‘Although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [Asean] member-countries have achieved improvements in the design and fabrication of packaging and processing equipment, printing machine and can/plastic sealer, the 50-year-old economic bloc needs to hurdle more challenges to become a stronger force in the global economy.”
Thus, said Science Secretary Fortunato de la Peña in his keynote address, titled “Packaging Achievements in Asean through Scientific and Technological Innovation”, at the recent Asean Packaging Conference hosted by the Philippines at a hotel in the CCP Complex in Pasay City.
“Just like the rest of the world, packaging development in Asean is confronted by many challenges, such as globalization, which means increasing competition in the market, borderless economy, increasing pressure from new regulations and the need to accelerate an in-depth and comprehensive packaging education and training,” de la Peña added.
He pointed out that the Philippines has introduced an innovation in the sachet-concept packaging, which has benefited consumers through cheaper products in the local market. The sachet or the single-serve products is used for fast-moving consumer goods like shampoo, coffee, condiments and toothpaste, among others.
De la Peña said the emergence of the modern lifestyle and the rise in the number of working housewives also contributed to the increasing sophistication of both the processing techniques and packaging system for food products.
In response, the food manufacturers introduced ready-to-eat, ready-to-heat/cook food packages in the market.
“Retort pouches, trays and cups were developed for shelf-stable ready-to-eat meal preparations, sauces and snacks. Now housewives or any individual can easily prepare the tom yum soup of Thailand, the famous chili-crab sauce of Singapore, the satai sauce of Indonesia, sambal oelek of Malaysia, nuoc cham dipping sauce [fish-sauce based] of Vietnam and the kare-kare sauce of the Philippines. In other words Asean cuisines can now be tasted around the world,” he said.
Through the innovations in packaging in Asean, their ethnic foods are now exported to other countries mainly because of improved and longer shelf life through the application of appropriate packaging technology.
As far as the Philippines is concerned, de la Peña said packaging has a major role in society, lifestyle and economy, citing the invention of the sachet or the single-serve products not only for convenience in handling but also to make the products more affordable to the consumers.
He cited that Singapore, Asean’s wealthiest member, has its consumers switching to purchase medium or small packages in multipack due to the rising cost of living.
“I believe, in general, this will be the trend in all Asean countries,” he said. Although the region has to speed up in innovation in other areas, he cited that Asean has gained huge gains in terms of process, controls and artificial intelligence. As expected, Singapore is the leader in this area.
De la Peña said that environment protection is now a vital component in good packaging.
Asean, he added, has responded to the demand for green packaging as environment-responsible, consumer-friendly and, at the same time, cost-effective packaging are now the fundamental basis of new technology development.
“Biodegradable packaging materials are developed as alternative to plastic-based food-packaging containers. Now we have bioplastics/polymers using different types of starches. Nanotechnology is being used to improve the properties of bio-based packaging materials,” he said.
Many scientific studies on renewable materials as packaging are being undertaken by different packaging research institutions in Asean, he added.
In her speech at the same forum, Undersecretary Dr. Rowena Cristina L. Guevara, of the Department of Science and Technology for Research and Development, pointed out that packaging continues to have a big role in Philippine society and manages to keep pace with the transformations in society.
“More than ever, packaging is continuing to be given a greater role, whether in the area of business or in bigger concerns like food security and environment issues. This has become possible mainly because of technology advancements and innovations that have widened the scope of relevance and reach of the packaging industry,” she said.
The rise of the business-process outsourcing (BPOs) industry in several Asean countries, complemented by rapid urbanization, has led to the growth of convenience stores in every corner of streets and the introduction of microwavable and oven-ready containers.
“Aseptic packaging technology is no longer limited to milk and dairy products, but has found new application in many types of fruit juices, beverages and processed foods,” she said.
While Japan leads in technology and innovation on packaging closures and easy-to-open devices in Asia, Guevarra said Asean countries have also made improvements in these areas.
She cited the consumer’s demand and growing concern on safe closures and convenience paved the way for the launching of tamper-proof or tamper-evidence closures and reclosable packages with zipper.
Image credits: Henri de Leon/S&T Media Service