A new option that PerfoTec has developed is for top seal packaging, which has been on the rise in the retail channel in recent years.
Tholen – Sea freight of Dutch peppers to the United States, Mexican asparagus to Europe and broccoli from Australia to Taiwan; until recently it was considered impossible in the fresh produce sector. However, thanks to a new technological innovation, it is the order of the day. PerfoTec developed a special biodegradable foil. This foil is naturally water vapor permeable and in combination with the PerfoTec Laser perforation, it has the right properties to properly control the atmosphere. “Compared to the previous fossil standard films, we have gone from an extension of a few days to a 40% longer shelf life. This provides the producers with an enormous cost advantage, but also results in significant CO2 savings throughout the chain,” says director Bass Greenway.
Left: conventional packaging, 5% weight loss day 18
Right: PerfoTec LinerBag and Laser Perforation, 2% weight loss, day 28
The unique thing about PerfoTec, according to Bas, is that the company provides a total package for all aspects of Controlled Atmosphere (CA) and shelf life extension. “In the market there are many companies that do something with ethylene, gas flushing, foil or laser perforation. We are the only company in the world that combines and masters all aspects. The combination of the special properties of the material and the laser perforation ensure that products are put into a dormant state. Normally, ‘sweat formation’ occurs, which results in all kinds of problems with fungi and bacteria. Our CA liner bag prevents this problem.”
Extra shelf life of two weeks
“This has been preceded by an incredible amount of preparation and research. We have built a database with respiration rates per product, both in the field of processed and unprocessed fruit and vegetables. This has ensured that we have a responsible and making sustainable sea freight of fruit and vegetables possible.After all, with an extra shelf life of sometimes up to four weeks you can reach almost the whole world.Compared to other systems, we can extend the shelf life in the PerfoTec LinerBag by two weeks even after arrival. we are not fully developed, but we do have a product that can make the entire chain more sustainable.”
“In the past year, among other things, we sold quite a few LinerBags to Dutch bell pepper growers, who can bridge a sea freight of 25 days thanks to our packaging, which is ideal for export to North America. Of course, the price level has to be interesting for export. to distant destinations, but in any case we have shown that the quality of the product after arrival is identical to that of air freight, which gives the sector a huge cost advantage.For products such as leeks and Brussels sprouts, which were previously sent by air freight, we have now a cost-effective solution.”
Proven technology
“In fact, the benefits apply to all fruit and vegetable products,” says Bas. “Only vine tomatoes are an exception to this. We see that a small fungus can develop on the truss and we have not yet tackled those problems, but we have proven technology for all other fruit and vegetable products! Everyone wants to see for themselves first. see whether the technology works for their own product. And rightly so, so many shelf life techniques have come on the market and disappeared over the years that people first want to determine whether they are correct. That is why we offer users a low-threshold validation process, so that they see the effects with your own eyes.”
“Last year we started mainly in our home market, the Netherlands, because of Corona, but importers and exporters in the United States, South America and Australia are already showing a lot of interest,” says Bas. He has sufficient capacity to deliver quickly. “Anyone can order the PerfoTec LinerBags in the desired numbers with a delivery time of 4 to 8 weeks. We have started a collaboration with Oerlemans Plastic for this.
We supply the laser perforation machine and extensive knowledge about the respiration (gas permeability) of the products and we have the large production volumes of the liner bags are housed at Oerlemans Packaging, which produces the packaging film according to the correct functional properties such as thickness and composition of the material. This enables us to deliver large volumes super efficiently.”
CO2 savings
“And the knife cuts both ways. Both sea and air freight of fruit and vegetables are often accompanied by quality problems on arrival. Failure percentages between 5 and 20% are very common. Often the result is that rejection leads to stress and expensive purchasing, because in all the panic extra product has to be arranged.
At the same time, you often see these costs not translated into the annual accounts of companies, because they are written off as a reduction in the purchase price. But the CO2 emissions of this failure are also unnecessary “Just think about the actions that preceded the harvest. You now see that multinationals are being tackled on their CO2 use. I expect that question will eventually reach other companies, including the fresh produce sector. “
Left: Clamshell packaging, day 8
Right: PerfoTec C+ Film top seal and Laser Perforation, day 8
A new option that PerfoTec has developed is for top seal packaging, which has been on the rise in the retail channel in recent years. “Of many products that are top-sealed, the protective atmosphere at the end of the shelf life is often not in order. In collaboration with the Israeli company TIPA, we have now developed a top seal with the same function as our liner bags, so that the products last longer. It ensures a longer shelf life and freshness, which results in less loss of quality, so less food waste and cost savings for producers and retailers.”
O2Control
For cutting plants in particular, PerfoTec developed the gas flush system O2Control with a patented gas tube that can be used on all types of packaging machines. “This is a godsend for processors of, for example, iceberg lettuce and Romaine for fast food chains. We ensure that every packaging receives exactly the right percentage of oxygen, which prevents discolouration. The advantage is that the system also contributes to increasing the packaging speed. for this together with a number of suppliers of vertical packaging machines and tray sealers, they see it as an extension of their equipment and an extra quality assurance for their customers.”
Will the retail sector eventually demand such a shelf-life-extending solution from its suppliers? “We have already seen an example of this in the United Kingdom, but when something is imposed it often has something negative in it. We prefer that producers see for themselves that they can’t ignore it. Of course there are extra costs in some cases but it is good to see that retailers and their suppliers realize that this is more than compensated by less shrink and better customer satisfaction. This reduces CO2 emissions throughout the chain. We therefore expect the sector to new techniques as a matter of course”, Bas concludes ambitiously.
For more information:
Bas Groeneweg
PerfoTec
www.perfotec.com
