Food Packaging Environment

Few of those working in the food and packaging industries have had formal education in food packaging. Some food science and technology degree courses include lectures on food packaging, but they tend to be superficial. As a result, many graduates whose roles involve food packaging have a less than adequate understanding of the basic principles and their practical application in today's industrial world. These workshops are specifically designed to fill this gap.

The most popular workshop is on Plastics Packaging and Shelf Life. Decisions about which polymer to use or what the effect on shelf life will be if a change is made in package dimensions or polymer type are often based on trial and error or intuition. This workshop is designed to fill this knowledge gap with respect to packaging by discussing the basic principles behind polymer selection, deteriorative reactions in foods and shelf life.

Run over 2 days, the workshop provides attendees the opportunity to construct connections between food chemistry, packaging design and polymer science, as well as to expand their knowledge base and competency. Participants identify key packaging decision-making processes and validate their new knowledge to reframe package challenges and make winning food packaging decisions. There is also an opportunity to discuss their own real-life plastics packaging and shelf life examples. Each participant receives a copy of the book FOOD PACKAGING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE which serves as the course notes.

This workshop has been successfully run in Brisbane, Melbourne (twice), Sydney, Auckland (twice), Christchurch, Toronto, Thailand (three times), Turkey, Singapore (three times), England (three times), Lincoln (Nebraska), Honolulu and Manila (twice). It has been run in-house for several multinational food companies. Future courses are planned for North America, Australasia and Asia - send an email for further details, dates and venues.

In addition, workshops are also available on other topics covered in the book FOOD PACKAGING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE. The most popular topics to date include modified atmosphere packaging, active and intelligent packaging, aseptic packaging, biobased packaging, safety and legislative aspects of food contact materials, and packaging and sustainability. Please send an email if you would like to participate in any of these workshops or have one tailor-made for your company, university or organisation.