In general terms, says Clemson, the projects address issues regarding food safety, security and sustainability at different stages in the chain. More specifically, each of them focuses on how packaging can extend shelf-life. There is a particular emphasis on perforation density, recyclable adhesives and gas permeability, says the university.
 
Staff VP for global technology at Sonoco, Jeff Schuetz, who is also advisory board chair for the initiative, said in a statement: “The unique, multi-disciplinary FRESH research programme recognises the importance of developing solutions, and we encourage companies at each step of the food value chain to support this programme.”
 
Emphasising this multi-disciplinary approach, two professors working on one project are based in the Automotive Engineering Department (Morteza Sabet and James Sternberg), one in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (Goutam Koley) and one in the Department of Physics and Astronomy (Rama Podila).
 
Sonoco produces a range of consumer packaging types, industrial products, protective packaging and point-of-sale displays, as well as packaging supply-chain services.