The beverage industry uses very specific packaging for a wide
variety of products, ranging from those requiring heat treatment
(usually in the package) to those requiring the retention of
carbonation for a specified shelf life. Packaging development moves
on rapidly, and package manufacturers continue to find new
solutions to old problems and to provide answers to the increasing
number of environmental issues facing our industry. Despite the
pace of development the nature of the problems remains relatively
unchanged: how to provide more with less, how to reconcile the need
for lighter-weight packages with the fact that distribution chains
continue to get longer, how to achieve faster manufacturing
operations - whether making a package or filling it, the challenge
of providing capital . In practice, the successful package supports
the brand through differentiation at the point of sale, is used by
the consumer effortlessly and is then discarded - without the
consumer giving the package a second thought!

This volume provides an overview of all the packaging formats of
interest to the beverage packaging technologist. It also considers
the interface between them and the packaging equipment. Authors of
individual chapters come from major packaging organisations or
major brand companies. As they are dealing with these industries on
a day-to-day basis, their views and problems are current.

The volume is directed at packaging and beverage technologists
who require a broad coverage of the present state of the art.