Rigid foil packaging for fish available to whole market

By Rory Harrington

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Cardboard Norway

An innovative concept in fish packaging that provides added barrier protection is now available to the whole market after the expiration of an exclusive two-year deal with one company, said Sudpack Verpackungen.

The German firm said its Ecostar rigid foil film used for premium fresh fish packaging broke the mould in 2008 when it worked with Norwegian dairy firm Tine to develop the solution in place of the usual tubular bag and cardboard slipcase.

Unique

Geir-Inge Overa, of Sudpack Scandinavia, adapted the packaging to use Ecostar for the lower film together with a double barrier polyester-based composite film for salmon fillets. The packaging company and representatives from Tine said they had has to work hard to overcome initial resistance within the dairy outfit – which involved developing new equipment to form the foil, as well as implementing a staff retraining programme.

While the packaging was well-established in the meat and cheese sectors, this had been the first time it had been used for fish, Overa told FoodProductionDaily.com

“Using it in this form, for salmon fillets and as a replacement for bag and tray was unique at that time,”​ he added. “The product has been on the market for two years. Until now Tine had the right to use the material exclusively. Now we are free to sell it to other companies with same or similar applications as well.”

Brussels launch

The most innovative aspect of the packaging is that it uses rigid film as the bottom web – eliminating the need for carton backboard. The silver foil also gives the pack a “very high quality look”,​ said Overa.

The company said the packaging is “slightly more expensive”​ than the traditional bag and cardboard packaging - but that the Ecostar offers greater hygiene and barrier control – attributes it noted are “underestimated in some part of the industry”.

Sudpack announced the availability of the system to the sector at last week’s Seafood Processing Europe trade show in Brussels.

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