Raw Milk & Pasteurization: Debunking Milk Myths
While pasteurization has helped provide safe, nutrient-rich milk and cheese for over 120 years, some people continue to believe that pasteurization harms milk and that raw milk is a safe healthier alternative.
Here are some common myths and proven facts about milk and pasteurization:
- Pasteurizing milk DOES NOT cause lactose intolerance and allergic reations. Both raw milk and pasteurized milk can cause allergic reactions in people sensitive to milk proteins.
- Raw milk DOES NOT kill dangerous pathogens by itself.
- Pasteurization DOES NOT reduce milk's nutritional value.
- Pasteurization DOES NOT mean that it is safe to leave milk out of the refrigerator for extended time, particularly after it has been opened.
- Pasteurization DOES kill harmful bacteria.
- Pasteurization DOES save lives.

(Source : www.fda.gov)

Raw Milk and Serious Illness
Symptoms and Advice
Symptoms of foodborne illness include:

• Vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain
• Flulike symptoms such as fever, headache, and body ache

While most healthy people will recover from an illness caused by harmful bacteria in raw milk - or in foods made with raw milk - within a short period of time, some can develop symptoms that are chronic, severe, or even life-threatening.
If you or someone you know becomes ill after consuming raw milk or products made from raw milk - or, if you are pregnant and think you could have consumed contaminated raw milk or cheese - see a doctor or healthcare provider immediately.
The Dangers of Listeria and Pregnancy :
Pregnant women run a serious risk of becoming ill from the bacteria Listeria which can cause miscarriage, fetal death or illness or death of a newborn. If you are pregnant, consuming raw milk - or foods made from raw milk, such as Mexican-style cheese like Queso Blanco or Queso Fresco - can harm your baby even if you don't feel sick.

rHDPE milk bottles, now possible...

Plastic packaging specialist Nampak is looking to trial milk bottles with 30% recycled content after a university study found that 50% recycled content was a feasible target for HDPE milk bottles. Nampak commissioned the University of Bradford’s Centre for Advanced Materials Engineering to assess the impact of various proportions of recycled content on processability and the functionality of the material. Researchers concluded that the use of recycled material created very similar properties to the virgin grades.
James Crick, Nampak business development manager, said the research confirmed the firm's confidence in reaching the 50% target. "This is a significant step forward and we now plan to conduct our own blow-moulding trials using 30% rHDPE to replicate the experimental work under manufacturing conditions," said Crick. Using post consumer food grade rHDPE pellets, the experimental work assessed the properties of blends of virgin HDPE with between 10% and 50% rHDPE, and also quantified the effects on material properties of five thermal cycles through an extruder.

The researchers concluded that the recyclate grades studied had very similar properties – including flow behaviour, quality and molecular and chemical structure – to the virgin materials.

Innovative Packaging

Clean..simple...striking... wining the moment of truth indeed..!

The future of packaging

The future of packaging
Leading ‘Futurists’ Jennifer Jarratt and John B. Mahaffie look at a future where digitization will open up major opportunities for label converters at the interface of brand and consumer
Scenario A: Anti-packaging riots - Thousands of angry consumers storm big box stores in US cities, tossing blood onto products in clamshell packaging after an eight-year-old girl nearly dies from severing an artery when trying to open a toy package. Police force rioters out of the stores, arrest hundreds.
Scenario B: Twitter drives green action - Millions of ‘netizens’, stirred to action in Europe and the US by a flood of tweets and Facebook messages, refuse to buy products that aren’t minimally packaged and don’t meet green standards.
Which scenario is more likely in the future? Neither, of course, except that consumers are increasingly uneasy about package safety and need for packaging. They have new tools in social networks to act on those fears. Packaging is a visible target for consumers and regulators concerned about sustainability, waste, safety, convenience and cost.
Meanwhile, packaging gains new capabilities. Digital technology brings efficiency, product adaptability, and economical short runs in printing and manufacturing. It is connecting design with consumer inputs and rapid prototyping. Soon package intelligence will be extended to the consumer’s hands. For example, smart pharmaceutical packages track when patients push their tablets through the foil backing.
Packaging will not go away, or be driven away. Modern lives would be difficult without packaging. It will be critical to make that case. The package can connect and coordinate activity from production information to inventory, through the logistical system to retail. It links consumers to information they need, and can identify the package’s recyclability. RF tags or barcodes can even signal which producer is responsible for reclaiming the package materials.
So what are the forces and factors likely to drive changes in packaging over the next few years? Here are a few:
Conflicting consumer attitudes and behavior – consumers are more frugal and there is more hostility to what people consider 'over'-packaging, but most would be unhappy without the convenience of packaged goods.
Sustainability – how low (carbon) can we go? Packaging has plucked the low-hanging fruit of the easiest lo-carbon adaptations. The next decade will demand bigger changes in processes and systems. Expect greatly reduced materials used in packaging, and goals of 80 or 90 percent recovery. Digitization and automation will enable comprehensive recovery and re-use of packaging materials. For example, robotic waste bins could sort recyclables from trash and harvest compostables automatically.
Regulation – could be provoked by consumer action, however safety and the push to limit carbon emissions and curb waste are the primary drivers. Regulation from the strictest jurisdictions will influence what happens around the world, and bears close monitoring.
Digitization – the digital revolution is overturning print media, hitting newspapers especially hard. With the burden of brand attraction and information moving more onto the package, converters may become a dominant producer of paper-based information. Eventually, consumers will get most product information online by scanning the package barcode or RF tag with their phone or tablet computer, and linking to online information.
Retail – digitization will shape retail as consumers use sophisticated online tools to buy. Shipping packaging becomes a norm. Digital technology, such as packaging that interacts with a cell phone, can also enhance brick and mortar retail by giving the shopper instant access to reviews and information, enabling instant offers and coupons, and perhaps telling the product’s story with images and sound.
The economy – the current focus on price and value can enable producers to pare away what matters less for consumers, and focus on what matters more. It looks like the new frugality—at least some of our new habits – could be here to stay.
These forces of change drive new challenges, but also new opportunities for packaging. We are at a moment of potential redefinition of the value of packaging, embrace of new technology, especially digital, and with an opportunity to redefine and reframe what packaging means for the consuming public.

New Sustainable Packaging Guidelines

Whole Foods Market has rolled out new responsible packaging guidelines to all of its more than 2,100 body care and supplement suppliers companywide. All new body care and supplement suppliers must meet the packaging guidelines before their products can be sold in one of the company’s more than 300 locations in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
To spearhead the change, the supermarket chain has switched to 100 percent post-consumer recycled (PCR) content bottles for several of its store-brand supplements and 365 brand body care items are packaged in bottles with 50 percent PCR content HDPE (high-density polyethylene).
A recent study from Global Industry Analysts projects that the global market for sustainable packaging will reach $142.42 billion by 2015.
Whole Foods has been working with 25 of its largest personal care product suppliers on the new guidelines since 2008, which went into effect on September 1, 2009. Suppliers were given one year to transition to more eco-friendly packaging.
The guidelines mandate that suppliers reduce the use of plastic in product packaging, encourage the switch to glass when possible, limit acceptable packaging materials to those that are easily reused or recycled, and/or feature the highest percentage of PCR content.
While the switch to PCR bottles began last September, the company expects to switch all of its house-brand Whole Body products, which now use amber plastic PET No. 1 bottles, to PCR packaging by late 2010. The new bottles bear a leaf symbol indicating that they are made from 100 percent PCR plastic.
Whole Foods also is supporting food suppliers that offer compostable packaging. The supermarket chain now offers Boulder Canyon Natural Food’s All Natural Kettle Cooked Potato Chip line that come in compostable packaging made from wood pulp at select stores.

Unilever Initiative.

Packaging innovation
Innovative packaging design is an important factor in the success of products.
The hanger format packaging for our new Pepsodent Smart Clean toothbrushes increases brushes' visibility in the small and crowded stores and street stalls where they are typically sold in Asia. The design allows the shopkeeper to keep track of his stock easily. Less wastage on primary and secondary packaging eliminates unnecessary costs, enabling us to produce the brushes at a price that will attract new users.
By creating more lightweight plastic containers we can also cut down on the overall amount of packaging material used. We use leading-edge computer-aided engineering technology to help us.
Rexona currently offers one of the most environmentally friendly 50ml roll-on deodorants available on the market. A radical rethink of its design and manufacture has shown how our R&D expertise in responsible packaging can lead to both environmental and business benefits. The moulding, assembly and packaging processes were streamlined and energy efficiency improved, with the resulting roll-on weighing on average 8% less and using 1 000 tonnes less plastic per year than previously. The time needed to make the cap was cut by 34% and the time to make the bottle was reduced by 8%, leading to significant energy savings.

Innovative Bottle

Bottle is blow moulded in PP/EVOH/PP to provide long-term barrier protection for extended shelf life, with contact clear PP to help enhance product appearance on shelf.
RPC Containers in Corby, UK, reports that its Orion headstand bottle from has proved the ideal packaging for Macphie's range of delicious, versatile OTT (Over The Top) Dessert Toppings.
Whilst Macphie is already a leading supplier of UHT sweet and savoury sauces and desserts packed in Tetrapak to the foodservice sector, OTT represents a major departure for the company as it is its first major branded launch of an ambient product range.
Aimed at the on-premise market, including pubs, hotels and restaurants, the OTT range comprises a variety of highly versatile toppings that can provide a finishing touch to countless desserts.
Six indulgent flavours - chocolate, toffee, butterscotch, raspberry, strawberry and lemon - are being launched in response to consumer demand for products containing fewer artificial ingredients.
Finding the right packaging format was critical to communicating the premium value of the toppings, whilst maintaining the convenience essential to the foodservice sector.
"Many containers in the food service sector are merely functional," explained Macphie general manager, Neil Coull.
"We wanted something that combined optimum convenience, a long shelf life and an attractive appearance - and the Orion bottle suited our requirements perfectly".
The Orion's headstand format is ideal for the products to ensure ease of dispense, which is further assisted by the choice of a 'stay clean' cap from Seaquist Closures.
In addition, the Orion's squeezability makes the bottle easy to use regardless of age or skill, something Macphie was keen to promote.
"Who adds the toppings varies depending on the establishment," confirmed Coull.
"Whilst usually kitchen staff will be in charge, sometimes it may be entrusted to front of house staff, or even - for example a restaurant where children are encouraged to make their own ice cream - the consumers themselves".
The Orion bottle is blow moulded in PP/EVOH/PP to provide long-term barrier protection for extended shelf life, with contact clear PP to help enhance product appearance on shelf.
Its wide labelling area has provided Macphie with the opportunity to maximise branding with distinctive front and back labels.
Different coloured caps provide further differentiation for the six flavours currently produced.
RPC Corby worked closely with Macphie to ensure optimum compatibility between the topping formulations, the bottle and the cap.
"The technical support RPC has given throughout the development process underlines the quality of the bottle itself, helping to give O.T.T the premium image it deserves," Neil Coull concludes.