"packaging" news and stories

Every time you go to the grocery store, you probably spend some amount of time thinking about whether the food you're buying is good for you, but how much time do you spend pondering whether the food's packaging is good for you?

According to a recent report by ABC News, maybe you should.

At issue is the presence of certain chemical compounds that are used to manufacture plastic and other food packaging. A study by the Breast Cancer Fund and the Silent Spring Institute, an environmental group, found that when participants were restricted to a fresh-food diet for three days (meaning no packaged foods), the amount of these chemicals detected in their urine dropped dramatically, by up to 66 percent.

Yes, you've gotten bigger since your first carton of Häagen-Dazs but the carton's actually getting smaller. Or at least its bottom is caving in and air is being whipped in, dropping the contents by 2 oz. (a 12.5% reduction from 16 oz. to 14 oz.) with no change in price.

In the latest issue of Consumer Reports, senior editor Tod Marks found a list of products that are shrinking to raise company revenues in tough times, including Hebrew National hot dogs, Kirkland Signature (Costco) paper towels, Tropicana orange juice and Kraft American cheese packs, which now contain two fewer slices. And are none cheaper. It all started with a roll of toilet paper that claimed to be the "thickest ever," when in fact it was short 52 sheets.

"They've got a point," writes Marks. "Higher commodity and fuel costs are expected to spike in food prices by as much as 3 percent in 2011. But if manufacturers are skimping when costs go up, why aren't they more generous when costs hold steady or fall?" Companies claim they wanted to prevent sticker shock, so they decided to keep prices the same and instead charge us more for less product and hope we wouldn't notice.

We know that branding is big business these days in the food world, with companies constantly experimenting with new logos, flashy colors and claims that their product is the healthiest.

Even more new packaging could be in store, but this time spearheaded by the FDA. A recent Time Magazine report indicates that the FDA is working on a "voluntary national system" for companies to use for front-of-package labeling. The idea is that you'd be able to cruise down the aisle and a quick glance would tell you basic facts about a product. The plan would mirror something that's currently being tested in British supermarkets, where a color coding system is used.

The program is called "Traffic Light" and uses the colors of, yes, a traffic light to give shoppers a quick burst of nutritional information. Based upon fat, saturated fat, sugars and salts a product contains, a red sticker indicates "high," an amber sticker indicates "medium" and a green sticker indicates "low."

Fast-food restaurants get a ton of flak. For one thing, there's the food -- not-so-affectionately referred to as junk. However, the industry is increasingly criticized for creating actual garbage -- takeout requires disposable packaging, and that packaging tends to be disposed of in landfills. Where it sits. And sits. And, especially in the case of polystyrene containers, continues to sit -- for eons.

One notoriously progressive city is looking to change that. Beginning this July, all fast-food joints in Seattle will be required to use recyclable or compostable wrappers, containers, and cups, reports the Seattle PI. The Seattle City Council report was clear in its reasoning; according to the official statement, packaging waste creates "significant adverse impacts on the environment," and the cost associated with polystyrene products "creates burdens on the City's solid waste disposal system." Furthermore, the report states that Seattle is "a national leader among cities in greenhouse gas reduction and seeks to further that effort through waste reduction and increased recycling." All signs point to compostable, recyclable packaging.

I don't know where I've been. It appears that Tropicana has gotten a makeover, and it's one that was revealed a few months ago, but is finally hitting shelves this year, according to Serious Eats. (I haven't spotted them yet.)

How bland and terrible! As Brand New said, "This new packaging feels, at best, like a discount store brand with what looks like, again, at best, rights-managed stock photography if not outright royalty free." I understand that things get modernized. But really -- I don't think Tropicana's old logo was particularly old. But even if it was, they're about the only widespread brand where you have the chance of sometimes getting orange juice that almost tastes as it it was made that day. (It's rare, but when it happens, it's divine!) That should count for something.

Now ... It just looks terrible. It's hard to visually differentiate, but more importantly: It looks CHEAP! If I hadn't drank Tropicana most of my life, I'd never, ever pick that up over other brands with that packaging. Yet another reason why Pepsi is evil, although their re-do (also in the SE link above) looks a heck of a lot better than my beloved Tropicana.

What do you think?