Wrap rage – the everyday packaging that hurts to open

A few years ago my mum even wrote to Duerr to thank them for their very user friendly lids

The big problem is the cost sadly. Unfourtunately the Duerrs lid cost 50% more than a standard lid and many brand owners can’t afford to take the hit as retailers won’t let them increase it. Duerr’s were quite brave going for it. That said i don’t understand why they haven’t made more of it to be honest. When I spoke to them they said it had reinforced their brand but had made people switch brands.

Thanks for this insight, Alaster. I wonder how much extra the lid costs.

Though I have little problem with conventional lids, I a now buy Duerr products more frequently, because I like the design of the lid. I also buy cartons of UHT milk that have screw caps rather than a peel off strip, simply because it is so easy to spill milk with the latter design.

Hiya,

Pence. But when you make millions and millions it all adds up. People often say they will pay more for stuff but people are very brand loyal. Even though I was involved with it I have to say it’s a great product 🙂

I used to buy various brands of ginger preserve, depending on price. Now I buy Duerrs unless there is an offer on other brands, simply because of the lid. Thank your for your efforts and causing me to spend pence more. 🙂 At the other end of the scale, I will pay a lot more for Apple computers because I like the operating system and my experience of very good reliability.

Nutcrackers that crack the shell without damaging the nut or can be used by those with weak hands are other examples of great design.

With people living longer, we need to start thinking about good design of everyday products.

I agree, William. My mother had severe arthritis and struggled with packaging. Many children can defeat ‘child proof’ caps that make life difficult for elderly people.

Perhaps we should all take your mum’s approach and send compliments to those manufacturers that try to help us. It might not take long. 🙂

Hiya Alan,

I once had to use coat hanger to get into a plastic clamshell. Almost dislocated my arm! Broke the coat hanger…..

Alan

Try using a small retractable knife with a sharp blade and set it so that only 1 mm of the blade protrudes. I find this works well for tough plastic packaging, with little risk of damaging myself or the contents. Manufacturers use this packaging to prevent people stealing the contents from shop display, to ensure that small parts cannot fall out of the package, and to protect the product from damage if dropped or otherwise mistreated.

Alaster

I now understand why shops keep hold of coat hangers these days. They would not want anyone to hurt themselves. 🙂

Hiya,

Yes the main reason for clamshells is protection and resistance to theft. However, a quick trip into certain supermarkets will show you how ineffective it is as theft deterrent….

One product which occasionally proves difficult to access, is the rectangular corned beef tin. The opener, provided, will engage with the tab, but the sliver of weakened case will often taper off and fail to complete the circuit. The rectangular shape of the tin may not accommodate an average tin opener, and you are reduced to using knives or scissors to complete the task.

I know that the rectangular tin has been in use for many years, but the failure of the key opener appears to be a more frequent occurrence.

I once had to use a metal screw cap shampoo in a hotel. Wet and soapy hands meant I couldn’t get in it. Impossible.

An interesting aspect of hotel bathroom packages is that the writing is so small that it is difficult to read particularly when one is already in the shower or bath. I now have to resort to pre-reading the label with my glasses on, strategically placing them,before use as the packages are so similar.
Why don’t the suppliers use larger letters or colour code them.

They’re child proof as far as the test protocol goes. How good the test protocol is is another matter. My colleague Laura Bix at MSU argues that it’s actually unethical as it doesn’t consider older frail adults (otherwise the pack would fail!).
Many older adults decant the medicines. Blister packs (unit-dose) medicines aren’t even child resistant.

Hiya Hilary,

It may often feel that there is too much packaging but packaging has several roles. It has to protect and preserve your food as well as help you store it. Half the World’s food is thrown away and a big reason is that the packaging and supply chains don’t exist. You may hate a cucumber wrapped in celophane but it lasts a lot longer than one that isn’t. Also over 70% of packaging isrecycled and there are examples of ‘closed-loop’ recycling schemes whereby the packaging is 100%.
that said it isn’t perfect….

You are aware that you can get “special” bags or even gadgets that go in the fridge that will extend the life of fruit and veg. I would think that they’re better than a sealed bag where the contents can’t “breath”

Hiya,

Yep. We use them all the time. But you get my point, the stuff still generally has to be stored, shipped, stored, shelved, stored etc. Packaging helps this happen. We can argue about how far stuff has to travel etc (it gets really complicated).

Wrapping cucumbers in plastic is not necessarily a good idea because it traps ethene produced by the ripening cucumbers. Ethene also accelerates ripening and production is enhanced when cucumbers are chilled. The overall effect is that cucumbers stored in plastic wrappers soon become over-ripened and soft when stored in the fridge.

I accept that packaging has an important role in protection of food, but other factors need to be taken into consideration too.

PS Ethene is commonly known by the old name ethylene and it is used commercially to accelerate ripening.

I meant to mention that it can be important to remove packaging when produce is stored in the fridge. This allows ethene and excess moisture to escape. William has the right idea.

I actually use a de-ioniser in the fridge, and have seem the results first hand. At the very worst it adds a couple of days that some fruit and veg stays fresh and at best it adds just over a week.

Maybe Which? could investigate these ? To see which ones are the better ones

In complying with the manufacturer’s instructions I managed to cut my finger so often on the sharp edges of cereal box flaps [the results are virtually unnoticeable in the cranberry clusters] that I now always use the handle of a cereal spoon. This appears to be perfect for the function and I think the legend on the box-tops should recommend it. My Bisk-Wheetoes taste so much better without the sanguine supplement.

I’ve cut myself on a ring pull can several times, and sometimes the ring comes off in trying to open it as its not strong enough to pull the lid off! – I then resort to a tin opener which doesn’t always work at this point! Lethal! I much prefer the old type of tin!

If you have a problem with the ring pull, you can always turn the can over and use a can opener on the base.

Ring-pulls are fine on drink cans with aluminium tops, but with steel food cans they are not as good and present a real challenge to elderly people.

We once spoke to a lady who left them i the sunshine. Probably Ok for jam, not sure about mayonnaise….
And we shouldn’t have to. A tip from me. Use your left hand if you can and a rubber glove.

I long ago discovered that with vacuum packed jars, all you have to do is put a screwdriver or a teaspoon under the lid and lever it up slightly to let the air in, after which it unscrews easily.

This works fine on many jars, but needs a fair amount of force, Tosca. I do wish someone would produce a lid-stabber that could be used safely and easily by the elderly and disabled.

It does sometimes, you’re right, but there is a neat little plastic implement sold by Lakeland which does the trick without much forces at all.

Hiya All,

We did some work on this a while back. There are a host of methods people use from hitting it to using hot water, a tea towel etc etc. We also tested the devices that you can buy, the rubber lasso etc. The best performing tool was the ‘spillnot’. It’s a moulded plastic tray with slots that sit the jar in.
As i said failing that, if you can use your left hand and a marigold that may also help.

This is a bit off-topic, but it is something I feel very strongly about. I do not know the correct procedure but it may help to alert both the pharmacist and your GP. Many drugs are available from more than one supplier and the size of print and helpfulness of the information can vary significantly. A large pharmacist may be able to provide an alternative brand providing that the medicine is out of patent and the GP has not specified a particular brand.

I nominate you as our expert in dealing with difficult packaging, Figgerty. 🙂

It would be good if manufacturers would get together and sort out the problems, so that every item in your kit becomes unnecessary.

As you say, safety is important. For example, having jars that are easy to open increases the risk that they will be opened in the supermarket, but most have a button on the lid to check if they have been opened.

Figgerty figures it out [of the packaging]. Just don’t go out at night with that lot up your sleeve as it is still an offence to be “going equipped”! We find an old steak-knife works wonders on various types of packaging made from cardboard or plastic. For anything else a miniature angle-grinder would be a useful implement.

I think the shrink cellophane that encloses the screw caps of some products [e.g. Marmite] and splits if interfered with is a cheap and effective way to defeat tampering. It should mean the jar lids do not have to be put on with super force although in my experience they usually are. There ought to be a kiosk in the supermarket – after the checkout – where you can take your purchases to have them expertly and safely opened.

Thinking about the elderly, and the infirm of all ages, it’s about time the major food producers and retailers took the initiative and used their clever people to do something helpful rather than constantly applying their minds to more ingenious ways to trick us into spending more than we need to. They could start by putting the most popular lines for this market segment in more accessible positions in the aisles and making the labels clear and easy to read. So far as I know, cereal packets are the only ones that actually tell you how to get into them. No doubt some idiot will come up with the idea of supplying a free Band-Aid with every can or clamshell.

The big problem for change has been that for man brands and retailers it’s a trivial issue. Indeed i believe the term ‘frustration free’ packaging which has become the norm pretty much sums the approach. Not getting into something is a ‘frustration’ a mere inconvenience….it’s a term i hate. I believe for a lot of people it’s more than an inconvenience.
The other problem is as people’s ingenuity shows. People find a way to get into the stuff so in the end it becomes a ‘non-problem’ for the brand owners/retailers. The good thing about the which? survey is the degree to which people don’t buy stuff cos they can’t get into it. This should concentrate minds I hope.
It’s just a long slog. I urge people to keep complaining and keep telling me your stories.

Alaster

How about giving us a few more examples of familiar products where the packaging is clearly superior to that of competing items, like the example of jam jar lids already discussed. Obviously it is necessary to take into account the effectiveness of packaging in doing its job.

Contrast this with the banana, which can be opened without touching the part that will be eaten. No wonder bananas are more popular than coconuts.

There is a very good reason why pineapple rings are sold in round tins, but no reason other than tradition for corned beef to be sold in tins that are difficult to open with either the tear-strip or a can opener. There is an obsession with health and safety in the workplace, but it seems OK for companies to expose the general public to unnecessary hazards. What a crazy world we live in. 🙁