Issue 1 15 December 2006 AMCOR LAUNCHES BOLD INITIATIVE A fortnightly e-newsletter, CAN – Can and Aerosol News, will communicate with the industry, customers and stakeholders about trends, innovations and developments in the industry. Feature stories will include news about food cans, aerosols and recycling, both from Australia and overseas. This news is being researched from over 40 different web sites and publications. It will be distributed via the website www.can-news. com.au which is designed to offer a 24-hour point of reference to keep Amcor's customers and the industry up to date with the latest news, events and information. This business-to-business communication channel offers many interactive features, including inviting people to subscribe to email alerts about specific news items of interest to them. These initiatives are part of Amcor Food and Aerosol Cans' continuing support for the industry and reinforcement of the can’s important role within it. Amcor Food and Aerosol Cans has a continued commitment to work with its customers to achieve the goals of the National Packaging Covenant. “In such a fast–paced industry with new packaging formats constantly coming and going, the long-standing benefits of metal packaging are sometimes forgotten,” General Manager Amcor Food and Aerosol Cans Mr Andrew Gall said. “Steel cans offer convenient, tamper- evident packaging that is totally recyclable. Innovative aerosol products made from either steel or aluminium can offer high quality packaging solutions that are environmentally friendly.” Amcor Food and Aerosol Cans has launched a bold initiative to help it communicate with its customers and the industry. Steel can recycling hits record highs Tin analysis of canned food improves Recycling Innovation BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Transcript
Issue 1 15 December 2006
Amcor lAunches bold initiAtive
A fortnightly e-newsletter, CAN – Can and Aerosol News, will communicate with the industry, customers and stakeholders about trends, innovations and developments in the industry.
Feature stories will include news about food cans, aerosols and recycling, both from Australia and overseas.
This news is being researched from over 40 different web sites and publications.
It will be distributed via the website www.can-news.com.au which is designed to offer
a 24-hour point of reference to keep Amcor's customers and the industry up to date with the latest news, events and information.
This business-to-business communication channel offers many interactive features, including inviting people to subscribe to email alerts about specific news items of interest to them.
These initiatives are part of Amcor Food and Aerosol Cans' continuing support for the industry and reinforcement of the can’s important role within it.
Amcor Food and Aerosol Cans has a continued commitment to work with its customers to achieve the goals of the National Packaging Covenant.
“In such a fast–paced industry with new packaging formats constantly coming and going, the long-standing benefits of metal packaging are
sometimes forgotten,” General Manager Amcor Food and Aerosol Cans Mr Andrew Gall said.
“Steel cans offer convenient, tamper-evident packaging that is totally
recyclable. Innovative aerosol products
made from either steel or aluminium can offer high quality packaging solutions that are environmentally friendly.”
Amcor Food and Aerosol cans has launched a bold initiative to help it communicate with its customers and the industry.
Steel can recycling hits record highs
Tin analysis of canned food improves
recycling innovation brought to you by
Aerosol vAccines mAy replAce needlesA Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company has designed a system that can deliver a vaccine through an inhaled, aerosol spray.
The Aerovax aerosol spray system means that vaccines don’t need to be kept cool and can be easily administered.
Roughly a third of all vaccine injections done in developing nations are unsafe because of needles being reused or active ingredients becoming warm.
One person can carry the Aerovax system and provide inoculations for seven days in the field before reloading.
Overall, the system cuts about 62 per cent of the cost of delivering vaccines. The company is currently conducting trials in India and Ghana, and eventually the system may also come to the developed world.
Source: www.news.com, 20 October 2006
homeGroWn neWsrecyclinG cAlculAtor introducedThe Department of Environment and Conservation NSW has developed a way to calculate the benefits of recycling steel in terms of energy, greenhouse gases and water saved.
The Benefits of Recycling Calculator can inform the user that, for example, recycling 500 tonnes of steel in a year will save as much energy as is used by 760 households in the same period and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of that produced by 96 cars.
The calculator is available at www.environment.nsw.gov.au
Source: CAN News, 12 December 2006
recyclinGsteel cAn recyclinG hits record hiGhs
Over 2.3 million tonnes of steel packaging were recycled in Europe last year.
This represents an average recycling rate of 63 per cent, a six per cent increase compared to 2004.
For the first time, recycling data gathered by The Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging (APEAL) covers the 25 EU countries and Romania, Bulgaria, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey, providing a full picture of recycling performance.
A key factor contributing to the high rates of steel recycling is the adaptability of steel to a variety of collection systems, including mixed household waste, multi-material and door-to-door collection.
Europe also has the advantage of collecting all types of household steel packaging rather than being restricted to beverage containers.
Source: www.foodproductiondaily.com, 8 December 2006
pAckAGinG tAx slAmmedThe Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment (Incpen) in the UK has hit back at a call by environmental and consumer advocacy groups to put a tax on disposable and 'hard-to-recycle' packaging.
Incpen, whose members include Tetra Pak, Coca Cola and Cadbury's, said research produced in favour of the tax was faulty and ignored major issues involved in packaging products.
The group was responding to a report from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) and the Green Alliance, which proposes the UK government tax packaged products, including foods, that use disposable and ‘hard-to-recycle' packaging.
neWs snippet
www.can-news.com.au
heinz boosts sAles With beAnz
Heinz has boosted sales of its baked beans brand since launching a range of new and exotic flavours mid-year under the label Heinz Meanz Beanz.
According to ACNielsen, in the four weeks to 20 October sales of Heinz beans in the “value added” category were up by 20 per cent.
The value-added segment accounts for three per cent of Heinz’s sales but the company wants to increase it by eight per cent.
Heinz is hoping that the introduction of the four news flavours will encourage consumers to consider baked beans as a main meal option instead of simply a serving on toast.
The new variants credited with lifting sales of the product are Mexican Jackal, Indian Snatcher, Moroccan Rogue and Boston Bill.
Source: Foodweek, 8 December 2006
Nestlé has sold part of its canned liquid milk businesses to Singapore-based company Fraser & Neave Holdings Berhad (F&N).F&N will take over the manufacturing and distribution of canned liquid milk products in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei from February 2007.
Continued from previous page.
Waste management and recycling have become increasingly important to food producers in the light of pressure from legislation, including the EU Landfill Directive, the UK government's commitment to reducing waste and emissions, and consumer demands for more environmentally friendly packaging and solutions.
Aimed at targeting Britain’s low recycling rates, the proposed levies on packaging are similar to taxes already in operation in Sweden, Denmark and Belgium.
Significantly for the food industry, ‘hard-to-recycle' multi-layered beverage cartons such as Tetra Pak, using cardboard, plastic and metal foil, were specifically targeted in the IPPR report.
Source: www.foodproductiondaily.com, 29 November 2006
innovAtionspoWder coAtinGs For Aerosol cAnsThe first serial production of aerosol cans with internal powder coating has been launched by German aerosol canmaker Tubex.
The containers for Davidoff lighter gas feature an inside varnish free of solvents and are made at speeds of at least 150 cans per minute at Tubex’s Rangendingen plant in southern Germany.
Tubex has also launched aerosol cans for a special edition hairspray by C:Ehko featuring thermal transfer printing.
Source: The Canmaker, November 2006
olivo GArlic 100% extrA virGin olive oil sprAyAs Americans look for healthier alternatives in products, Spanish olive oil maker Olivo has released onto the US market a healthy alternative to cooking sprays.
Olivo Garlic 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil Spray, packaged in a handy aerosol spray can, is healthier than traditional cooking sprays as it does not contain artificial flavours or alcohol.
Retailing for US$3.99 for a 7-oz spray can, it is also available in Natural, Lime, Hot Pepper and Butter.
Source: www.supermarketguru.com, 12 December 2006
tin AnAlysis oF cAnned Food improvesA new reference material now available from UK-based company LGC Promochem is set to improve the reliability of data on the levels of tin, cadmium and lead found in canned food.
Canned foods can be contaminated with certain metals during the preparation and packaging process and manufacturers are permitted to add metals that function as additives.
However, excessive levels can cause gastric irritation.
The new matrix-certified reference material ERML-BC084a has been produced for use in determining tin, lead and cadmium levels in canned fruit or vegetable-based material.
It may also be used for monitoring the ongoing performance of a method and is now available in 50g units. It provides laboratories with a means of checking for bias in their results and establishing traceability for their date.
Source: The Canmaker, December 2006
croWn teAms up With QinetiQ on rFidCrown Holdings and QinetiQ have launched a joint development program to adapt QinetiQ’s Omni-ID PakT integrated radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for use in metal packaging.
This will enable brand owners to integrate ultra high frequency (UHF) RFID tags into metal packaging for a wide variety of applications at the single item level.
Designed to mitigate issues such as signal reflection, detuning and grounding that reduce or negate RFID’s effectiveness on metal packaging or with aqueous-based products, the technology leverages several of metal’s inherent properties and allows a UHF tag to be mounted directly onto the metal substrate.
It is expected that the metal substrate itself will have an integral role, with the can itself serving as the antenna, simplifying production of the RFID tag and further reducing costs.
Source: www.cantechonline.com, 8 December 2006
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neWs snippetA new report has revealed that 27 per cent of Australians are eating more seafood than they did a year ago. The Seafood Consumption Omnibus, undertaken by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, also reveals that 54 per cent of those surveyed eat seafood at least once a week.
neWs snippetLeading Brazilian canmaker Metalgráfica Rojek has invested in the latest KBA metal decorating equipment to improve the appearance of its innovative easy-open food cans. A key supplier of cans to local food manufacturers such as Nestlé, Cica and Jurema, Rojek developed the Abre-fácil lid in the 1990s and later a specially necked can body with lithographed labels.
trend WAtchthe cAn is bAck!After a little more than two years, Hormel Foods in Austin, Minnesota, has switched back to metal cans for its US range of Stagg Chili products after problems using cartons.
Famed for its Spam luncheon meat, Hormel started using special cartons from Tetra Pak for the chili range two years ago.
But problems with the packaging line led Hormel to abandon the project and in August the meat packer started using cans made by its supplier Silgan, this time adding Quicktop easy-open ends.
Julie Craven, vice president of corporate communications at Hormel, said the chili in the box did not meet expectations.
“What we heard from consumers was they preferred the can for that product,” Craven said.
Source: CAN News, 12 December 2006
chinA seeks more dAiryChina is eating its way through 25 million tonnes of dairy a year and its taste for dairy is growing every day, according to agribusiness bank Rabobank.
Already the second-largest dairy market in Asia, Chinese consumption of dairy products has more than doubled over the past five years.
A newly-released report from Rabobank said growth had been driven by growing affluence, rising nutrition awareness, fast-expanding retail chains and dairy industry investment in brands and promotion.
Source: www.theweeklytimes.news.com.au, 15 November
bAked beAn WAr intensiFiesThe baked bean war has continued in the UK through November with news that HJ Heinz is to reformulate its iconic baked beans brand.
The move is seen by many as an attempt to gain back some of its market share taken by Premier Foods’ revival brand, Branston Beans, late last year.
The newcomer has reportedly captured a 20 per cent share of the UK baked bean market just 20 months after its launch.
The news that US-based Heinz is now enhancing the tomato content of its beans from 27 to 33 per cent is an indication that the company is taking heed of Branston’s growing popularity.
Premier’s key marketing strategy was to promote Branston’s ‘superior’ taste, stating that 76 per cent of those surveyed in a blind test preferred its beans which have 30 per cent tomato content.
Meanwhile Premier is reported to be considering introducing the slogan ‘Beans Means Branston’.
Source: The Filling Business, December 2006
m-A-c introduces neW FoundAtion Aerosol M-A-C's latest innovation in colour cosmetics is a foundation and blush dispensed via an aerosol mist.
The limited edition products – Studio Mist Foundation and Studio Mist Blush – provide a unique alternative to traditional airbrushing and offer consumers "a fluid way to sculpt colour flawlessly throughout the skin".
Source: www.spraytechnology.com, December 2006
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neWs snippetA can which incorporates food, a spoon, a can-opener and handle, a stove, fuel and matches has won a Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) Design Directions Award. The can was designed by engineering students at Durham University in the UK to help victims of national disasters.
