Plantic technologies of melbourne, australia, showed two commercial applications of its plantic eco plastic highbarrier technology. From excelline food products of chatsworth, ca, comes superpremium steak and green chili flautas in a tray shown here that excelline forms from rollstock provided by plantic. And in a premade tray supplied by plantic comes outback spirit sausages from farmfoods australia of geelong, victoria, australia the tray is notable for its custommatched &ldquooutback orange&rdquo color. Both of these innovative packs have extended refrigerated shelf lives.
As of this posting, no information was available regarding lidding materials, but presumably some barrier material is involved. Plantic eco plastic is made using a corn crop that is specifically grown for plantic technologies ltd. The whole of the harvested crop is used and plantic uses the extracted starch to make its biopolymer packaging material the byproduct goes to animal food and fertilizer. Due to a highly efficient conversion rate, says plantic, there is minimal crop space required, and the crop has no impact on foodgrowing land space requirements.
The firm&rsquos patented polymer technology is based on the use of highamylose corn starch, a material derived from annual harvesting of specialized nongeneticallymodified hybrid corn and supplied by corn products international. The biopolymer is comparable in cost to other conventional plastic packaging materials, says plantic. Plantic eco plastic consists of a core layer that is extruded in a conventional manner
Laminated to this core layer are skin layers of pe or pp. Plantic eco plastic is not biodegradable due to the presence of nonbiodegradable skin layers that surround the starch core. Plantic notes that a process to separate the starch core from the skins has been developed. In the meantime, says plantic, this material is not considered a significant contaminant in mixed polymer recycling processes. The firm also notes that the material is certified as a biobased product by vincotte. The certification of 3 stars indicates that the material is made of up to 89 renewable content. &ldquothe environmental benefits of plantic eco plastic&trade combined with the ability to meet our shelf life demands provide a package that truly fits with our high standards and naturally fresh image,&rdquo says carlos angulo, ceo of excelline foods. &ldquoall of our products are handmade using only the freshest ingredients and natural preservatives to bring our customers the highest quality mexican foods available.&rdquo according to vp sales and marketing noel bonn, the plantic material is used by excelline in two formats. For 12 flautas weighing a total of 42 oz and selling for about 10.00, excelline uses rollstock material on a modifiedatmosphere multivac thermoformseal system. Refrigerated shelf life is about 37 days.
A fish taco product, on the other hand, is vacuum packaged and then sent through highpressure processing to give it a 60day refrigerated shelf life. Both items are ready to be eaten by the consumer after a brief spell in the microwave oven. &ldquoplantic eco plastic sets a new standard for barrier packaging performance,&rdquo says tom black, president of the americas, plantic technologies. &ldquothe cost to operate is very competitive with traditional barrier films, and combined with functional performance forms the cornerstone of our value proposition.&rdquo the ability to retain product freshness while at the same time having no negative impact on the environment is a great outcome for both plantic and excelline&rsquos customers, adds black. Other plantic news emerging out of amifmi is the announcement that plantic is partnering with braskem, one of the world&rsquos leading petrochemical companies, to add sugar cane derived from i&rsquom greentm polyethylene to its plantic eco plastic&trade ultrahigh barrier plantic eco plastic&trade product range.
The addition of braskem&rsquos green pe will increase the renewable content of plantic eco plastic&trade to above 90 and further improve the carbon footprint without compromising the ultrahigh barrier properties offered by plantic eco plastic&trade. &ldquoplantic eco plastic&trade gpe incorporating braskem&rsquos green polyethylene provides for the highest renewable content barrier packaging on the market,&rdquo says brendan morris, plantic technologies ceo. &ldquothe cooperation with braskem brings together two outstanding environmental performance plastics to create an ultrahigh barrier plastic, with unmatched performance properties and outstanding environmental advantages.&rdquo plantic eco plastic&trade gpe trays and roll stock require no investment in new processing or packaging technology. They are a dropin replacement for a range of traditional plastics used in modified atmosphere and ultra highbarrier packaging. The rigid trays and roll stock are offered in a transparent form as well as a variety of colors and even multicolor formats.
