On March 27 and 28, the 5th edition of the international conference ‘Advances in the Packagig Industry‘ will be held in Milan, Italy, whose focus will be on the Sustainability and Safety of Products and Processes in the Packaging Industry. The conference is an important opportunity for researchers and scholars from academia, researchers and technicians working in the industry, and experts in the field to exchange views.
Organised by the University of Salerno (Department of Industrial Engineering) and the University of Naples Federico II (Department of Chemical, Materials and Industrial Production Engineering) in collaboration with Giflex (Flexible Packaging Group), the two-day event in Milan stands out as a multidisciplinary forum with important updates on the latest advances in the packaging and flexible packaging industry.
The conference will include 5 sessions of oral presentations, complemented by 5 Keynote Lectures delivered by internationally renowned experts. A rich Poster session will also be held and a panel discussion on the challenges and prospects of the packaging industry will conclude the conference.
The 5 sessions will be devoted to Advanced Technologies for Intelligent and Functional Packaging, Biobased and Biodegradable Materials for Packaging, Safety Issues Related to the Production and Operational Life of Packaging, Innovative Materials and Technologies for Food Preservation and Waste Material Valorization, and Circular Economy Strategies such as eco-design, recycling, paper-based solutions, and end-of-life management. During the oral presentations, recent research results from prestigious academic institutions and national and international research centers and the most innovative technological developments introduced in industry will be presented.
Interesting insights will be offered by the Keynote Lectures that will address issues concerning the development of environmentally sustainable packaging structures and the current and future regulations that the packaging industry is required to comply with. One of the topics addressed is the development of active multilayer structures in which all layers are biodegradable, for the realization of compostable films with modulable barrier properties. Another lecture addresses the issue of making functional coatings with low environmental impact that combine high performance with economic sustainability.
Two other presentations will address the topic of Regulation. The first will address food safety and the Regulation of Food Contact Materials (MOCA). The second will discuss the gap between academic research and industrial applications, with the aim of overcoming regulatory barriers to investment and technology transfer, especially within Europe, for the use of bioplastics. Finally, to complement these aspects, an additional Keynote Lecture will be devoted to the design of guidelines to assess and reduce environmental impacts throughout the life cycle, promoting more sustainable practices throughout the flexible packaging value chain.
All of the scientific and technical contributions offered during the event will help outline an up-to-date overview of the present state and future prospects of the packaging industry, which is being called upon to meet the challenges arising from the need to increase the sustainability and safety of products and industrial processes, in order to transform them into development opportunities. To this end, the conference aims to promote synergies between the research and industrial worlds toward low-impact solutions that are both technologically effective and economically competitive.
There are around 150 participants registered for the conference from academia, research centres and industry. They include a conspicuous presence of doctoral students, numbering 29. The conference attendees come from 9 countries: in addition to Italy, to which most of the participants belong, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
‘We emphasise once again the importance of an event that aims to connect the academic world with industry to create new synergies of study and research that are the basis of modern industrial development,’ said the conference chairs Loredana Incarnato (University of Salerno), Giuseppe Mensitieri (CRdC President, University of Naples Federico II) and Alberto Palaveri (Giflex President).
