Sustainable Artificial Casings for the Meat Industry
T
he usage of plastic for packaging has been under discussion for a long time already. Predominantly the fact of (micro) plastic in the environment is calling for a reduction of plastic usage in general. However, plastic food packaging is helping in the enormous challenge of fighting food waste, while having a lower carbon footprint over its lifetime in comparison to other packaging materials. According to the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021, an estimated 17 % of the total global food production was wasted in 2019 (https://www.unep.org/resources/report/unep-food-wasteindex-report-2021). In addition to the plastic casing’s inherent benefit of preserving the enclosed foodstuff for a long shelf-life and thus reducing food waste, the new EFAN line is helping to reduce the use of fossil-based raw materials while at the same time avoiding the depletion of natural resources and reducing the accumulating plastic waste. The EFAN product line represents an important pillar of Viscofan’s commitment to a sustainable world, in which the impact onto the environment is reduced as much as possible without affecting the high standard of quality of our products. By closely working with raw material providers and customers and also in line with the Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste, aiming e.g. to reduce plastic waste and support the transition to a circular plastics economy, certified plastic casings
are now offered which are fulfilling one or more of the following properties: a) H ave lower specific weight without affecting their performance. b) A re made with raw materials which are attributed to renewable resources – the so-called bio-based plastics. c) Are made with raw materials which are attributed to the advanced recycling of used plastic (also known as chemical recycling), the used plastic coming either from industry or from consumers. Plastics made from bio-based sources or from chemical recycling are, at molecular level, the same as their fossil-based versions. Only the source of the initial raw material changes: from oil or natural gas to agricultural waste or used plastic, respectively. As being similar primary raw materials, they can be all fed to the same chemical reactors that produce plastics, and keep the same properties of their fossil-based counterparts, including the same level of food-contact approval. Therefore, the casings made with such materials behave in the same manner as conventional fossil-based casings, but come with an increased sustainability. As of today, the supply of bio-based and chemically recycled feedstock is limited in comparison to the fossil fuel feedstock. Continued on page 10
8
BlockTalk - Summer 2021
www.meatpoultryon.ca
