Two other Silver awards for Packaging Excellence went to companies in the fresh-cut produce field, one for Ready Pac’s Milano salad, the other for Mann’s Microwaveable Vegetables. Because of the super-competitive nature of packaging fresh-cut produce, Packaging World was unable to learn many technical details about the two structures. That’s not unusual, but at least Irwindale, CA-based Ready Pac was able to share the benefits it receives from its new structure from American Packaging Corp. (Rochester, NY). Ready Pac’s Milano is a romaine-based salad mix that previously was packed in a breathable film package that yielded just 12 days of shelf life. Two years ago, the company began to switch to the APC material after testing allowed the company to mark the package for 14 days shelf life. “Originally, we switched to this material exclusively for those customers that are more distant from our plant,” says Bill Zinke, vice president of marketing for Ready Pac. Because it was only used for a small part of the Milano packaging, Zinke says the new material came at a premium price. “However, after a short period of time, we realized that the new material simply gave us a better quality, fresher product. So we converted our entire Milano production to the new material.” When the purchase volume increased, the material became a lot more cost-efficient and more economical for Ready Pac. The breathable material is a lamination using a proprietary clear OPP substrate from APC laminated to a sealant layer. The lamination also has an anti-fog coating. First, says Zinke, the substrate is unique and the complete lamination offered Ready Pac an oxygen transmission rate that it hadn’t achieved before. That’s what caused the 17% increase in shelf life, says Zinke, which was tested under “real-world” not optimum conditions.
Diners find film packs ideal for every meal course (sidebar)
Produce packs win two
Mar 31, 2001
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