Sweden’s Perstorp (Perstorp; www.perstorp.com) is introducing its “Akestra” thermoplastic copolyester to the European market. A key ingredient in the plastic has now been authorised by the European Commission for contact with food, meaning it can now be used for both hot and cold food-contact applications.

The product has already been cleared by regulatory authorities in the USA and Japan for food-contact use. “Akestra” is a unique family of plastics that will open up a whole new range of applications for polyesters,” says Perstorp’s product manager, David Engberg. “It is an excellent choice for demanding applications like hot-fill and hot food serving. We expect it to be used primarily in disposable packaging.”

With a sparkling, glass-like appearance, “Akestra” is said to offer much better heat resistance and transparency than PET. According to Perstorp, it is an amorphous alternative for hot-fill packaging where transparency is important and high heat-resistance is vital. It can also be combined with up to 80% of recycled PET to increase the PET’s performance. Aside from PET, the copolyester can substitute other transparent plastics for thin-wall containers, as well as PC and glass.

Perstorp said existing PET production lines can use “Akestra” without any additional major investment.