title: New technical design of food packaging makes the opening process easier for patients with hand disorders.
abstract: Opening packaged food is a complex daily activity carried out worldwide. Peelable packaging, as used for cheese or meat, causes real problems for many consumers, especially elderly people and those with hand disorders. Our aim was to investigate the possibility of producing meat packaging that is easier for patients with hand disorders to open. One hundred patients with hand osteoarthritis were asked to open a meat package currently available in supermarkets (Type A) and a modified, newly designed version (Type B), and rate their experiences with a consumer satisfaction index (CSI). The mean CSI of the Type B packs was 68.9%, compared with 41.9% for Type A (p < 0.0001). These results show that manufacturers today can produce easy-to-open food packages that afford greater consumer satisfaction. Such future packaging would benefit not only people with hand disorders but also the population as a whole.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Development, Schulthess Klinik, Lengghalde 2, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: Stefanie.Hensler@kws.ch.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hensler
authors.affiliation: Department of Upper Extremities and Hand Surgery, Schulthess Klinik, Lengghalde 2, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniel B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Herren
authors.affiliation: Department of Research and Development, Schulthess Klinik, Lengghalde 2, 8008 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marks
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D006804:Ergonomics; D005260:Female; D018857:Food Packaging / Q000379:methods*; D050823:Hand Joints / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Activities of daily living; Consumer satisfaction; Food packaging