the self cooling beer can while conventional packaging simply acts as a barrier that protects food, active packaging can do a lot more. some materials interact with the product to improve it in some way, or give the consumer better information on the state it is in. for instance, they may soak up oxygen inside a wrapper to help prevent food spoilage or show whether potentially dangerous foods like red meat and chicken have been stored at unsafe temperatures. others kill bacteria, and some can reveal whether the food is beginning to go off. after the widget the next smart package for beer could be this cooling cans from tempra technology. the beer is surrounded by an outer compartment containing watery get. the bottom section, sealed from the top, contains desicants in a vaccum. the beer can be cooled to 16.7 deg. c in three minutes, the company claimed. thermaltransfer printer  easyprint x thermaltransfer printer from bellmark is described as the first inline thermaltransefer printer to offer an ip65 rating for harsh environments.  smart label senses quality of packaged meat new smart label technology holds the promise of reducing the chance of spoilt or contaminated meat reaching retail shelves and of increasing consumer confidence in food safety. food quality sensor international fqsi has developed food labels that change color to signal the freshness of packaged meat. the labels are made of food grade materials and costs about one per cent of the total value of the average package of meat or poultry that it labels, the company claims. rfid label tracks product temperature a newly developed label from ksw microtec will enable food firms to more closely monitor the temperature of their products on the journey from production line to consumer, its inventorksw microtec says.it said the lowcost temperaturemonitoring label, being a genuine alternative to usual temperature loggers, offered the user enormous cost advantages compared similar products using rfid technology. the launch should also help food producers to cut down on batches lost due to spoilage in transport, particularly with regard to foods more sensitive to temperature.tray sealing system for food runs at 160ppm the modular proseal ap60 linear tray sealer can run with tray denesters, fillers, multihead weighers and labellers. running at up to 160ppm, it is ideal for a range of food products and customers can specify conveyor length, width and tray pitch to suit specific tray denesting and filling requirements for fullyintegrated control of filling and sealing operations. options include free flow gas flushing, preprinted film, film coding and printing, and automatic clipon lid over capping.
