Ever struggled to open tough plastic packaging, unscrew the lid from a jar, pull a ring pull can, twist a safety cap or squeeze contents out of a squeezable container? Imagine how it will affect you when you are older.
If you are one of the 28 per cent of older people living alone in Australia, you may not be able to access your food until a visitor arrives to help.
In the UK one million elderly have a visitor only once a month and evidence indicates that between time, worrying dietary ‘adjustments’ are made due to packaging difficulty, even including the avoidance of meals.
With the world’s rapidly ageing population of naturally decreasing dexterous ability, the struggle with packaging is becoming a real issue.
'It has huge implications for area of food- the way food is purchased, consumed (or not) and disposed of.
Naturally 'Openability' was a hot item of discussion by international and local food industry heavyweights at the 42nd annual Australian Institute of Food Science & Technology convention in Brisbane this month.
This pressing issue was addressed by visiting biomechanics expert Dr Alaster Yoxall, from the Human Centred Engineering, Art & Design Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK.
Dr Yoxall and his team are currently researching and developing a variety of future packaging to help overcome the difficulties — including styles that can be opened using the palms of the hand.
The future may include packaging openable by elbows or shoulders too.
A few worrying statistics to come out of Dr Yoxall’s presentation and research. For example, 85 year old males are approximately 20% weaker than 65 year old females.
Statistically when women get to 70 years of age they will be unable to open 50% of jars; and that in 20 years time there will be nearly twice the number of 85 year old females and three times the number of 85 year old males as now.
There is a battle now on in the Europe, which Dr Yoxall expects to come to Australia, in that whilst medical packaging has a standard of operation that accounts for this area, food packaging does not have a code.
According to Dr Yoxall in the not too distant future it is likely that food packaging in the UK will be tested on a panel of elderly people and will have to meet a certain standard of openability before being able to be sold.
Currently in Australia there is no mandatory food packaging standard code that relates to openability for older or less dexterous members of the populace.
However to maintain marketshare alone, it is expected that Australian manufacturers will be working to adopt packaging styles that are easily accessible for all types of consumers, in particular the ageing population.
The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Incorporated (AIFST) is a national, not for profit industry body representing individuals from all sectors of the food science and technology industry.
The 42nd annual AIFST convention ‘It’s crunch time’ was held last week in Brisbane where a selection of international and local speakers joined to discuss the future of food.
BACKGROUND - ALASTER YOXALL
Dr Yoxall is principle research fellow in the Art & Design Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a PhD in Biomechanics from The University of Sheffield has entered the food industry with a tool bag of modern techniques, ideas and has made some great advances for packaging in the food industry.
Dr Yoxall and his team are working to inform the packaging industry of the magnitude of the problem hard-to-open packaging causes consumers, particularly the elderly.
AIFST Australian Food Science & Technology 42nd Annual Convention — Brisbane, 13 — 16 July 2009.
The AIFST was founded in 1967 by a small group of dedicated food scientists and technologists and has grown to become Australia’s largest association of professionals working in the food and allied industries, government and academia.
On 14 July 2009 Dr Michael Eyles (current Executive Manager — Simplification Initiative with the CSIRO) was appointed AIFST president.
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