Previously, the only commercial application of the innovative Tetra Pak technology was for dog food (see packworld.com/go/c060).
Joachim Spang, managing director of Bonduelle GmbH in Homburg/Saar, Germany, believes that his firm’s embrace of the Recart technology gives them a three-year lead over the competition. The advantages gained over traditional glass jars and steel cans, he has told the European packaging press, include a fresher look, greater shelf impact, better use of cube, and ease of opening thanks to a laser-scored easy-open tear strip. He also believes the package to be easily recycled. Cost comparisons, however, were not available at press time.
Like Tetra Pak’s well-known aseptic brick pack, the Recart package is a multilayer foil/paperboard structure. It typically consists of polypropylene/paperboard/PP/ adhesive polymer/foil/adhesive polymer/PP. Also part of the Recart system is form/seal equipment developed by Tetra Pak specifically for the Recart package. Fed flat carton blanks from a magazine, it’s said to be capable of 400 packages/min. Filled cartons go through a batch retort.
Bonduelle plans to market four mixed-vegetable items selling for about 80 Euros (89 cents) per 380-g (13.4 oz) package. Shelf life is said to be 24 months. —PR
