On Thursday 8 October we attended The Pack4Food Society, the annual member event of Pack4Food in De Mooie Molen, Aalst. Pack4Food is the Belgian food packaging network linked to Ghent University, and GREENFLEX has been a member since 2023. As always, the welcome was excellent.
Projects and proposals
The Pack4Food team opened with an overview of what the network is working on. One example was PackAhead, a four-year Horizon Europe project coordinated by the Finnish research centre VTT, with Pack4Food and Ghent University among the partners. It uses AI-driven digital tools across the bio-based packaging value chain, with commercial deployment at scale as its stated ambition for 2032.
The new project proposals cover three themes: circular food packaging, the standardisation of bio-based products, and the bioeconomy transition. The standardisation theme covers fibre-based food packaging, food contact safety, migration testing and harmonised testing methods. These questions come up in our own work every week, because every product we supply has to be documented for the market it goes to. That is why we keep our food contact compliance information on one page.
Learning together
Pack4Food also presented its training programme, from “Packaging Essentials” to in-depth sessions. New this season are trainings on the PPWR, the new EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, on Design-4-Recycling, on reusable packaging systems and on leak detection.
The keynote
The evening closed with an energetic and very interesting keynote by Prof. Geertrui Mieke De Ketelaere, titled “De 25%-barrière: hoe AI echte waarde creëert”. The core question: many AI initiatives deliver less than promised, so which ones create real value? The invitation promised examples from packaging development, food safety and waste reduction.
Why we are a member
GREENFLEX supplies elastic meat netting, chicken loops and stockinettes to food producers in more than 50 markets. For skin packaging we also supply PaperSeal cardboard trays and SlimFresh flat cardboard boards. Regulation, testing methods and customer expectations keep moving. Pack4Food is where we follow those changes alongside researchers, packaging companies and food producers, and where we meet people outside a sales context. You will find us in the Pack4Food member network.
Thanks to the Pack4Food team for a well-organised evening. Next on their calendar is the PPWR Action Day on 28 January 2027.
Questions about our products or their food contact documentation? Email sales@greenflex.be or use our contact page.
