When people talk about safety in packaging, they immediately think of technical qualities such as impact and wear resistance, impermeability and durability. These are fundamental characteristics, but they concern, precisely, only the technical aspects of packaging: instead, the concept of “safety” embraces a much broader meaning, which also includes less intuitive aspects, such as brand protection in the market or even the ability to offer a reliable and safe product fruition. We tried to break it down into four points:
Safety in packaging: reliability and durability
Although they are the first to come to mind, technical characteristics should never be taken for granted. Safe packaging cannot disregard intrinsic qualities such as reliability and durability, which are expressed in several ways: ability to withstand wear and tear (both of time and of use), shocks, tears, and falls, without damaging the contents. Not only that: packaging must also protect against all those factors that can alter it, such as air and light. The aluminum tube, for example, offers a total barrier to air and light, protecting the cream or gel inside from oxidation or alteration.
So far we have looked at our product from the outside. But a truly safe packaging is also such from the inside: contact with the product, even prolonged, should not give cause the slightest alteration. Let’s take the case of clear plastic water bottles: as the label also states, it is prudent not to expose them to direct sunlight, especially at high temperatures, because this could cause the release of certain substances that in minute quantities can lead to changes in the taste and smell of the water (and that in larger quantities can prove harmful to health).
The thought immediately goes to food packaging, but this principle certainly applies to cosmetic packaging and even more so to pharmaceutical packaging, particularly for preparations such as crèmes, ointments and gels. Aluminum tubes are coated internally with an inert resin that separates the product from direct contact with metal, preventing possible reactions with substances contained within the preparation. This is also true for Food tubes that contain particularly acidic or salty foods, such as tomato paste or anchovy paste.
The composition of these resins meets strict regulatory standards; their resistance to use goes through rigorous quality control tests conducted by our in-house department, in which the tube is crushed, twisted and subjected to various types of stress. The results prove a perfect seal of the inner coating-so we can confidently squeeze our tube to the last drop of its contents!
Hygienic packaging
We have learned it very well in these pandemic years: proper hygiene is the first bastion of defense of our health! The ideal packaging of our favorite products must therefore help us maintain it. How? First and foremost, it must be easy to clean and keep clean!
The aluminum tube, if properly resealed, can be safely washed with soap and run under running tap water! The tube also allows for excellent control of dosing and dispensing, preventing splashes and spills, especially if we are away from home. But the great hygienic advantage of the tube over other forms of packaging can be felt, again, when considering the perspective from the inside: to withdraw the desired amount of product, all you have to do is squeeze, no need to dip your fingers or spatulas into the product, which could act as an inoculum for Bacteria (as happens with jars). The product remains completely protected, thanks in part to the absence of air bubbles inside.
Security also for the planet
Safe packaging must necessarily also be environmentally friendly packaging: counteracting pollution is in fact a form of long-term prevention that benefits human health (and beyond!). Packaging must therefore ensure a low environmental impact, be easily recoverable and recyclable.
Collapsible aluminum tubes are also safe for the environment: aluminum, it is well known, is easily recoverable and 100% recyclable without losing its original qualities. And there is more: producing recycled material requires 95% less energy than production from raw material.
Safety for the brand and the end consumer
Product counterfeiting is one of the phenomena of greatest concern in the globalized economy. In the spring of 2022, Europol and the European Union Office for Intellectual Property (Euipo) released staggering figures: in Europe alone, trafficking in counterfeit goods moves capital amounting to 119 billion euros, or 5.8 percent of all products entering the EU. Among the most exposed categories are drugs and parapharmaceuticals, both because of the scale of the phenomenon and the risks involved. According to the WHO, about 10% of the drugs circulating in the world are counterfeit.
And the figures unfortunately continue to grow. Packaging participates strongly in brand identity: it can therefore be an important bulwark of defense that protects both the manufacturing company and the end consumer. A strategy that acts on multiple levels, from the choice of new printing techniques, including holographic printing, to the use of anti-tampering closure systems, to integration with digital technologies.
Want more information on how safe packaging can make a difference for your brand? Contact us! We will be happy to answer your questions and send you a sample of our aluminium tubes.
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