DailyDirt: Nicer Packaging For The Stuff We Eat

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Food packaging technology has come a long way from tin cans and glass containers. Packaging material is thinner and lighter and keeps food fresher for longer. And now that some plastics can be more easily recycled or composted, there are nifty new containers that could be slightly more environmentally friendly. Maybe food packaging hasn't been perfected just yet, but here are some interesting examples of progress in food distribution. By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.
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Filed Under: cereal, compostable, food, ketchup, packaging
Companies: heinz, sunchips


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Sep 2011 @ 5:27pm

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 30 Sep 2011 @ 6:44pm

    what's wrong with glass?

    I think they should store more food in glass containers... who wants all this plastic crap?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Rekrul, 30 Sep 2011 @ 9:29pm

      Re: what's wrong with glass?

      I think they should store more food in glass containers... who wants all this plastic crap?

      People who don't want to clean up broken glass and spilled food every time they lose their grip on a container.

      It's all well and good to say that they should be more careful, but be honest; How many times have you accidentally dropped a food container?

      Plus, plastic is squeezable, glass isn't. Remember the days of banging on the bottom of the ketchup bottle trying to get it to come out. Heinz even made commercials satirizing this problem with their "It's slow good!" ads.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • identicon
        doomvox, 16 Oct 2011 @ 3:55pm

        Re: Re: what's wrong with glass?

        Plastic is also a petroleum product that leaches toxic chemicals into food and gasses toxic chemicals into the air.

        Bon Apetit!!!

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Pixelation, 30 Sep 2011 @ 10:57pm

    "And while cereal makers are trying to improve their packaging, how about making those bags compostable, too?"

    Why not go all the way and make them edible?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Michael Long (profile), 1 Oct 2011 @ 8:24am

    Less Packaging... Less Food

    How about mentioning the recent trend towards redesigning packaging so that it hides the fact that the packaging now contains less food?

    One brand of cookies -- that I no longer buy -- changed the plastic tray from two rows running lengthwise to three rows running across. And went from 16 ozs to 13.5 ozs in the process. (Keebler Pecan Sandies)

    Some Triscuit crackers now come in a "snack box" (and only in a snack box) that's kind of shaped like an old-style popcorn box. And it too went from 16 ozs to 13.5 ozs in the process.

    But did the prices decrease 15% as well? Nope.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    chris, 2 Oct 2011 @ 10:37pm

    The best stuff to eat doesn't come in packaging.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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