La Piara brand Sabores Frescos (“fresh flavor”) products are said to be the first chilled paté spreads. The rectangular cups—small trays containing 125 g of paté—are transparent. Before, paté has been packaged in shelf-stable form in metal cans.
The clear, rectangular cups are thermoformed by EDV from five-layer, coextruded 56-mil PP/EVOH/PP sheet that includes tie layers of heat-resistant DuPont Bynel™. A UV barrier is added to the PP layers, as well as an anti-static added to the exterior PP.
At its plant in Manlleu, Spain, near Barcelona, Nutrexpa fills and seals the cups with all-plastic opaque lidding. The products are then sterilized, not pasteurized, at up to 122°C in a batch retort, according to EDV’s Xavier Franco, marketing & corporate development manager. The package provides a shelf life up to one year. The packaging is done on an automatic line on which the paté cups are filled and sealed and, after retorting, are overcapped and sleeved with a printed paperboard wrap that carries graphics.
Retail price for the line that includes pork and salmon paté is about U.S.$1.75. The products were launched in Spain in late 2002, and now are also sold in Portugal. The product sales growth is expected to be 25%, Franco says. The products were given Gold Award recognition.
See the story that goes with this sidebar: 2004 DuPont Award Winners
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