A revolutionary new barrier coating, which is both water and grease resistant, has been developed by Europe’s leading corrugated cardboard packaging manufacturer, Smurfit Kappa.
The new technology will enable food packaging containing frozen foods or hot and cold greasy snacks to be made from corrugated cardboard, and is currently being trialled by a major supermarket for hot baked products. Smurfit Kappa’s barrier coating will prevent frozen food moisture from penetrating a corrugated cardboard surround, plus stop convenience and snack food grease from infiltrating outer paper-based packaging.
The new development has potentially revolutionary implications for the food industry. It will allow present frozen and greasy product packaging, which currently has to be made from metal or plastic, to be made from corrugated cardboard. This will enable a shift to more environmentally friendly, recyclable forms of packaging.
David Spencer, general manager at Smurfit Kappa’s Preprint Plant, said: “Our new barrier coating is a major leap forward in packaging for the food industry.”
“Currently millions of tonnes of metal and plastic packaging is being used for convenience, snack and frozen foods, which is having major environmental implications. Smurfit Kappa’s barrier coating will mean these out-date formats can be phased out and replaced with recyclable cardboard. We are confident that both consumers and retailers will welcome this environmentally friendly development and expect it to really take off in the next few years.”
The barrier coating itself is made from a non-hazardous opaque water-based liquid. When coated and dried onto paper or board substrates, it forms an inert translucent film, which is completely water and grease proof.