A food processing firm that provides safe, innovative and environmentally friendly products, has unveiled sustainable packaging solutions for promoting safe and healthy food across the world.
The firm which is into packaging solutions production was able to achieve this feat in the midst of the rising scarcity of raw materials through ground-breaking research which is aimed to promote fiber-based sustainable and healthier food packaging.
It is hoped that this development will bring improvement in food packaging in the nearest future with special emphasis on healthy packaging, reduction in loss and waste across the African market.
Tetra Pak is in collaboration with MAX IV which is said to be the most modern synchrotron radiation laboratory in the world. This research brings to life a novel packaging solution that would achieve safe, recyclable, and more durable packaging as against liquids and humidity.
Eva Gustavsson, Vice President, Materials & Package at Tetra Pak, explained that the collaborative research outcome aims to uncover fresh insights into the nano-structure of fibre materials.
“The first application to optimize the composition of materials used for paper straws is the very first industrial research and development experiment at ForMAX—a new research station dedicated to studying materials from the forest, located at the MAX IV Laboratory in Lund, Sweden,” he said.
“A fundamental understanding of the structure and properties of materials is crucial as we work towards developing the packaging of the future. Our ambition is to provide the world’s most sustainable food package, and experiments at ForMAX will clearly support us in this mission,” he added.
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Gustavsson said that the package of the future needs to be fully recyclable and have a low environmental impact, pointing out that using renewable materials and increasing the use of fibre-based material within packages would be vital. “With this research, Tetra Pak is helping to uncover fresh insights into plant-based materials as a basis for future innovations,” he assured.
Oshiokamele Aruna, managing director, Tetra Pak West Africa, recalls that in 2021, it was reported by the Germany Machinery Association that Nigeria became the largest investor in food and packaging technology in Africa with an investment of over 346 million Euros, ahead of Egypt and South Africa.
He added that “the new foray into fibre-based food packaging would further enhance investment and open more opportunities and possibilities for willing investors into the African market agricultural value chain with packaging partnership and support from Tetra Pak.”
Kim Nygård, manager, ForMAX beamline, MAX IV, noted that the experiment conducted at ForMAX was a milestone for both academia and industry. “The research station is the first of its kind and will facilitate both fundamental and applied industrial research on how new sustainable materials can be used going forward. We are proud to support Tetra Pak in its development of sustainable packaging materials for the future,” he said.
Eskil Andreasson, Technology Specialist, Virtual Modelling at Tetra Pak, says that their first experiment, which starts with paper straws, provides additional analysis capabilities into how paper straw material responds to changes in the environment in real-time.
He added that the experiment also shows how the straw interacts with different types of liquids under stringent conditions, noting that these new insights and knowledge will be applied to developing the paper straws of the future in their virtual modelling tools, helping them to improve their functionality.
