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Packaging Fundamentals in the U.S and Germany

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Packaging Fundamentals in the U.S and Germany

Packaging and labeling are two very essential business processes aimed at enclosing and protecting goods for purposes of storage, distribution, sales, and consumption. The packaging also encompasses the coordinated system of designing, evaluation, and production of packages in preparation for transportation, warehousing, sales, logistics and the end consumption of goods and services. The primary roles of packaging and labeling in business are to protect, preserve, inform, transport, and sell goods and services. Due to its importance in the business environment, the process is completely integrated into government, institutional, business, personal and industrial uses in a number of countries across the globe (Akbari, Ghomashchi, & Moghadam, 2007). However, despite the similarities that might be presented in the aspects of packaging, there a number of areas of differences from a country to another. For instance, due to determining factors such as packaging standards, policies and government involvement among others, the packaging of products in the United States differ from the same in Germany in many different aspects. 

The similarities shared between the two countries, and points of difference can be understood by analyzing the packing and labeling requirements depicted by General Mills, Inc., the United States based multinational corporation that also operates in Germany. Being a manufacturer and also a marketer in branded food products in major retail stores, General Mills enterprise relies heavily on packaging and labeling for the distribution, sell, warehousing, and uses of the products by end consumers. It is, therefore, an ideal example to understand the subject matter as it pertains to both the United States and Germany.

A striking similarity between the two nations is the regulations that govern labeling in the two countries. For instance, the United State the federal government requires businesses to pack their products in strong, sealed moisture-absorbing packages. The packages also need to be well branded in terms of products details such as the same of the product, weight, manufacturer, distributor, ingredients, cautions, dimensions, and so on. This regulatory aspect is also found in Germany; this area of similarities can be observed on products in both the countries where they are well packaged and branded to ensure users of these products are safe to use the products and are informed about the whole product just from the packaging itself.

In both, the countries, packaging, and labeling are primarily regarded as protection of the interests and rights of the users of products. Packaging is a requirement in both jurisdictions that is aimed at protecting consumers. For example, General Mills Company deals in food products and lack of having these products appropriately sealed in containers, cartons, boxes, etc. exposes them to all kinds of attacks that might affect the health of consumers and the general public. In addition to this, labeling and branding of these products enable the users to make an appropriate decision whether to buy the product or not based on the information and details presented on the packages. This is to prevent the consumption of products that might be harmful to a consumer's health. (Restuccia et al., 2010)

Despite the similarities, there are areas under which the two countries contrast concerning General Mills as a point of reference. The industrial regulations in Germany require businesses to conform to the general outlined provisions of the European Union on prevention of health risks and protection of consumers as well as the environment especially in matters that deal with waste management and treatment. Therefore, packaging materials must be environmentally friendly and safe for consumers in as much as it markets business in the industry. In the U.S., on the other hand, the country is not answerable to larger institutions such as the EU as is the case with Germany, therefore, it makes its own independent decisions in relation to packaging regulation. Additionally, the packaged products are branded in different languages depending on the provisions of a specific country. Accordingly, the products of General Mills in the U.S. are labeled in English as it is the requirement in the country and products produced by its Germany counterpart are labeled in German as is the provision by the German government. 

Packaging materials is another ground that exhibits the difference in packaging between the two countries. Germany, being a member of the European Union, advocates for environmental protection and preservation and due to the requirement by the EU to have industrial products packaged in materials that are environmentally friendly, the materials used in designing and developing packages in the country differ on a substantial degree to that of the United States that does not place great emphasis on environmental protection and conservation (Vermeiren et al., 1999). A review of packaged products in Germany gives a perfect example of decomposable substances used in packaging. There is minimal use of plastic and polythene bags in packaging the products unless for some specific and special goods that require plastic packaging and the use of polythene-based materials. The use of polythene and plastic is common in America, an aspect that is mirrored in its products and services.

References

Akbari, Z., Ghomashchi, T., & Moghadam, S. (2007). Improvement in food packaging industry with biobased nanocomposites. International Journal of Food Engineering, 3(4).

Restuccia, D., Spizzirri, U. G., Parisi, O. I., Cirillo, G., Curcio, M., Iemma, F., ... & Picci, N. (2010). New EU regulation aspects and global market of active and intelligent packaging for food industry applications. Food Control, 21(11), 1425-1435.

Vermeiren, L., Devlieghere, F., Van Beest, M., De Kruijf, N., & Debevere, J. (1999). Developments in the active packaging of foods. Trends in food science & technology, 10(3), 77-86.