Consumers have become accustomed to having a wide variety of foods available to them from all corners of the world, no matter what season it may be. The days of being able to eat what is grown or raised on your own plot of land are long gone, especially as the world becomes more urbanized.
The U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requires that food manufacturing and processing companies identify potential hazards in their production systems and then put in place preventive controls to address those hazards.
University researches method to make biodegradable plastic using bacteria and algae. The world is awash in discarded plastics. A recent estimate of the amount of plastic in the earth’s environment puts it at 6.3 billion metric tons.
Cannabis continues to grow with many countries legalizing its usage, creating a new packaging segment. In 2018, Canada is expected to fully legalize marijuana, and the U.S. appears to be heading down the same path as more states approve its medical and recreational use.
Packaging machinery sales in the U.S. grew 4.8 percent in 2016, reaching a total of $9.8 billion, according to the “2017 State of the Industry – US Packaging Machinery” report, produced by PMMI, The Association for Packaging and Processing.