Brooklyn Park Company Puts Halloween Candy Packaging To the Test

Here’s a scary thought: Halloween candy that isn’t safe for your children. But thanks to a company in Brooklyn Park that tests all sorts of candy packaging, Halloween is less trick and more treat

Ametek Mocon provides testing for any kind of food packaging you can think of. Joel Fischer is a key piece to the safety puzzle.

“A lot of times we see store packaging before it even goes out to the store shelves,” said Fischer, laboratory manager at Ametek Mocon. “I first started seeing the fun-sized Snicker bars well before they were launched in product.”

For CCX News, Fischer demonstrated tests of peanut M&Ms. One was called a “burst test,” which tests the limits of packaging to see where the weak points are. 

“You inflate it looking for leaks coming out of it,” said Fischer. “It’s kind of fun blowing up stuff for a job.”

Joel Fischer demonstrates and explains a burst test for candy packaging.

Packaging is not only tested for safety, but also maintaining freshness.

“Things even like potato chips, if you look at the structure, you open it up and you see this metallization, it’s not there to look pretty, it’s there to give barrier protection,” said Fischer opening up a chip bag. “All the packaging you see in the marketplace is chosen for a reason.”

Fischer says advancements in technology and testing make store-bought Halloween candy extremely safe.

“If you had leaks, people could be messing with it, which we were concerned about on Halloween in years past. Also you get bugs and stuff coming in,” said Fischer. “I would not worry about any of this candy at Halloween.”

Along with testing services, Ametek Mocon manufactures and ships testing equipment around the globe. The company also tests packaging for medical equipment.

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