John Kalkowski Opinion Columns

11. Lawsuits Argue Fine Points Of Packaging Patents And Trademarks 8/3/2015

    Packaging is a manufacturing segment that relies heavily on innovation for its growth. Designers are constantly testing new materials and developing new structures, adding graphics and convenience features to capture the fancy of impulsive consumers strolling down retail aisles. But, what happens when those packaging ideas overlap between competitors? Then, the matter may end up in the courts.

12. Arizona Co-Packer Quenches Thirst For Beverage Packaging 7/22/2015

    Riding a wave of growing popularity for nutritional and energy beverages, Arizona Production & Packaging, a contract beverage manufacturer based in Tempe, AZ, is growing quickly. When it opened in 2000, the company — also known as AZPack — had a single packaging line in a 10,000-square-foot warehouse. Now, AZPack is bottling and canning more than one million containers of beverages each day at its 240,000-square-foot facility, making it one of the largest beverage operations in the Southwest U.S.

13. Is Smart Manufacturing The Food Industry's Next Revolution? 7/21/2015

    Smart manufacturing is beginning to have a major impact on the food and beverage industry. No matter what you call it — Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, or connected enterprise — that influence will continue to grow.

14. Summit Delivers Recipe For Innovation In Food Packaging 7/14/2015

    One of the most exciting — and challenging — aspects of working in the packaging industry is the need to continuously innovate. That was the primary topic at the recent Global Food and Beverage Packaging Summit in Chicago, which featured several presenters from both global consumer packaged goods companies and smaller, aspiring food businesses.

15. Why FSMA Needs Full Funding For 2016 7/1/2015

    From time to time, the U.S. Congress passes sweeping laws that certainly appear to have a major impact on American society. Unfortunately then, the legislators fail to fully fund the implementation of the new regulations, leaving the impact in question. This may be the scenario for the Food Safety and Modernization Act.

16. Packaging, Processing Must Support 'Clean-Label' Concept 6/16/2015

    Around the food industry, the latest buzzwords seem to be “clean labels.” If you are unsure what the exact meaning is, you’re not alone. There is no standard definition. Still, clean label is a phrase we are likely to hear about for a long time, and the processing and packaging ramifications of clean labels are growing.

17. Healthy Benefits Help High-Pressure
    Food Processing Gain Ground 6/11/2015

    Recently, Hormel Foods launched a marketing campaign to promote the healthy benefits of its Natural Choice lunchmeats. The Hormel packaging highlights that the meats contain no preservatives, no added nitrates or nitrites and no artificial colors or flavors. But the real secret here is high-pressure processing (HPP).

18. Nestlé Pumps Innovation Well For California Water Savings 6/5/2015

    In parched California, Nestlé USA is undertaking numerous measures to conserve water in its food and beverage operations across that state. Four years into a significant drought in the nation’s most populous state, California government officials recently began initiating mandatory controls on water usage for businesses, farms, and residents. Nestlé is hoping to stay ahead of these developments and allay pressure from environmental groups that criticize increasing use of bottled water, one of the company’s major product lines.

19. New Technologies Offer Effective Monitoring Of Food Chain 5/27/2015

    For every challenge that food manufacturers face in processing and packaging, there is a way to automate, measure, or systematize a solution. And if it doesn’t already exist, some entrepreneur somewhere is probably working on it.

20. Choosing Properly Designed Machinery Will Reduce Contamination Risks 5/14/2015

    Almost weekly, it seems, media headlines shout out a new recall of food products. However, a few basic decisions on the choice of equipment used in packaging and processing could dramatically reduce the likelihood of bacterial contamination ever causing a recall of your plant’s product.