue is clear — under current production and consumption [...]
It’s no secret that the world produces—and wastes—mass amounts of plastic. But when you actually take a look at the numbers, it’s downright shocking. National Geographic says that of the whopping 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic the world has produced, 6.3 billion metric tons have become plastic waste. And of those 6.3 billion metric [...]
Deterioration in food is caused by physio-chemical and microbiological changes. Food products after harvest or slaughter are still active biological systems that interact with the environment (light, oxygen, moisture and others). This results in colour, texture and flavour changes and, in some cases, can lead to toxicity of the food product. Simple food packages [...]
There are legitimate concerns from consumers over the use of plastic in food packaging. Are they getting all the information? Having seemingly reached the peak of post-Blue Planet II anti-plastic outrage globally, there have been some interesting calm and considered observations of late. With the storm having settled to some degree, voices have [...]
According to Stats SA, 10.8 % of South African household’s sort refuse for recycling and 60% is the current average level of landfill sites around S.A. Gauteng is forecast to run out of landfill space by 2022 Mandatory recycling has come to Johannesburg and households are said to be showing a “keen interest”. [...]
Food companies walk the tightrope of looking for solutions that allow using lightweight and sustainable materials while keeping food fresh and protected throughout the supply chain and reducing food waste. This is the opinion of Tom Egan, of PMMI, the Association for Packaging and Processing Technologies, based in the US. Over the last decade, [...]
“The tide is turning. Two years ago, no-one was talking about plastic pollution, but programmes like Ocean Rescue and Blue Planet have changed that.” Swimming across the English Channel is the equivalent of climbing Everest for endurance swimmers. It is iconic, it is gruelling, and it can be deadly. Ten swimmers have died [...]
