Three-day webinar highlights sustainable food packaging to win consumers

The webinar started with Organising Chairperson Dr Tan Yen Nee thanking the organising committee, speakers and participants for making this webinar a success. “We are embarking on a meaningful community project to bring knowledge of science and food safety to the public and industry. Together with food safety experts Mr Lam and Ms Lai, we have successfully organised food safety awareness training, seminars and programmes at UTAR Kampar Campus since 2016. Therefore, we are delighted to have with us esteem speakers to share their knowledge and experiences from the industry,” said Dr Tan Yen Nee.

FSc Dean Assoc Prof Dr Lim Tuck Meng said in his speech, “The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation has advocated 17 goals to maintain our planet and make it suitable for living. The goals covered environment, societal and individual well-being for sustainable growth and development. Human depends on food for nourishment and sustenance, hence the issue of food safety and security should be a concern to all because it affects us all.”

He added, “UTAR as a university by the people, for the people, has organised more than 7,000 webinars on various topics since the beginning of 2021. It is our responsibility not only to generate and preserve knowledge but to also disseminate it to the community for better education. It is important that we do the right things in terms of post-harvest treatment of the food materials and distribution so it can be enjoyed by more people. For the right things to be effective, we must do it right, therefore knowledge in science and technology will be handy.”

Lam shared his thoughts on “The Food Chain: An Industry’s Perspective” and said, “To upgrade the standard of operations of food cottages in Kampar and its neighbourhood with the expertise from UTAR Kampar, as well as to bring the food industry and academicians closer together for effective partnerships in the years ahead, and we have done that for the past five years. With the pandemic, the food businesses are adversely affected. We may have to embrace the larger objective to build trust along the food chain from farm to fork nationwide. In this webinar with the food industry experts, we are building trust in the food chain. As we discuss other topics, I hope this trust will also be strengthened.”

The first speaker of session one, Nur Liyana spoke on “Food Packaging: Regulatory Compliance”. She mentioned that the competent authority for food safety in Malaysia is the Food Safety and Quality Division of the Ministry of Health. She further explained that the Food Act 1983 protects the public against health hazards and fraud in the preparation, sale and use of food, and prescribes administration and enforcement powers, offences and penalties, as well as miscellaneous provisions. Nur Liyana also explained that Food Analysis Act 2011 functions to register practicing food analysts and regulate the practice of registered food analysts. Her session continued with further elaboration on Regulation 27, Regulation 27A-30 and Regulation 31-36A.

The “Food Packaging: Overview and Current Trends, including Environmental Issues” session saw Tan explaining the functions of packaging from the consumers’ perspectives. “To consumers, packaging is like a billboard, a brand identity; it is aesthetically competitive. The right packaging can encourage consumers to try that product and influence purchasing preferences, brand perception, as well as loyalty,” explained Tan. He continued with sharing the current trends in packaging, including sustainability, QR codes, interactive packaging, free samples and packaging as art. He also highlighted that sustainable packaging is widely practised in the industry today and shared the efforts of Nestle, Unilever and Coca-Cola in tackling plastic pollution.

With Chong speaking on “Traceability: Tag, Track, and Trace via DeCODE”, participants learnt the importance of supplying chain traceability and the damage caused by illicit trading and counterfeits. Chong explained that DeCODE uses a cloud-based encryption unique QR code and it is directly printed on the product packaging as an anti-counterfeit safety measure. “DeCODE provides a comprehensive tracking mechanism at the source, with functions that enable assets to be registered at production stage; QR codes generated at the source; assets to be shipped, tagged with location and tracked; assets ownership to be transferred from producer to distributors and retailers, and through DeCODE, all transfer history can be tracked,” explained Chong. He then further elucidated on the software’s ability to provide data analysis in the whole supply chain, alerting system, data information and data value, and is supported on all platforms including website, Androids, iOS and Cloud API. 

Session two kick-started with Dr Tan Sue Sian giving a brief introduction about Top Fruits Sdn Bhd, the pioneer frozen fruit manufacturer and the first private manufacturer certified by China AQSIQ to export frozen durian to China market. He emphasised that the most important function of food packaging is to protect the food from being tampered with or contaminated by physical, chemical and biological sources, as it will affect the storage life and marketability of the products. He then elaborated further on the various types of food packaging for various products and their purposes.

“Packaging durians are challenging because firstly it involves three levels of packaging, and secondly, the smell. Transporting durians are not allowed due to their pungent smell so this is a problem that must be solved before the exportation. Thanks to food packaging, I am now able to export this fruit to many other countries,” explained Dr Tan Sue Sian.

The speaker also advised food manufacturers to be creative in packaging food, at the same time making the packaging consumer-friendly. For instance, the packaging for a whole durian comes with a handle that makes it easy for carrying.

Speaking next was Dr Nurzam Ezdiani, who spoke on “Innovative Packaging”. Participants were enlightened on the function of food packaging, packaging materials, innovation of packaging, smart packaging, Nanotechnology in packaging, biodegradable and green packaging materials, as well as the packaging technology in MARDI.

Dr Nurzam Ezdiani said, “In this modern life, people are becoming busier and due to this, they are seeking more convenience, including the willingness to pay more and invest in innovation, and the same applies for packaging. The improvement of packaging design and the label will help to direct correct information to the consumers, enhance technical features and prolong shelf life. The innovation of packaging must have a purpose and must be accepted in the market.” She then continued to emphasise the need to use smart packaging, Nano-packaging, and environmentally friendly materials in packaging.

The director of the world-leading industrial machinery company, Ishida Systems, highlighted that food packaging machines are very useful to manufacturers in increasing production efficiency, improving operation and bag making quality, and solving the problem of insufficient manpower. He also mentioned that packaging these days are also becoming more environmentally friendly.

Hiroshi said, “Our machines are designed based on a thorough study of operator behaviour with reference to human engineering. So, the machine could reduce an operator’s physical stress. With the touch panel HMI, the operation is easy with flexible screen customisation. The utilisation of machines in manufacturing could also reduce downtime and human error.”

Speaking on the types of machines, Hiroshi explained, “VFFS is the abbreviation of Vertical form, fill and seal. This packaging machine is able to create a bag from the film, and seal it after the goods are placed inside, and it is usually assembled with a weighing and delivery system that allows the setup of an automatic packing unit. VFFS and rotary packaging machines are utilised for bag style packaging, mostly for snacks, frozen vegetables or nuts. The ready meal or fresh food in supermarkets are sealed using the tray sealer. Nitrogen gas will be filled into the packaging to enhance product life. Another popular machine for fresh meat and fresh vegetables is the wrapping machine. With this wrapping machine, foods are labelled with price and wrapped with or without the tray.”

Session three started with Saiful enlightening participants on “Food Packaging Machinery”. Participants learnt that food packaging machines are useful for scaling up a new product, increasing productivity and skills of workers, improving safety, and increasing packaging outlooks and functions. He shared various types of packaging machines and guided participants on selecting the right packaging machine. The criteria that users need to look into when selecting packaging machines are the purpose, the capability of the machine, aftersales support, ease of operation, compatibility with upstream or downstream processes, food safety aspect, maintenance cost, and budget allocated. He also spoke on the factors limiting production, which were manpower, content of the product, upstream limitation, and material mismatch.

The talk on “Food Packaging Materials” by Mohammad saw participants obtaining information about the important packaging functions essential to products, which were barrier performance, machinability, presentation, cost-effectiveness and food safety. He also explained that the packaging materials construction can be made of one to four layers; the first layer is known as the printed layer, followed by the barrier layer and then the sealant layer. Materials used to form these layers are polyester (PET), oriented polypropylene (OPP), polyethylene (LLDPE) and cast polypropylene (CPP). He further explained that the printed layer is commonly constructed either using PET, OPP, CPP, or LLDPE. The barrier layer, on the other hand, as explained by Mohammad, protects the product inside from external factors such as oxygen, water/moisture and contaminants, and is commonly constructed with aluminium foil or metalized films. The explanation by Mohammad on the sealant layer saw participants learning that it functions to seal integrity, improve product packaging performance and speed, and provides visual aesthetics, with LLDPE or CPP known as the commonly used materials to construct the sealant layer.

Seah highlighted the importance of plastic recycling through the efforts of Heng Hiap Industries (HHI) in his talk titled “Closing the Food Chain Loop: Ocean Bound Plastic Recycling”. He mentioned that HHI is a smart factory that harvests rainwater, maximises natural ventilation and lighting through building orientation, and generates renewable electricity through pyrolysis plant. Their sustainable efforts were rewarded with GBI Gold Award. Participants also learnt that HHI is the first in the world to obtain the Zero Plastic Oceans (ZPO) Ocean Bound Plastic Certification.

“Scrap plastic collectors whose territories have ocean-bound plastic are included in Heng Hiap traceability programme. The supply chain of ocean-bound plastic is tracked and traced back to the Heng Hiap factory. The chain of custody is fully qualified, verified, and certified by the Control Union. This programme has also resulted in promoting a positive marketing message to influence consumer behaviour, a positive way of managing plastic waste, and a positive way of improving the environment,” said Seah. He then continued to share about the Ocean Plastic Project that HHI conducted in Kukup to preserve the charm of that fishing village and in Tioman Island, where collected plastic wastes were transformed into furniture.

Last but not least, freelance consultant Lai Mun Lee shared on “The Food Industry: Towards Sustainability”. “Sustainable food production refers to a sustainable method of using processes or systems that are non-polluting; it conserves renewable energy and uses natural resources. It is also economically efficient and safe for everyone, and it does not compromise the needs of our future generation. The sustainability of the food industry relies on several principles and some of the important ones are the utilisation of renewable and agricultural site products, clean production processes, and production of products with prolonged shelf life packed in biodegradable or edible packaging materials,” explained Lai.

She continued, “As we know, an organisation’s environment is ever-changing and uncertain. To achieve sustained success, the organisation should have a long-term planning perspective; constantly monitor and regularly analyse the organisation’s environment; identify all its relevant interested parties; assess its individual potential impact on the organisation’s performance, and determine how to meet their needs and expectation in a balanced way. The organisation should continually engage interested parties and keep them informed of the organisation’s activities and plans, and establish mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers, partners and other interested parties. The organisation should use a variety of approaches, including negotiation and mediation to balance the often competing needs and expectations of interested parties; identify associated short and long-term plans; deploy an overall strategy for the organisation to mitigate and anticipate future resource needs, including the competencies of its people; establish appropriate processes to achieving organisation strategy and ensure that they are capable of responding quickly to circumstances.”

She concluded, “The organisation should regularly assess compliance with current plans and procedures, and take corrective and preventive actions to ensure that the people in the organisation have learning opportunities for their own benefits, as well as for maintaining the vitality of the organisation. The organisation should also establish and maintain processes for innovation and continual improvement. These are a few of the many principles embraced in the ISO Management System. To highlight again, organisation should adopt a quality management system in ISO 9001, food safety management system HACCP, and other related management systems that are recognised regionally or internationally to be sustainably successful.”

Organising Chairperson Dr Tan Yen Nee concluded the event with a closing remark to thank the participants and speakers for their support towards the webinar. She expressed hope for future events to equally benefit participants and to receive the same tremendous support from them.