Miscellaneous scientific news/publications, Scientific conferences

What effect is the trend towards convenience having on food safety and household packaging? How can we protect food and guarantee its safety? How are packaging designers reacting to the trend? Are new materials available which meet the needs of these modern lifestyle trends? These were some of the questions discussed at the 9th Cofresco Forum Round Table in Chipping Campden, UK, on 27 November 2014. The Cofresco Forum and its partner Campden BRI had invited guests to the event on “Food Protection and Convenience - Trends and Innovations in Household Packaging”.

“Less and less time for planning and cooking meals and ever greater expectations regarding food quality is just one of the issues resulting from the convenience trend which we investigated at the 9th Round Table of the Cofresco Forum,” explains Martin Rogall, Head of Research & Development Europe, Cofresco. David Potter, Managing Director of Interactive Product Solutions, provided a fascinating and much discussed overview of the possibilities offered by interactive packaging. Professor Noëlle Billon, MINES ParisTech, CEMEF, France, focused on the processing of new polymers which can meet changing requirements. Helen Brown’s (Campen BRI) lecture on the growing challenge of allergens centred on protecting food from various contaminants. This topic is becoming increasingly important for industry and households alike, where contamination can easily occur during food preparation and storage. Rob Morland of the Cambridge University Centre for Business Innovation illustrated that people have differing needs when it comes to handling packaging and gave tips on how packaging design should support customers rather than irritate them. The final lecture focused on food safety. Florian Brodkorb from the University of Münster presented research results on immanently antimicrobial packaging which aims to provide greater food safety and extend the shelf life of meat and meat products.

The participants of the 9th Cofresco Forum Round Table were given plenty of opportunity to discover new developments at first hand. Not only were they able to inspect the numerous test facilities of Campden BRI for checking packaging and verifying food preparation instructions, but were also invited to act as candidates for eye-tracking tests. During a hands-on session on “Inclusive Design”, the participants experienced how physical impairments, such as colour blindness or arthritis, actually feel and how they impede the handling of packaging.

“We would like to thank our partner Campden BRI for helping us host a fascinating and extremely active Round Table. We are delighted that we could once again bring together and examine a variety of aspects,” concluded Martin Rogall.

Further information on the speakers of the Round Table 2014, as well as their presentations and photos of the event are available online at www.cofresco-forum.de.

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Press contact Germany:
Cofresco Forum
c/o Vierpartner
Angelika Frost
Phone: +49 (0)211/417411-48
E-mail: frost@vierpartner.de

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The Cofresco Forum
Cofresco Frischhalteprodukte GmbH & Co. KG founded the Cofresco Forum in 2001. The Forum’s activities are aimed at driving research in the field of household packaging. Over the past years, it has therefore promoted a variety of research projects. The topics ranged from “active packaging” to “modified atmosphere packaging” to eco-friendly packaging and alternative freshness processes. The Cofresco Forum also established a large network of scientific and business experts involved with the topics of packaging, fresh-keeping and preparation of food in the household. The Cofresco Forum was thus able to create an international platform for scientists and experts, and generated a large number of ideas and scientific approaches within a comparatively short space of time in the specialist field of packaging and household packaging.

Partner of the 9th Cofresco Forum Round Table:
Campden BRI
Campden BRI is the UK's largest independent membership-based organisation carrying out research and development for the food and drinks industry worldwide. It is committed to providing industry with the research, technical and advisory services needed to ensure product safety and quality, process efficiency and product and process innovation. The R&D programme reflects needs identified by industrial members and provides a constantly renewable knowledge base for technology transfer. A continuous programme of investment ensures leading-edge processing and analytical facilities for research and contract work. Campden BRI maintains close working relationships with industry through frequent meetings with its thirteen member interest groups.

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Weitere Informationen:
http://www.cofresco-forum.com