Sustainable dairy packaging is nothing new. Lightweighting, or source reduction, remains an ongoing process. Container wall thickness is reduced and flexible structures are down-gauged. Source reduction not only conserves resources, but also cuts costs and carbon footprint.
Cranes and conveyors do more than move cartons and pallets of dairy products. They are sources of electrical energy that can be captured and redeployed in a dairy processing plant.
September 13, 2017
Cups of yogurt travel down conveyors toward tray packagers or cartoners to be stacked on pallets and stored in a refrigerated warehouse. All of these steps serve to protect the product. This package-handling machinery is also a source of energy that dairy processors can recover and redeploy elsewhere in the plant.
The 2017 Pack Expo gives dairy processors information on the latest packaging and processing trends and innovations.
September 11, 2017
Pack Expo International, hosted by PMMI, Reston, Va., is headed to the Las Vegas Convention Center Sept. 25 through 27. The event is expecting 30,000 attendees, including 5,000 international visitors from more than 125 countries, combined with 2,000-plus exhibiting companies. It will span over 800,000 net square feet of exhibit floor. In addition, this year the inaugural Healthcare Packaging Expo will be co-located with Pack Expo.
The tradeshow showcases equipment for dairy and other food processing industries and features new interactive educational opportunities.
September 7, 2017
Process Expo, produced by the Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA), is said to be the nation’s largest trade show that features technology and integrated solutions for all segments of the food and beverage industry.
Lake Country Dairy makes award-winning Italian-style and alpine cheeses. The plant supports four family dairy farms and spurred an investor to build a whey processing facility across the street.
In northwest Wisconsin, about 25 miles from the Minnesota border, Schuman Cheese makes award-winning cheeses with techniques borrowed from French and Italian cheesemakers.
Ice cream makers are creating new pint lines with lower calories and sugar. Meanwhile, producers of frozen novelties and puddings focus on portion control, packaging and high-quality ingredients.
Consumers love their ice cream and other frozen and refrigerated treats and prefer them in their most natural forms. There is still a strong desire to eat healthy, but for many, not if it means giving up the indulgence factor. Several ice cream brands have taken on this challenge, creating lines that cut back on calories and sugar but with the mouthfeel consumers expect from ice cream.