The enormous amount of attention paid to ingredients in food and beverage by processors may have some overlooking an equally important element of the F&B experience: the container in which that food or beverage is sold. Packaging today plays many roles: carrier of F&B, protector of temperature-sensitive items, barrier for potential adulteration, manifestation of a brand’s sustainability initiatives and more.
In last month’s Food Engineering podcast, we spoke with Tyson Foods about their new case-ready meat plant in Utah. Case-ready means it’s packaged for purchase by the time it leaves the facility, destined for direct delivery to cold cases in retail outlets. One of the many forward-thinking elements to the plant is the ability to change out and upgrade packaging lines easily as that segment evolves and newer, more sustainable and cost-effective materials are introduced for case-ready meats. It’s a great example of a company understanding that packaging is not a static item, but always evolving.