The medical devices industtry is full of Acronyps/Abbreviations and many a times we struggle to find which one is which, so following is the list of some of them that you may like to refer:
DDP Distinct Dose Pen
DHF Design History File per FDA Regulation 21 CFR 820
DHR Device History Record
DMR Device Master Record
DSA Development and Service Agreement
QTA Quality and Technical Agreement
MSA Manufacturing and Supply Agreement
EEC European Economic Community
DV Design Verification/ Design Validation
FAT Factory Acceptance Test
FDP Fixed Dose Pen
GMP Good Manufacturing Practice
HFF Human Factor Formative Studies
HFS Human Factor Summative Study
SAT Site Acceptance Test
V&V Verification and Validation
FDA Food and Drug Administration
EMA European Medicines Agency
RLD Reference Listed Drug
Amid the social distancing and lock down protocols instated due to the spread of covid-19, a surge in the use of plastic, especially single-use plastic, has been observed worldwide. While most countries have also observed an improvement in air and water qualities, there has been a significant increase in improperly discarded plastic coming from the medical and packaging industry.
Based on research, the virus can live on plastic surfaces for 2-3 days, which is a lot longer than carboard (1 day), which has been widely accepted as a replacement for many packaging instances in recent times. Then why the sudden return to old habits?
It is also predicted that such habits, developed under fear and stress, will remain for a long time after the stressor has been removed.
The previously taken measures to reduce the amount of packaging used has also been sidelined in the wake of widespread fatalities due to coronavirus. Stakeholder interest lies completely in multiple safety barriers.
Another factor contributing to the sudden increase in plastic packaging and associated packaging waste is the fact that online shopping itself has peaked due to the public’s fear to leave the house. Since more packages means more packaging, we can only expect to see a growth in this year’s plastic production and disposal.
What might have been previously stated as a blessing for the environment, could rather be detrimental in the long run. In such a situation, it is imperative that technologies that can tackle the influx of plastic waste are developed and policies to better sort, collect and dispose packaging waste are upheld.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/04/world/coronavirus-plastic-waste-pollution-intl/index.html
Hello Friends
PackagingConnections is overjoyed to announce the Premium Webinar services for anybody who would be interested to share packaging information with the huge packaging community of PackagingConnections. As you know we have more than 100K members at www.PackagingConnections.com receiving our weekly newsletter with useful packaging information since 2005. So far we had been successfully sending the weekly newsletter every week non-stop since 2005. Afterall PackagingConnections is Your Destination for Anything in Packaging!
Now due to the Corona pandemic, the much awaited vale of webinars has been highly recognised and appreciated. Its. also important from the webinar organizer’s point of view that quality content is offered in a short time and clearly. So after the big success of Introduction to Packaging Connections and then Sustainability in Packaging, we had many requests to offer our webinar platform to others. Finally we have decided to do so at a fee which we can discuss. It will be a paid service and will cover the following:
This service can be used for the announcement of any new event, customer meets, introduction of new products, sharing educational packaging information, sharing innovations, introducing new companies etc, choice is yours but everything and anything around packaging.
This is general approach and we can discuss this in detail how to go forward. So if you are interested then please contact us at info@packagingconnections.com or visit our services page at https://www.packagingconnections.com/webinar/services/
Joyfully yours
Sandeep Kumar Goyal
Founder & CEO https://www.linkedin.com/in/packaging/
During this Corona crisis, there had been number of webinars and that too free. Initially I was tempted and then I realised that most of them have been sucking my energy with no real take away. Later I invested into some paid webinars and then realised the marked difference. I analysed the reasons behind and some of the top 5 reasons that I could think are:
And there are many more reasons, so we have to be careful who is offering the webinar and what could be the motive behind? Every free webinar is not bad but we have to be careful as saying goes, there is no free lunch,
Have a great day,
As members of the packaging industry, the largest contributor of both plastic generation and plastic waste globally, we must constantly engage ourselves to find alternatives to this very gradual yet potent destruction of the environment.
Packaging connections recently conducted a survey asking members of the industry about various technologies and plausible alternatives and how they believe they could make a change. We also asked them about the extent of implementation on a personal level. The results were rather intriguing and pushed us to dig deeper.
As a generalization, it would be correct to claim the following:
After carefully reading through all responses and then researching further, we decided to host a webinar to elucidate some grey areas regarding sustainability in packaging. From unclear terms to the market’s effort to change the norms, we will try and ponder over all the aspects of sustainability that require immediate attention. The webinar is on 5th August 2020. The link is https://www.packagingconnections.com/webinar/sustainability/ Its a premium webinar and so its a paid one. You will get lots of information to take home in 1 hour.
Packaging Connections believes that to see the change, we must be the change and this is just our first step in the right direction. Constant conversation and genuine efforts are our only hope to turn over a new leaf. We attempt to spark some ideas and further strengthen a collective determination to be more sustainable through the means of an informative session.
The details to sign up are https://www.packagingconnections.com/webinar/sustainability/ and we really hope for you to join!
With the growing demand for more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives to plastic in the packaging industry, many developments have been made in the field of bio-based materials in the recent past.
Following are a few innovations that demonstrate potential.
As compared to PET:
The Tg of PEF is 86°C compared to 74°C of PET and the Tm of PEF is 235°C compared to 265°C of PET.
Tg – glass transition temperature Tm – melting point
https://www.avantium.com/technologies/yxy/
LIMEX is available both in the form of sheets and pellets and is suitable for diverse moulding methods including injection moulding, extrusion moulding, vacuum moulding, and blow moulding. Even though LIMEX is a composite material, it does not require custom equipment and can be processed using traditional methods and machinery.
TB-M is currently working on biodegradable LIMEX that replaces polyolefin resin with biomass-based and biodegradable raw material.
Benefits of DUOPACK
Oberschleissheim, June 8, 2020 – Patients suffering from life-threatening allergies always carry a life-saving companion with them: an adrenaline autoinjector in order to immediately inject themselves in the event of an anaphylactic shock and to thus counter an allergic reaction. For the emergency drug epinephrine from TEVA, Schreiner MediPharm developed an Autoinjector-Label with special protection against abrasion. Thus, the vital user and product information remains perfectly legible over an extended period of time. The label won an award in the 2019 TLMI Competition.
Key features:
With a growing need to develop sustainable alternatives to plastic, especially in the packaging industry, many novel technologies have surfaced. Bioplastics is one such category of substitutes for the highly versatile and highly polluting plastic.
Bioplastics are considered to be a lot more eco-friendly than ordinary plastics and are quickly replacing them in many industries. However, there are many misconception in the consumer community regarding the production and disposal of the same.
Through this blog, questions such as, “What are bioplastics made of?” and “Can I compost bioplastics myself?” will be answered.
To begin with, what really are bioplastics?
Bioplastics can be confused for both biodegradable plastics and bio-based plastics.
Bio-based plastics are made from plant material instead of oil and that is essentially all it means. A bio-based plastic is not necessarily biodegradable, compostable or even recyclable. Biodegradable plastics can be either plant-based or petroleum-based or both and decay naturally without producing any toxins.
A compostable plastic is defined by the standards association ASTM International (ASTM) as “a plastic that undergoes degradation by biological processes during composting to yield carbon dioxide (CO2), water, inorganic compounds, and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials and that leaves no visible, distinguishable, or toxic residue.”[1]
ALL COMPOSTABLE MATERIAL IS BIODEGRADABLE, BUT NOT ALL BIODEGRADABLE MATERIAL IS COMPOSTABLE.
In this blog, bioplastics are going to refer to bio-based plastics.
While a lot of bioplastics are compostable, they can only be composted in controlled environments with microorganisms at certain, usually higher, temperatures. This means they are industrially compostable and not home compostable.
So which bin do you throw a bioplastic “compostable” cup in?
If thrown in the recycling, compostable bioplastics act as a contaminant for other plastics that are meant to be recyclable. They also cannot be thrown in the compost because that is meant for home composting. It is not paper waste either. Which leaves us with only one option: THE TRASH.
Currently, there is a lack of composting grounds to implement widespread production and use of compostable bioplastics. Even when compostable bioplastic products, such as compostable cups, reach the appropriate recycling facility with the required infrastructure to process bioplastics, there just is not enough of it to be useful. As of today, most bioplastics still end up in landfills.
The only essential benefit of bio-based plastics is the alternative renewable source of production which lacks the repercussions of petrochemical processing. Using a plant source avoids greenhouse gas emissions as opposed to using fossil-fuel feedstock. However, use of crops has its own consequences. High-level inputs of water, pesticides and fertilizers to grow the plant source can be questioned to be environmentally detrimental.
There are multiple trade-offs that need to be considered in the production and use of said alternatives like bioplastics. Improper or incomplete implementation of processing methods can be equally damaging as continuing the production and use of plastic.
Thus, the need of the hour is not only better technologies, but also equally advanced execution.
ASTM International - Standards Worldwide. Available at: <https://www.astm.org/>
https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/coffee-compostable-cups-landfill-41603…
Step into any grocery store, and you see clear examples of how Modified Atmosphere Packaging is a part of our daily life. It is what helps businesses in the food and gas industries to keep costs down while ensuring quality, freshness, and long shelf life of products. The modified atmosphere packaging process is vital for consumable products.
Modified atmosphere packaging, also known as MAP, is what helps anyone in the food and gas industry ensure product quality, freshness, and long shelf life. With the right technology, you protect the atmosphere inside your packaging, and this increasing product quality—essential for everyone in this business.
It is through a controlled MAP environment that food packaging can maintain freshness of product without the need of preservatives. This is achieved by both active or passive MAP.
Here are just a few advantages of MAP packaging:
While MAP packaging can extend the product life, it does not eliminate all bacteria. Therefore, other preservation methods must still be used. Bacteria continue to grow, especially in warmer temperatures. So, refrigeration of products, even after they have been packed with MAP procedures, is recommended.
Once a package is opened, the contents will then have a normal shelf life. This is something to consider when selling, buying or storing MAP packaged products.
Every day, technology makes it possible for us to do better in the industry. By utilizing all the modern processes at your disposal, your business will continue to thrive and stay on top of the competition.
Source:https://www.generon.com/what-is-modified-atmosphere-packaging-and-how-d…
A recently updated and extended study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu), commissioned by Flexible Packaging Europe (FPE), has underlined the original study’s findings. It shows clearly that flexible packaging is a more effective route to resource efficiency and reducing carbon footprint than using rigid packaging formats or focusing entirely on recycling.
The study uses a scenario in which all non-flexible packaging (i. e. rigid packaging) for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) are substituted by flexible packaging wherever possible. As carbonated drinks cannot be packed this way, for the purpose of the study, theoretical substitution excluded all beverages (as a conservative approach).
It showed that, by substituting all rigid packaging of non-beverage FMCG at the EU level, the amount of primary packaging waste could be reduced by 21 million tonnes per year. This means a 70 per cent reduction of the total amount of non-beverage FMCG primary packaging in the EU, highlighting the huge packaging waste prevention potential of flexible packaging. Even more striking are the consequences on the environment. By using a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach the study shows that such a theoretical substitution would decrease total Global Warming Potential (GWP) of all European non-beverage FMCG primary packaging by 33 per cent, even if it is assumed, for the purpose of the demonstration, that no material recycling processes for flexible packaging would take place.
The opposite scenario – the substitution in the EU of all flexible packaging used for non-beverage FMCG by rigid packaging formats – would increase total GWP of the primary packaging to about 30 per cent, the study shows. This is despite the much higher actual recycling rates of rigid packaging. Indeed, even if the recycling rate of rigid packaging was raised to 100 per cent, this theoretical substitution would still lead to 14 per cent higher GWP, it says.
Further information about the study results can be found here: https://www.flexpack-europe.org/files/FPE/pressreleases/2020/FPE_ifeu_study_update_2020_GB.pdf
A corresponding, illustrative infographic can be downloaded here: https://www.flexpack-europe.org/files/FPE/pressreleases/2020/FPE-ifeu_study_update_infographics.jpg
Source: https://tubestrends.etma-online.org/packaging_study.html
Plasma gasification is the emerging technology of a multi-stage process that converts carbon-based waste materials into fuels. Its feed input can range from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to plant matter and can also include hazardous waste.
A plasma torch is the basic source of plasma in the process. It creates controlled and constant lightening by passing electricity from the tip of one electrode to another. The air exposed to this lightening becomes highly energized and is ionized to form what is know a plasma, the fourth state of matter. The energy created is released in the form of heat at 10000˚C. The air is drawn from the plasma torch into a cupola that can retain and distribute it evenly. This creates a “zone of influence” which is hot enough to break the bonds of most molecules into simpler elemental structures. Metals that do not vaporize, melt and get captured in an inert glass form. In this process, MSW is converted into clean synthesis gas, or syngas. Syngas primarily consists of carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases. This fuel can be used to generated electricity. No incineration is required in this entire process.
At industrial scale, MSW is usually fed into a plasma gasifier containing four to six plasma torches and a bed of metallurgical coke and limestone is used in the copula to create a medium of evenly distributed, high heat. The syngas is thoroughly cleaned and cooled down before its used to generate electricity. The remnant inorganic components of the fuel, which do not vaporize, are converted into non-toxic slag that can used as construction material.
Plasma Gasifier (Source: Westinghouse Plasma)
BENEFITS OF PLASMA GASIFICATION
Due to its high efficiency of converting carbon-based materials to clean syngas, and non-organics to slag, plasma gasification might as well be the technology of the future.
The whirring sound of the rotary dial telephone has long become a thing of the past. Like phones, many other devices and functions have managed the leap into the digital age. Anti-counterfeiting technology is a case in point: Color-shifting inks or classic holograms known from paper money are increasingly complemented by digital security features that can be read using smartphones. These features enable automatic authentication and offer a wide variety of added value. The future of innovative anti-counterfeiting labels lies in the development of such digital solutions. Schreiner ProSecure provides Schreiner Group with an in-house competence center at which experts are intensively engaged in this field.
These professionals convert their comprehensive know-how and long-standing experience from numerous successful projects into economical solutions delivering maximum
levels of security.
There is a growing awareness among consumers that a purchased product is not necessarily an original. Overt security features such as color-shifting inks and holograms are frequently found on products. They are intended to indicate to the consumer that the product is an original. However, as long as it is visually attractive, customers are often unable to tell with the naked eye if the anti-counterfeiting feature itself may be a fake. Digital solutions remedy this situation: for instance, by automatically comparing a photo of the feature the buyer has taken with a referenced original based on defined criteria. This makes it possible to conclusively tell whether the feature is an original or a fake. Especially in the case of Pharmaceuticals or automotive spare parts, such solutions provide quite a bit of additional security.
Digital authentication for product and brand protection, interactive user information, communication between the prod
Using integrated optical sensors in the pen, D-Flex Connect provides valuable feedback, not only confirming that the
When we look for good and robust product dispensers and associated formats, the five letter word Aptar pops up immediately in our mind. Aptar is a leading global supplier of a broad range of innovative dispensing, sealing and active packaging solutions for the beauty, personal care, home care, prescription drug, consumer health care, injectables, food and beverage markets.
Aptar’s mantra is ‘Think Local, Leverage Global’. Keeping the same in mind, Aptar’s Beauty & Home India division, under the leadership of Kanwal and Supriya - the well known names in the packaging solutions provider industry - has rolled out five dispensers in the India and South Asia markets, namely Pacto, Micro, Alpine, Pearl4u and Click. Have you visited packagingconnections.com/aptar/ ? If not, then you are just one step away of exploring the much awaited exciting packaging formats in the dispensing category.
Pacto is a pocket friendly spray pump catering to the young and globally aware youth of Asia. The objective of launching Pacto was to design a dispenser that would connect with the youth and outperform in terms of aesthetics, functionality, convenience and performance. It is really value for money as one gets 350 sprays from a 25 ml pack with more details available on packagingconnections.com/aptar/pacto/
Micro is an airless dispensing packaging format, the perfect solution for dispensing of products with model fill levels ranging from 20 to 50 ml. Airless technology in dispensing is a means to clean and neat 360º dispensing of the product. Negligible amount of product’s left over exists, providing value of money to the consumer. For more information, you can visit packagingconnections.com/aptar/micro/
Click is a double spring pre-compressed pump with exciting applications for which details are available at packagingconnections.com/aptar/click/
Alpine is again a spray pump with applications in air care, deodorant, household and automotive segments. More information available on packagingconnections.com/aptar/alpine/
Pearl4u is an innovative hair oil and serum dispenser which facilitates self application, saves time, reduces effort and solves the mess. Please visit packagingconnections.com/aptar/pearl4u/ for more details.
In case you want to know more on call, you can get in touch with us at +91 124 4965 784 / sales@packagingconnections.com
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The Handle-O-Meter stifness tester has a flat plate to hold the specimen over a slot, a bar which forces the film through the slot and a strain gauge to sense the force exerted against the bar by the film sample.
After film sample is centered across the slot, the bar automatically descends to push the film through the slot against the resistance pf the film. The force necessary is sensed by the strain gauge an indicated on a calibrated meter dial. The maximum value of the force is taken as the Handle-O-Meter stiffness of the material.
Handle-O-Meter stiffness is reported in grams. Stiffness, whether it be reported as Handle-O-Meter or other means such as dynamic tensile modulus, is an important factor in machine operation, since often a material must be pushed and must not yield. Stiffness is the opposite of softness or limpness. Both properties find important application in sales appeal and package use.