Environmental Protection and Safety--the Only Way for Packaging Materials

A few days ago, Eklin (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. and Shijiazhuang Sanlu Dairy Co., Ltd. jointly held a press conference in Beijing, announcing that the two parties formally formed a strategic partnership and introduced to the public the eco-friendly and safe ECOLEAN produced by Ecolean. Packaging - fresh pot. According to reports, Ecolean's eco-friendly packaging material was developed from the association of egg shells. It uses calcium carbonate as the main raw material and can be gradually degraded in the natural environment. To this end, the reporter interviewed Mr. Johnson, general manager of Ecolin (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., on issues such as Ecolean eco-friendly packaging materials and Ecolean eco-safety concepts.

Reporter: Nowadays, countries in the world are paying more and more attention to food safety, and they are increasingly aware of the important role of food packaging in food safety. Ecolean also put forward the concept of environmental protection and safety. Please talk about why Ecolean has proposed This idea?

Johnson: At present, with the growing awareness of environmental protection and food safety, human beings have made increasingly higher demands on the environmental protection and safety of packaging. If a company does not attach importance to the development of environmental protection and safety of products, it will be eliminated by the market. Since its establishment, Ecolean has been committed to the research of environmental protection and safe packaging materials, and has cooperated extensively with visionary customers in all aspects of the food industry worldwide to contribute to the world's environmental protection and food safety. In addition, Europe and Sweden have laws and regulations on the safety of packaged foods. For example, Ecolean must comply with the 2002/72/EC Plastics Directive and the 1935/2004/EC Framework Regulations. These laws and regulations are constantly being improved and improved.

Reporter: Due to safety and aesthetic reasons, foods are increasingly inseparable from packaging. It seems that food packaging has become a part of food. The amount of packaging used is increasing, and its waste has caused great pressure on the environment. Please tell us about the situation in Sweden and Europe and related regulations.

Johansen: Sweden is a member of the European Union, so it must follow EU regulations. The EU Directive 94/62/EEC and amendments (which came into force in 2005 at the latest) are the so-called packaging and packaging waste directives, which apply to all types of packaging and contain the following provisions: It must be proven that the use of the The packaging material; Toxic material content must be less than 1/10,000; All people must be provided with supporting documents and evidence to prove the necessity of adding and minimizing the amount of environmentally harmful additives added to packaging materials; Packaging waste must be available Reusable, or recyclable, or incinerated to recover energy, or compostable.

In addition to the 94/62/EEC Directive, Ecolean must comply with certain other specific provisions concerning food contact packaging materials, which require higher purity and lower pollution. In the future, the EU will have more environmental packaging regulations to control the entire life cycle of packaged products. For example, the Integrated Product Policy (IPP), which requires that measures be taken at the new packaging design stage to reduce certain actions or factors that will lead to environmental pollution. Ecolean adopted the IPP method in its development process.

Reporter: Eklin has been in China for more than a year. Can you express your opinion on China's food packaging safety and packaging environmental protection?

Johansen: With regard to the control of China's food safety, we applied to the Ministry of Health five to six years ago when we applied for food contact permission for Ecolean packaging materials. We have witnessed how the Ecolean material has been thoroughly tested and carefully examined, and the entire process is more comprehensive than similar tests conducted in Sweden. However, there are still deficiencies in how the Ministry of Health oversees compliance with laws and regulations. In Sweden, Ecolean must prove its compliance with regulations every two years (offset results and raw material certificates). The Chinese factory in Aklin regularly sends samples to Sweden for consistency testing. I understand that the State Food and Drug Administration has begun to improve this situation in China and welcomes it.

On the issue of environmental protection, China has begun to take measures. Although the road is long, it is a great determination. So far, the Chinese government has made admirable decisions, especially in Shanghai.

Reporter: What is the idea of ​​Ecolean's product development? What are the advantages? What kind of food is mainly used?

Johansson: Ecolean materials were developed with the help of eggshells, but added the features required for modern packaging materials: stiffness, formability, flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and low environmental impact. 95% of the components of the eggshell are calcium carbonate, and calcium carbonate in the Ecolean material accounts for 70%.

The main use of Ecolean packaging is as a vertical packaging bag for liquid foods, wrapped wrapping of butter and margarine, and a sealing cover for cups of yoghurt. Ecolean also produces bottles, cups, and boxes. The properties of Ecolean materials ensure the manufacture of a wide variety of packaging that can be adapted to the various printing technologies that are routinely used.

At present, the packaging materials for low-temperature dairy products mainly include paper and plastic. Paper can not be directly contacted with dairy products, it must be combined with other materials in order to achieve the requirements of food packaging, composite paper recycling more difficult. Plastics are generally bottled and shipped to dairy filling plants. The transportation costs are high, and the air is mainly transported. In the process of transportation, it is desirable to cause pollution and affect food safety.

Eklin vertical pot-type equipment has the following characteristics: This new type of vertical packaging, not only in the packaging material on the use of a unique calcium carbonate as the main raw material, and advanced sealing process, after opening so that yogurt does not In contact with air, the freshness of the yoghurt can be maintained to the utmost; the unique inflatable handle overcomes the drawbacks of the soft packaging and makes the pouring of yogurt more convenient. Not only that, Ecolean packaging also has the characteristics of less yoghurt residue, small size and easy recycling compared with traditional packaging.

Reporter: Please talk specifically about how Ecolean packaging reflects environmental protection and safety.

Johnson: Ecolean has always wanted to develop a packaging material that has no impact on the environment as much as possible. Ecolean calls it sustainable packaging. The current Ecolean material is such a sustainable packaging material. The main material is calcium carbonate, commonly known as chalk, derived from nature, accounting for 70%. The adhesive is PP material extracted from natural gas, accounting for 30% of the proportion of environmental PP material. The product is no longer crunchy, increases the flexibility of the material, color stability, bright colors, can replace paper. The food contact quality of PP is very good, as long as it is strictly processed in accordance with the requirements of PP, is completely safe for food packaging. In addition, from the perspective of environmental pollution, PP and PE are the least harmful of all plastic products.

Ecolean materials degrade faster than other materials and can be rapidly degraded by direct contact with ultraviolet light in the sun. Experiments have been carried out to place it along the railways from Shanghai to Beijing. Three months later, the packaging has been broken down into small pieces of white, the texture is very brittle, the adhesive is oxidized, and calcium carbonate has returned to nature. Calcium carbonate is good for the soil and its pH is about 10, which can neutralize the state of acidification of the soil caused by acid rain.

Ecolean's environmental protection also reflects the total energy consumption in the packaging manufacturing life cycle and the total emissions of air, water and soil. For example, for every waste produced from 1 kilogram of different materials, 43 liters of paperboard and 5 liters of polypropylene, while Ecolean materials only have 1.5 liters. For each kilogram of energy needed to produce 1 kilogram of different materials, Ecolean materials consume energy. 15 megajoules, while paperboard consumes 49 megajoules and aluminum is 220 megajoules.

Ecolean products achieve the goal of ensuring food safety through the following aspects: At Ecolean, Tianjin, we abide by Swedish hygiene regulations and food safety regulations concerning the production of food packaging materials; minimizing the exposure time of food contact surfaces in the air = Ensure a high degree of hygienic condition of the food contact surface; Ecolean packaging material is rich in calcium carbonate instead of plastic = reduced odor; calcium carbonate does not induce deterioration of the packaging contents, and plastic products more or less have this effect Ecolean's processing technology keeps the process low-temperature = reduced odor; high-temperature processing can lead to plastic degradation resulting in odor, and reduce the freshness of the contents of the package.

Reporter: Please analyze the advantages of Ecolean products from two aspects: the end consumer and the food packaging company.

Johnson: The Ecolean packaging approach has many benefits for businesses and consumers. For the enterprise, it has a unique packaging design. The packaging is displayed on the shelves of supermarkets, attracting attention, and can be placed vertically. The seal is good to ensure hygienic and high-performance insulation. There are also many advantages for consumers. Since the packaged product is usually a viscous liquid product, with this unique package you can easily pour out the contents; throwing empty packages into the trash is only a small percentage. Space and weight; even if there are only a few products left in the packaging, the packaging with inflatable handles can still be placed in the refrigerator upright; in addition, knowing that you are buying an environmentally friendly packaging, you can be environmentally friendly and Future generations contribute.

Source: China Soft Packaging