The fiber-based ProducePack™ Punnet tray is an alternative to traditional plastic punnets for produce applications such as mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, grapes, and berries. It has been developed in close collaboration with growers, packers, and machinery suppliers to ensure that it offers a shelf-life equivalent to plastic punnets. It can be used in all common packaging environments, and is able to be used on existing tray sealers with minimal investment and with minimal disruption if changeovers between plastic and paper are required.
At Graphic Packaging, continuous improvement is one of our guiding principles. It means that we’re always looking to innovate. We seek to improve existing packaging solutions to ensure they are relevant to the widest possible customer base and can be used in the widest range of applications, without compromising the protection each individual product type requires.
To that end, an
innovative new barrier technology is now available for the ProducePack Punnet. Combined with the tray’s innovative structural design, the new varnish ensures excellent pack integrity and performance even in the most demanding, moisture-rich environments and/or with sensitive applications such as berries.
Luis Apodaca, new product development manager at Graphic Packaging spoke about the new solution, saying, “Packaging for certain fresh produce applications must be able to cope with challenging environments, such as when packing in the field or greenhouse, with high humidity or refrigeration. The enhanced moisture resistance offered by the new varnish technology, together with the robust structural design of the punnet tray, delivers a pack that performs well through the supply chain and onto the retail shelf.”
In terms of plastic content, the composition of the varnish is such that when applied on the outside of the tray it can be classed as plastic-free according to the Single-Use Plastics Directive. On the inside of the tray, the tray is free from a conventional thermoplastic barrier but cannot clearly be interpreted as plastic free as per the SUPD. From a recycling perspective, the ProducePack Punnet tray can be recycled through normal household waste streams.
Apodaca added, “We’re committed to working in close partnership with all our customers, at all levels of the supply chain, to develop solutions that truly deliver for them. And when we can further improve a solution with innovation in response to their needs, we’ll stop at nothing to do so.”
For more information: graphicpkg.com