Pork company first to use DNA traceability for packaging
USA: Nature's Premium Brand, a leader in premium, all-natural fresh pork, is the first North American pork company to track DNA for reliable and accurate traceability back to the farm where the animals were raised. Nature's Premium will use IdentiGEN's DNA TraceBack system, a USDA Process Verified, DNA-based traceback system, for indisputable product verification. 25 Aug 2008 11:36

Call for entry: Name that icon
The Glass Recycling Company's intrepid new hero is without a name. So this South African national organisation, responsible for facilitating the recovery of waste glass for recycling, is calling all creative minds to help with the naming of its mascot. 22 Aug 2008 11:05

Project Calabash sees end of an era for iconic quart bottle
South African Breweries (SAB) has entered the final stages of its ambitious 'Project Calabash', said to be one of the largest packaging projects ever undertaken in South Africa. The two-year project focuses on replacing 330-million of SAB's iconic 750ml quart bottles with 430-million new 'Calabash' quart bottles, for Castle Lager, Carling Black Label, Hansa Pilsener and Castle Milk Stout. 15 Aug 2008 11:32

New technology makes bioplastics more feasible
Metabolix announced that in recently-completed greenhouse trials, switchgrass plants engineered using the company's multi-gene expression technology produced significant amounts of PHA bioplastics in leaf tissues. This result demonstrates a possible means of maximizing the potential of biomass crops for bioplastics. 14 Aug 2008 06:10

Student bags Exclusive Books competition
A 21 year old student from the University of Pretoria has bagged first place in the Exclusive Books Shopping Bag Design competition finalised in Hyde Park, Johannesburg, last week. Said Batya Green-Bricker, Exclusive Books marketing manager, of Elske Nel's entry, “The winning bag design answered our brief deftly, with a witty, sophisticated and intelligent drawing that captured the Exclusive Books brand perfectly. The naïve line drawing was simple, playful and unusual, and added a touch of whimsy to the Exclusive Books brand.” 13 Aug 2008 10:18

Read the labels on all green products
Have you heard of "nutrition fatigue"? It is a term for the problem faced by nutrition advocates after years of telling people so many things are dangerous to human health. This article refers to the US, but could it also be applicable to SA? 13 Aug 2008 06:12

Store brands gaining popularity … even among well-to-do shoppers
Americans are increasingly favouring store-brand products over big brand names, according to a leading food-industry trade association. And as the US economy softens, many of the gains in store-brand sales have been among higher income shoppers. 5 Aug 2008 07:23

Good for the Ground comes to Durban - Good for the Ground
This year sees the first Spring Good Food and Wine Show coming to Durban (14 - 17 August 2008, Durban Exhibition Centre) and the award-winning Good for the Ground packaging team are going to be there. 4 Aug 2008 13:45

Packed with information, labels make a sales pitch
When Mount Everest Mineral Water Ltd drew up a new game plan for its mineral water brand, Himalayan, it was sure that the bottle had to pack more than just water. It had to tell consumers a story about the brand, its iconic source and the link with Indian mythology. 4 Aug 2008 08:12

Losing their bottle; eco-friendly packaging
Wine makers experiment with snob-defying packaging. 28 Jul 2008 09:14

How to create packaging that sells
One of packaging's most important functions is to entice consumers to buy the product. Oh sure, there's those more lofty, generally more admired traits of protecting the product, ensuring it gets to market and all that stuff. 24 Jul 2008 07:56

New netting becomes compost
US company Conwed Global Netting Solutions has recently launched its new environmentally-friendly Vexar Compostable Netting product - and it is environmentally friendly: it breaks down and becomes compost. 17 Jul 2008 08:10

Obesity problem causes Chile's food industry to act
Chilealimentos, the association for the Chilean food industry, has announced a new voluntary labelling system that will replicate the Guide of Daily Amounts (GDA) system used in the EU. 1 Jul 2008 06:09