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First Course on
Flexography and Packaging IppStar is organised its first flexography course on May 10 and 11 at the Star centre in Noida. The two-day course was priced at Rs.10,000 and the faculty included S. Chidambar of IppStar, Suhaas Kulkarni of DuPont, Gourav Roy of Flexo India Graphics, Rakesh Shah of Windmoeller and Holscher and Chirag Muni of India Lamicoat. The professional level course included flexography prepress, platemaking, finger printing and colour management; flexo presses and pressmanship for both wide and narrow web presses; anilox rollers; in-line rotary diecutting; narrow web flexo for folding cartons; new flexible materials; overview of packaging technology directions and issues; liquid, water based, and UV inks and coatings; and, environmental considerations. Contact: N-10,
Sector XI, Noida - 201301. IppStar offers consultancy and specialised courses in packaging. It also supports up to date packaging industry technology and event information through the Indian Printer & Publisher monthly magazine and in print on www.indianprinterpublisher.com . Our library also contains books, publications, documents and standards. From time to time we will also post important articles on this page. Packaging
and Terrorism Ever since the terrorist attacks on 11 September, people in the United States have been paranoid about where the next assault could come from. A very real threat is the possibility of the intentional poisoning of food that is meant to not only strike terror but also to kill or make ill large communities of people through the tampering of packaged products. The potential for this is not restricted only to locally produced goods - it would also encompass a host of products that are imported into and distributed throughout the country. Ever since seven people in the Chicago area died after consuming cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules in 1982, all consumer product companies have been forced to review their packaging to build-in safeguards to protect themselves against adverse publicity, product recalls and liability risks. Believe it or not, it was only after this that product tampering was designated a federal crime and a whole range of regulations and statutes instituted for safe packaging. Tamper proofing, wherever possible, or at least tamper evidence became an imperative packaging requirement. Despite this, product-tampering claims continued to be a problem with the number of incidents reported in the US, hitting a peak of 1800 in 1986. Other developed nations have also experienced similar problems. In the last four months or so, every stage in the food chain from raw materials and ingredients through processing, packaging and distribution to food service establishments has been under the proverbial microscope. There has also been the very real threat of intentionally exposing people to life-threatening spores and microbes like anthrax. In fact, a new word - bio-terrorism - has become part of the everyday lexicon! Everybody from consumers, companies, trade groups and statutory agencies to the administration, has been working overtime to devise safety measures to reduce security risks. Commendable work on this has been done by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which issued an Operational Risk Management Guidance Document as far back as November 2001, to further bolster many systemic safety measures that it has initiated on food safety over the last two decades. It has now published two more landmark Guidance Documents in January 2002 to complement the one in November. The first of these is entitled Guidance for Industry Food Producers, Processors, Transporters and Retailers and is meant for indigenously produced food products; the other, entitled Guidance for Industry Importers and Filers, is for imported food products. The first document is designed "as an aid to operators of food establishments (i.e. firms that produce, process, store, repack, re-label, distribute, or transport food ingredients or that prepare or distribute food at retail). It identifies preventive measures that they can take, to minimize the risk that food under their control will be subject to tampering or criminal or terrorist actions. It is relevant to all sectors of the food system (i.e. from farm-to-table), including farms, aquaculture facilities, fishing vessels, producers, transportation operations, processing facilities, packing facilities, warehouses, and retail and food service establishments." The second document is meant for "operators of food importing establishments, storage warehouses and filers." All operators of such establishments have been encouraged to review their current procedures and controls and make appropriate improvements. The documents are designed to focus operators sequentially on each segment of the system or process in order to enhance preventive measures. The first document is divided into seven sections as follows:
It covers security strategies and evaluation of the security system. While all the recommendations may not be relevant or practical for every establishment, the document's objective is to provide a logical and comprehensive framework or checklist for security. Several packaging-related considerations have been laid down. Similarly, the second document is divided into three sections as follows:
It also provides a list of issues that relate to individual components of food implying operations and practices that is similar, but not identical, to the list for food producers given above. Both documents highlight the crucial role of consumers who are at the end of the food chain and encourage them to understand and examine all protective devices, warning and label statements to ensure that packages are intact and not tampered with. Any person who suspects criminal or terrorist action is requested to notify the FDA 24-hour emergency number. The documents provide invaluable guidelines not only for establishments in the US but also the rest of the world. All people in India would also do well to study these and implement them wherever possible. In addition to the terrorist threat, we are also faced with a high level of counterfeiting, and tamper-evident packaging is paramount. While it is true that there is no such thing as a failsafe system, one cannot take enough precautions in today's world. At the very least, we should try and make it as difficult as possible for potential 'bio-terrorists' to succeed. We have obtained copies of both the FDA Guidance Documents and these are available for reference at the IppStar library in Noida. One cannot emphasize enough the importance of going through these for all concerned, whether they are individuals or corporate bodies. Please call or mail us if you need any information. |
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