StePac has designed a four-tiered strategy to minimise excessive plastic use and promote more responsible packaging
Image: StePac’s Xgo modified atmosphere/modified humidity (MA/MH) film for automated flow packing. Photo: courtesy of Johnson Matthey.
StePac, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Johnson Matthey, has unveiled four-pillared sustainability strategy for fresh produce packaging.
The company has designed the advanced strategy to effectively mitigate the necessity of climate-positive plastic packaging and solve the major problem of food waste.
StePac will present its progressive stratagem at a sustainability event to be conducted by the company at the PMA Fresh Summit in Anaheim, US, on 19 October.
The four-tiered strategy will focus on the reduction of excessive plastic use and promote more responsible packaging.
StePac’s new sustainable packaging strategy to address the critical problem of food waste
The company’s climate positive Xtend modified-atmosphere packaging will help extend shelf life and reduce waste in the fresh produce supply chain.
StePac’s lean top-seal film will also help extend shelf-life, as well as save between 20% and 30% plastic over conventional clamshells.
The firm’s patented Xflow packaging system helps in the packaging of bulk produce and reduces plastic use by over 40% compared to manual packing in pre-formed bags.
StePac offers a range of homopolymer-based products with modified atmosphere properties, which can be mechanically recycled to support a resource-efficient looped system.
The company’s polyethylene-based bulk packaging products, polyethylene-based standing pouches and PET-based top-seal solutions can be used for produce items and supply chains that that benefit from films having low water-vapor transmission rates.
In addition, chemical recycling will help convert plastic materials into their initial monomers, which can be used to make new plastic products.
StePac business development manager Gary Ward said: “Plastic packaging plays a critical role in the fresh produce and food industry, not least because of its ability to dramatically curtail food waste.
“Our technology is based on four pillars of sustainability designed to significantly lighten the environmental footprint of plastic packaging.”
In July this year, StePac has unveiled Xtend iceless Modified Atmosphere/Modified Humidity (MA/MH) bulk packaging for broccoli.