Induction seal vs. no induction seal

As US customers were becoming accustomed to coated cardboard and plastic jugs, drawbacks became apparent at an early stage in their adoption – particularly with regards to jugs, which had no secondary sealing between the container lip and the screw cap resulting in product leakage. The remedy – which many US retailers continue to use to this day – was to accept the fact that ‘leakers’ were an inevitability and simply accept the constant task of keeping shelves clean and accepting the complaints of consumers who, on returning home, had discovered that product had leaked in transit. Indeed, a new market was spawned for ‘spill mats’ which retailers use to soak up leakages from shelf surfaces. As retailers quickly discovered, these have proved to be an unhygienic and costly inconvenience.

Australian retailers were having similar experiences but growing consumer concern for better product safety, hygiene and the elimination of product leakage is seeing much wider adoption of induction seals. Selig, a global supplier of such packaging technology, who examined the market closely in that country, reports that in 2007 the introduction of its Lift ‘n’ Peel™ induction liner by the Australian dairy industry had directly resulted in a significant sales growth for the brands that adopted the Lift ‘n’ Peel™ seal. Furthermore, independent consumer research done in North America on packaged goods revealed that the vast majority (74%) of respondents would switch brands to one that made use of Selig’s half-moon lift-tab seal.

One particular Australian milk brand – an early adopter of induction sealed liners – reported in 2006 that it had experienced massive improvements in leakage prevention (and the elimination of spill mats), a corresponding growth in sales and a shelf-life improvement for its milk from 12 to 14 days.

Canadian experience is also seeing a trend towards induction heat sealing of milk containers. In June, 2017 the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were called to investigate milk recalls in British Columbia when a “potential presence of harmful extraneous material” was reported in unsealed milk jugs from a particular supplier. Health Canada said there had been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products, but did conduct a food safety investigation. As this investigation continues, the dairy in question has taken the precaution of applying Selig’s tamper-evident induction sealed liners to all of its milk jugs, in addition to voluntarily recalling the packages from the marketplace that were in question.

Meanwhile, in the US, the promotion of induction sealed milk containers continues. In 2016, Selig conducted extensive focus group surveys among US consumers of dairy and other packaged foodstuffs in order to gain insights into customer preferences as well as awareness of, and interaction with, more effective sealing technologies such as Selig’s Lift ‘n’ Peel™. The results were very conclusive. Of prime importance to focus group participants were (in order of importance): ensuring product safety by providing tamper-evidence; preventing product leakage and maintaining freshness – all of which were perceived by the focus groups to be met by Selig’s Lift ‘n’ Peel™ induction seals. In addition, participants appreciated the ease of opening provided by Lift ‘n’ Peel™ and the fact that they did not require the aid of a kitchen utensil to release the seal. When asked for their preferences regarding choosing between a ‘traditional’ liner, a Lift ‘n’ Peel™ liner, or a package sealed only with a screw on cap, the overwhelming number of participants preferred a Lift ‘n’ Peel™ sealed package.

In a recent Mintel survey (June 2017) of US packaging trends, Food & Drink Senior Analyst, John Owen commented: “An increasing percentage of product launches are based primarily on new packaging as packaging continues to become more important in the food marketing mix. Not only does packaging play a central role in communicating key benefits and features, it can also help to shape a consumer’s experience with the product, and play a role in the prevention of food waste.”