FAQ & Glossary

For the manufacturers, the first food labeling is the so-called “sales description”. The sales designation designates a term that allows the consumer to clearly identify which product it is. The product can be advertised and its advantages made clear with fantasy names, but the fantasy name must under no circumstances replace the sales description.

All food packaging must include a list of ingredients. This inventory contains a list of all the ingredients that the product contains and is ordered by quantity. The largest component of a product is at the top of the list, while the smallest is at the bottom.

There are 14 ingredients (main allergens) that must be pointed out to allergy sufferers under all circumstances. These include peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, soy, milk, mollusks, crustaceans, lupins, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, cereals containing gluten, and sulfur dioxide and sulphites with a concentration greater than 10mg/kg or 10mg/L.

The manufacturer’s information is mandatory for the product labeling. The name or company must be listed next to the address. A batch number on the product makes it possible to trace the item back to the manufacturer in the event of a complaint.

This information can also be found on the food packaging and informs the customer of the content/weight of the food. The Association for Food Labeling only allows the absence of a filling quantity label if the product weighs less than 50g. Solid foods are given in grams or kilos, liquid and concentrated products in litres.

Set-up boxes or slip-lid boxes are used in many industries. It is important that the customer’s requirements for the box are met and that functionality is guaranteed. Of course, collapsible boxes can also be colored in such a way that they catch the viewer’s eye. The collapsible boxes are used in the food, pharmaceutical and tool industries. Due to their practical shape, these slip-on lid boxes are suitable for multiple use, as the desired products can be easily removed and refilled if necessary. For practical use, collapsible boxes are particularly suitable for storing paper or magazines. This gives your end consumers the opportunity to easily remove the desired product and refill it more quickly if necessary. Flat-leaf binders can also be ideally stored in collapsible boxes.

Automatic blanks are blanks of packaging which are specially manufactured for machine packaging and are both erected and glued by the automatic machine. They are transported and delivered flat and are particularly suitable for large series. The packaging consists of a flat, elongated base and several small cardboard sections, which together with the base result in a uniform packaging after production as automatic blanks. Automatic blanks are mainly used in the food sector. One example is the manufacture of beverage packaging. The manufacturer creates these for sale to the dealers in large series, which is why prefabricated machine blanks are ideal for this type of mass production. Products whose packaging is made by cutting machines are mostly fruit juice drinks and similar goods.

Like folding boxes, folding bottom boxes are used in some areas, such as the storage and delivery of information material, food or tobacco products, due to their ability to erect quickly and their variety. The difference between the two boxes can almost be deduced from the name, since the bottom of folding bottom boxes is already glued on delivery, while folding boxes still have to be closed by hand. Folding bottom boxes are therefore particularly suitable as shipping boxes.

Folding boxes are prefabricated, printed boxes that are folded up and delivered by the manufacturer to the processing companies to save space, so that they can be erected there either easily or by machine. Due to the variety of folding boxes, this type of packaging has established itself in many areas, such as the pharmaceutical, tool and food industries. All in all, folding boxes are used in many areas, whereby they put the product in the foreground as direct packaging – depending on the use.

Did you know that around 303 million tons of dangerous goods were transported in Germany in 2014 alone? About half on Germany’s roads. However, there are a few things to consider when transporting dangerous goods:

Goods that are classified as dangerous require secure dangerous goods packaging in order to be transported. Only special dangerous goods boxes minimize the risk for people and the environment during transport .

Dangerous goods are assigned to three groups:

I = high risk
II = medium risk
III = low risk

Appropriately, dangerous goods packaging is also divided into three groups and given the service letters X, Y and Z. These performance letters stand for:

X = high risk
Y = medium risk
Z = low risk

• X-packaging can contain dangerous goods from packing groups I, II and III.
• Y-packaging can only contain dangerous goods from packing groups II and III.
• A Z-packaging can only contain dangerous goods of packing group III.

Any approved and manufactured dangerous goods packaging used for dangerous goods must be marked with a UN symbol followed by the letter and number code described above. Only then is a dangerous goods carton also permissible according to UN guidelines.