One thing is crystal clear when reviewing the most-read stories in the PlasticsToday Packaging Channel: new technology dominates. The most-read story [Slippery coating inside plastic packaging enables viscous liquids to slide easily] highlighted how a new technology seeks to change the way liquids move within packaging. LiquiGlide is a company that makes slippery coatings for plastic surfaces that enable viscous liquids to easily slide. The technology is targeting plastic containers for sticky consumer packaged goods such as ketchup and mayo to lotion and even glue. "We really believe that this will revolutionize the liquid packaging industry," Carsten Boers, president of LiquiGlide, told PlasticsToday. "We are looking for partners, be it on the supplier side or on the client side, to work with us directly. We hope that once the product hits the market, consumers will start to expect it as the standard for packaging."

Anytime there's a lawsuit involving a packaging manufacturer and a major brand, it's going to catch our attention. Case in point, Clare Goldsberry's article [Packaging manufacturer sues Frito-Lay over Doritos Gamer Pack], which she wrote that Clear Lam Packaging Inc. (Elk Grove Village, IL)  accused the snack-food giant of stealing a packaging design for its promotional boxes of Doritos. Clear Lam claimed in the suit that new packaging designs it made available to Frito-Lay under confidentiality agreements ended up as the basis for packaging used to house 7-oz. servings of Doritos sold alongside Microsoft's new Xbox One console. The Doritos Gamer Pack includes a type of flexible film packaging that shares major aspects of Clear Lam's trademarked PrimaPak technology,

While BPA is constantly in the news, the story that sparked your interest was a study conducted by Health Canada on BPA and pregnancy, [Health Canada: BPA is safe for use in food packaging materials], which found that dietary exposure to BPA through food packaging is not expected to pose a health risk to the general population, including newborns and young children. The study, titled "Phthalate and bisphenol A exposure among pregnant women in Canada - Results from the MIREC study," was published in the July issue of the scientific journal Environment International. The study closely examined phthalate and Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure among pregnant Canadian women. Health Canada called the results of the study "significant." 

Packaging is the leading application segment for all types of bioplastics. Karen Laird wrote that this was further underscored by the bioplastics "island" created by some 21 bioplastics companies and European Bioplastics, in Hall 9 at Interpack [Bioplastics in packaging come into its own]. This year, at the European Bioplastics booth, the association reprised its "Bioplastics in Packaging" stage program, introduced during the previous Interpack show in 2011, with daily presentations from bioplastics packaging experts on the latest news and trends in the industry. On the busiest days, "the interested crowd jammed the corridor next to the booth of European Bioplastics," the association reported. "At Interpack this year, one of the statements heard again and again was 'we are already working with bioplastics,'"said Hasso von Pogrell, managing director of European Bioplastics. "It shows that bioplastics play an important role for present and future packaging solutions."

And to round out the top five, you were very much interested in a study that determined six categories of plastic packaging help to significantly reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions compared to packaging alternatives made with other materials [Is plastics the most sustainable material for packaging?]. Prepared by Franklin Associates for the American Chemistry Council (ACC) and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, the study assessed the energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions of six general categories of plastic packaging produced and sold in the U.S. and Canada. These include caps and closures, beverage containers, other rigid containers, carrier (or shopping) bags, stretch/shrink wrap, and other flexible packaging.