Meat Industry Develops Smart Packaging That Interacts With The Environment

The following report is from Meat and Poultry:

An estimated 80 billion lbs of food is wasted every year in the United States, but the use of smart packaging can help reduce this, according to Richard Freundlich, executive director of supply chains with Rabobank.

Speaking on April 12 at the North American Meat Institute’s virtual Meat Industry Summit, Freundlich said this waste equates to about $219 per person or $1,600 per family. Additionally, 335,000 tons of food is wasted annually during manufacturing, and 155,000 tons of this is preventable and caused by factors such as biocontamination or mislabeling.

Packaging is related to some of this waste as food in larger packages is more likely to be discarded after opening, Freundlich said. Given this, the industry is looking at how to use packaging to be part of the food waste solution.

While the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, active packaging specifically refers to the ability of the package to interact with its environment, often through controlling the amount of UV light, oxygen, or moisture exposure to the food inside. This increased ability of the packaging to interact with and control the environment can extend shelf life and reduce food waste.

Intelligent packaging refers to communication with the world outside the package, perhaps through giving consumers information on temperature, freshness, or any potential exposure the food had to microbes. It can also be used to provide a link to automation using barcodes, QR codes, or even augmented reality to enhance the consumer experience.

Intelligent packaging can be used to reduce food waste. We are seeing a digital revolution where connected packaging is being used more and more.

Richard Freundlich

Given consumers’ current concerns about food safety during the pandemic, on-package indicators of potential exposure to microbes are certainly in demand.

(Smart packaging) can ultimately increase shelf life, improve quality and provide on-demand information. It enhances the brand connection and gives loyalty to the customer.

Overall, he said many smaller brands are using such packaging to differentiate products in the market and gain acceptance.

With all the new technology going into packaging, companies are also looking to combine this with sustainable packaging materials. Freundlich said there are not any industry discussions surrounding packaging that do not involve sustainability, and new technologies such as advanced recycling are being used.

Freundlich also discussed Blockchain as a method of monitoring food waste, and while it is not the only way to monitor waste, it is the most secure. However, he said the industry has been slow to adopt this trend.

He said the trend toward smart packaging will continue to grow in the future. The global smart packaging market was valued at $2.57 billion in 2013 and is expected to reach $5.66 billion in 2024.

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

[6] For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. [7] The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right.

Isaiah 32:6-7

WinePress readers know this smart technology has the smart city narrative of Agenda Absolute Zero written all over it, as with many of the associated technologies that will be largely associated with is such as 10G networks.

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To anyone that can see what is going, especially keeping in mind some of the other things we have reported on, this all has to do with total control. Now the packaging of our food will be able to communicate with the smart fridge in the smart house, that is connected to the smart grid, that is transmitted to the handlers that can spy on you for potentially wasting your food, thereby lowering your “social credit score.”

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This is another subtle chipping away at our freedoms and subtly infringing on what people will be purchasing, because, if our beef patties are be monitored by the grid police, then that will cause less people to eat meat. See how the game is played? Hooray for “innovation!”

[1] Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; [2] Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. [4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: [5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4:1-5

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