The DeLight tray from Stora Enso has what’s described as a PET coating on its food-contact side. Attractive graphics are printed on an offset press before the flat material goes into a forming machine. Hukkanen backflushes the trays with a mix of CO 2 and Nitrogen and then on a Sealpac system heat seals a clear nylon/EVOH lidding material, a Bialon 65MSLAF, supplied by Wipak. Refrigerated shelf life is 11 days, and the 17.6-oz portion costs about $7.92.
This is said to be the first MAP package from Stora Enso that can withstand a conventional oven, where the salmon in this case is cooked at 200 deg C for 20 min. Microwave cooking time is about 4 min.
"We just introduced this packaging format in October of this year,” says Toni Hukkanen, purchasing manager at V. Hukkanen Oy. “It’s our first use of such material. We’ve used foil or plastic trays with film lidding, and we’ve used vacuum packaging, too. But this is made from a renewable resource and is recyclable, so we like where it stands from a sustainable packaging standpoint. We also think it’s very attractive, so we’ll watch it closely and see how it does.”
