Meat + Poultry - September 2010 - 109

Packaging Solutions

Nature provides
NatureWorks' plantbased packaging
material gives
processors green
options
BY LYNN PETRAK
meatpoultry@sosland.com

ed, white .....and green. This is
the increasingly popular color
scheme of today's protein market,
as red meat and white meat
products are produced and
merchandised using green
practices and materials.
While Earth-friendly approaches are evident throughout
the farm-to-plate chain, the packaging side of the business has been
a significant focus of the drive toward sustainability. Processors are
investigating and using more renewable and recyclable materials in the
packaging of a range of products,
from fresh to frozen to cooked proteins, and for a variety of features -

"Processors are
investigating and using
more renewable and
recyclable materials in
the packaging of a
range of products."
from outer packaging and overwrap
to trays and absorbent pads.
Trays serve an important function
in the merchandising of fresh-meat
products, providing barrier production
for quality and food-safety purposes,
along with aesthetic appeal for minimum purge and maximum eye appeal.
Today's meat and poultry processors
also are taking a new look at this pack-

NatureWorks
offers a series of
commercially available
polymers derived from annually renewable plant materials for use in trays and pads. (Photo
courtesty of NatureWorks)

aging element as part of their efforts to
use more sustainable materials.
Some trays and accompanying absorbent pads are made with substances
derived from the Earth just as much
as, say, the meat and poultry itself.
For example, NatureWorks LLC, an
independent company wholly owned
by Cargill, is the fi rst supplier to offer a series of commercially available
polymers derived 100 percent from
annually renewable plant materials
for use in trays and pads, along with
other packaging applications.

How sweet it is
Minnetonka, Minn.-based NatureWorks LLC uses its technology in the
processing of natural-plant sugars to
create a proprietary polylactide polymer marketed under the brand names
NatureWorks PLA and Ingeo fiber.
Both offer a variety of applications in
the meat and poultry industry.

88 * Meat&Poultry * September 2010 * www.MeatPoultry.com

According to Doug Kunnemann,
business director for NatureWorks'
Food Serviceware and Food Packaging businesses, there are more than
15 grades of Ingeo fiber available to
processors. "Each grade has different
characteristics, which make it suitable for various applications, such as
foodservice ware, fresh-food packaging - such as meat and poultry trays -
textiles and consumer goods, among
others," he explains.
The biopolymer is versatile, too,
in that applications can be clear as
well as opaque, flexible and rigid. The
resulting gloss is similar to polystyrene and resists grease and oil, while
also offering an odor barrier and heat
sealabity, according to Kunnemann.
In addition, trays made with Ingeo
plant-based fiber can be made in a
variety of colors, depending on processors' needs and product lines.
Beyond the fact the material is
made from renewable materials,
Kunnemann notes this type of packaging material is green in other ways.
"Biopolymers like Ingeo can offer a

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Meat + Poultry - September 2010

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