REDUCING THE ECONOMIC
AND ENVIRONMENTAL
COST OF FEEDING PEOPLE
Ensuring the integrity and sustainability of hygiene-critical food manufacturing
and distribution is New Zealand company FoodCap’s reason to exist. It’s a
mandate which, for more than 10 years, has led FoodCap to develop a materialshandling
system to reduce cost, complexity and waste in food processing.
Experts predict more food will
be eaten in the next 30 years
than in the history of the
world. This coincides with a
significant shift in global consumer
awareness and connectivity, where
industries are seeing a hugely
increased demand from shoppers for
transparency and sustainability of the
food they purchase and consume.
For New Zealand food processors,
this shift in consumer habits is
creating both opportunity and
complexity. Questions being asked
by manufacturers in the food space
include: how can product security
and sustainability be ensured; how
can food handling complexity and
duplicated processes be reduced,
and how do we reduce economic and
environmental waste? The answers
to these questions will play a vital
part in the development of the food
processing industry, and FoodCap is
already playing its part in the solution.
More than 40 years ago, the arrival of
vacuum packaging and refrigerated
transportation revolutionised global
food handling and safety. Today,
FoodCap’s reusable food handling
system provides for buffering, storage
and transfer of food ingredients or
chilled meat prior to manufacturing -
taking that innovation a step further.
The system uses
a unique container:
The FoodCap capsule - originally
developed to replicate the
functionality of the vacuum-packed
box meat system, without the
disadvantage of one-time use. Next
generation capsules have applications
across the wider processed food
manufacturing sector. While they
may appear simple, one closelyguarded
technical breakthrough
is the proprietary food grade, fully
recyclable resins from which they
are made, enabling the handling of
a range of food ingredients, hot or
cold, wet or dry.
Safe, efficient and sustainable – the
capsule’s design and functionality
has been considered from all angles.
Capsules are sealed to protect
valuable contents from external
pollutants, cross contamination,
temperature abuse, tampering
and theft. They reduce human
contact with raw material, eliminate
duplicated production steps and
improve efficiency. In a world where
single use packaging is becoming
more and more scrutinised, the use
of the capsule eliminates waste,
including single-use packaging and
disposal.