FOOD PACKAGING
Waddington launched mono-material recyclable meat tray / Replacement of PE or adhesive for sealing
 The container, called Piranha, is sealed using a series of raised teeth that run around the sealing flange instead of applying a layer of PE or adhesive (Photo: Waddington Europe) |
Thermoforming packaging specialist Waddington Europe (Milton Keynes, UK; www.waddingtoneurope.com), a division of US carrier bag specialist Novolex (Hartsville, South Carolina; www.novolex.com), has introduced Piranha, a new recyclable tray for meat, fish, and poultry products.
Piranha is sealed using a series of raised teeth that run around the sealing flange instead of applying a layer of polyethylene or adhesive, which are typically used to seal the lid of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). The raised teeth maintain the seal’s integrity even if the flange becomes contaminated by animal fat, which can interfere with closure on traditional packaging for meat, fish and poultry (MFP) products.
Related: Fully recyclable meat trays makes use of base pad redundant
With Piranha, greasy contaminants are forced into the channels between the raised teeth, leaving the peaks clear and clean to contact the PET top web. Under the same sealing temperatures and dwell time, the top web adheres to the peaks, creating the seal despite the presence of contaminants.
During filling-line trials of Piranha, the problem of burst seals due to grease contamination on mono-rPET sealing was cut to almost zero. As a mono-material package, the tray is capable of being fully recycled back into food-grade rPET. Piranha, which is Plastic Tax compliant in the UK, can also be made with up to 100% recycled PET.
Last year, Waddington launched a punnet with its new Monoair cushion technology, which is said to eliminate the need for extra bubble padding to protect soft fruit (see Plasteurope.com of 26.10.2021).
Piranha is sealed using a series of raised teeth that run around the sealing flange instead of applying a layer of polyethylene or adhesive, which are typically used to seal the lid of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP). The raised teeth maintain the seal’s integrity even if the flange becomes contaminated by animal fat, which can interfere with closure on traditional packaging for meat, fish and poultry (MFP) products.
Related: Fully recyclable meat trays makes use of base pad redundant
With Piranha, greasy contaminants are forced into the channels between the raised teeth, leaving the peaks clear and clean to contact the PET top web. Under the same sealing temperatures and dwell time, the top web adheres to the peaks, creating the seal despite the presence of contaminants.
During filling-line trials of Piranha, the problem of burst seals due to grease contamination on mono-rPET sealing was cut to almost zero. As a mono-material package, the tray is capable of being fully recycled back into food-grade rPET. Piranha, which is Plastic Tax compliant in the UK, can also be made with up to 100% recycled PET.
Last year, Waddington launched a punnet with its new Monoair cushion technology, which is said to eliminate the need for extra bubble padding to protect soft fruit (see Plasteurope.com of 26.10.2021).
21.01.2022 Plasteurope.com [249388-0]
Published on 21.01.2022