Passionfruit packed to extend shelf life using recycled plastic

BASF SE and StePac have partnered to create sustainable packaging for shelf life extension of the fresh produce sector. BASF will supply StePac with its Ultramid Ccycled, a chemically recycled polyamide 6, providing flexibility to advance contact-sensitive packaging formats to a higher sustainable standard within the circular economy.

StePac is using the chemically recycled plastics for the packaging of fresh perishables. The company specialises in developing advanced functional packaging solutions and was recently REDcert² certified to incorporate chemically recycled polyamide 6 into its modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) products. Its two brands, Xgo and Xtend, are based on MAP technology with built-in humidity control, designed to slow respiration, delay aging processes, inhibit microbial decay and preserve the quality and nutritional value of produce during prolonged storage and shipment periods. Ultramid Ccycled will make up 30% of the packaging material, with options for integration at a higher percentage.

Colombian passionfruit exporter Jardin Exotics will be the first to use the Xgo Circular packaging brand. It will be supplied as film for horizontal form fill-and-seal and its MAP properties may slow the ripening process and help preserve the quality of the fruit in the process of exporting from Colombia to Europe.

The fruit will be packaged at-source in its final retail format, eliminating the need for repacking after arrival.

The combination of the produce-specific modified atmosphere properties of the film together with its high-water vapour transmission rate makes the film suitable for passionfruit.

Gary Ward, StePac Business Development Manager, said the partnership with BASF will create plastic packaging that is as sustainable as possible to keep produce fresh for longer.

“These upgraded packaging formats will continue to maintain their role of significantly reducing food waste, a most important task considering that global food waste is responsible for about 8% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions,” Ward said.

BASF is using ChemCycling to recycle plastic waste that would have gone to landfill or been used for energy recovery.  It complements mechanical recycling, accelerating a circular economy by yielding food-grade recycled plastic.

“In a thermochemical process, our partners obtain recycled feedstock from these end-of-life plastics, which is then fed into the BASF Verbund. Using a mass balance approach, the raw material can be attributed to specific products, such as Ultramid Ccycled,” said Dominik Winter, Vice President of BASF’s European polyamides business.

According to Winter, chemically recycled plastics have the same quality and safety as virgin material. This may help in replacing raw materials and widening the scope of plastics that can be recycled.