All IAPRI researchers and academics in the packaging community, the IAPRI Member Conference is less than two months away! Now is the time to register for this three-day event.

The IAPRI Board of Directors encourages all members to consider the opportunity of becoming a sponsor of the 30th IAPRI Member Conference in 2021. Being a sponsor indicates you are willing to contribute to the packaging research community to which the IAPRI member institutes and their researchers belong.

The US-based Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) is inviting responses to its challenge to find primary packaging design innovations to combat food waste. Those interested have until 18 June 2021 to submit entries for the SPC’s Food Waste Repackaged.

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded Michigan State University (MSU) close to $500,000 for a project exploring intelligent packaging, combining nanoscale sensors with printed electronics able to transmit data about freshness and spoilage.

Recognizing the impact of takeaway and home-delivery food packaging, as well as the potential for improving logistics and recycling, two universities in Tampere, Finland, are working together on exploring alternatives as part of the RUOKO regional project.

Australia’s Victoria University (VU) in Melbourne will host a new Sustainable Futures Innovation Hub on its Werribee Campus, funded by an AUD 4.9 million ($3.8m) award from the state, and focused on developments in packaging, waste, construction and water management.

A half-century on from the official founding of IAPRI in 1971, we look at one of the critical decades for the association, when the membership nearly trebled, the geographical footprint began a decisive shift, and communication at Board and membership levels underwent important changes.

In the last of our series highlighting areas of the 2020 IAPRI Online Conference, we look at new research grappling with topics from controlled antimicrobial release to colour-change freshness indicators.

You have a fantastic new technology or novel material, but how do you scale it up and demonstrate a route to commercialisation? IAPRI members share their experiences in different areas.

The role of affiliate members within IAPRI is an important one, acting as a bridge between their own members, when it comes to other associations, and the packaging research and education community worldwide. The Turkish Packaging Manufacturers’ Association (ASD) is a prime example of this – and an enduring one, in the context of IAPRI.

Things are starting to turn to the better and our 2021 Member Conference is going to be virtual. But with Zoom Meetings and the Whova App it presents an opportunity for us all to still get together live via Meet Ups and other planned networking sessions.