In a big boost to its commitment towards sustainability and circular economy, India’s largest multinational flexible packaging materials and solution company Uflex Limited has developed a customised formulation that renders barrier packaging for edible-oil reprocessable.
Talking about this major breakthrough in promoting flexible packaging sustainability, joint president of packaging and new product development at Uflex Mr Jeevaraj Pillai said: “Edible oil needs to be carefully protected from oxygen that makes it rancid. Barrier properties in a coextruded film for edible-oil packaging are imparted by Nylon and/or EVOH.
“However, it is the presence of these two elements that makes the packaging of edible-oil non-reprocessable. We at Uflex have developed a specialised formulation that renders barrier packaging for edible-oil re-processable despite the presence of Nylon and/or EVOH.
“Now the edible oil manufacturers need not worry and can easily fulfil their recyclability commitments by using barrier packaging having our formulation. According to data from market research firm Euromonitor International, the edible oil category, which had overtaken dairy to become the largest packaged food segment in our country a few years ago, grew at 25.6% to cross the Rs1.3tn mark in 2017.
“In fact, edible oil formed over 30% of the Rs4.34tn packaged foods market in India. Thus the potential is huge and we are fully braced up to cater to the flexible packaging requirements of all edible-oil players in the country and overseas in a sustainable manner.”
Expressing joy over this development, Mr Ashok Chaturvedi, chairman and managing director of Uflex Limited, said: “We accord prime importance to sustainable flexible packaging solutions and business processes. I am very glad to share that my R&D engineers have been able to develop a specialised formulation that renders barrier packaging for edible oil re-processable.
“Considering that edible oil category is the largest packaged food segment in our country, one can well imagine the massive global boost India as a nation will get in terms of sustainability and promotion of circular economy if it is able to reprocess all the barrier packaging for edible oil. This is a great victory for sustainability. This is a great victory for India.”