Food industry research organisation Campden BRI will hold a seminar at its base in Gloucestershire, UK on 23 November to address the issue of food waste resulting from ineffective or faulty packaging seals.
The seal integrity seminar will cover different ways to improve sealing of packaging, focusing on providing practical solutions to optimise existing and novel sealing methods, and possible ways to monitor the seals’ effectiveness.
Campden BRI reports that research funded by UK government body WRAP at the University of Lincoln has estimated that 8% of packs leaving the factory might fail to provide sufficient protection until reaching the customer – potentially equating to 480,000 tons of food waste.
Speaker and event director Collette Jermann, Campden BRI higher research officer in the department of food manufacturing technologies, says: “Amongst the topics we will be addressing are the physicochemical nature of seals, characteristics and optimisation of heat seals and ultrasonic seals, and the effectiveness of seals, including leak detection.”
Other speakers at the event will include Anton Hutson of Tendring Pacific, UK distributor and service centre for PBI-Dansensor, a leading producer of MAP analysis equipment; and Mike Dudbridge, lecturer in food manufacture at Lincoln University, who is a specialist in lean manufacturing techniques and automation.
Campden BRI specialises in the practical application of technical excellence to support the food and allied industries through analysis and testing, operational support, research and innovation, and knowledge management.
It is the world’s largest membership-based food research organisation, with nearly 400 staff based at its three sites: Chipping Campden (UK headquarters), Nutfield (Surrey, brewing division), and Budapest (Hungary).
