Parx Plastics and Erze Ambalaj partner on antimicrobial packaging
The technology derived from bio-mimicry and free from biocides is reducing growth of Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus on the packaging, said the firms.
Parx Plastics has developed a method to make plastics/polymers antibacterial using one of the most abundant trace elements in the human body being zinc but not the metal state of the substance.
It is applying the treatment method to the material granulate and Erze mixes a small percentage of this treated granulate with their untreated material prior to production.
Erze is ready to produce with samples being tested by customers now.
Creating economical viable antimicrobial packaging
Michael van der Jagt, CEO of Parx Plastics, said the cooperation started in September last year as Erze approached it looking for ways to reduce bacteria in and on packaging products.
The firm started to look if it was able to incorporate its technology into Erze’s products and then how it would be able to do it in an economical way making it viable.
“The effect that zinc can have on bacteria is something that is known in science or biology and this is something that has been thoroughly studied by our group of scientists,” he told FoodProductionDaily.
“Taking this knowledge, ideas were developed to better make use of this biocompatible elements to incorporate it in useful solutions and products.
“The aim of the involved scientists has always been to find more sustainable and more eco and bio oriented alternatives than presently available solutions.”
It can reduce the presence of bacteria after the manufacturing of the packaging material, during transport, packaging of the food and the shelf life period.
Testing proof
Testing according to ISO 22196 by the University of Ferrara, Italy, found antibacterial performance of 92.5% against Listeria, 96% against Salmonella and up to 96.5% against Staphylococcus aureus.
This means the food packaging has 93-97% fewer bacteria on the material surface after 24 hours compared to normal packaging, according to Parx Plastics.
As the technology does not migrate, the antibacterial property is inside the material as an inert and intrinsic property and lasts forever, said van der Jagt.
“So the antibacterial property has become a permanent mechanical/physical property of the material surface. So throughout the shelf life of the product the numbers of bacteria are being reduced, creating the optimal atmosphere to the best possible shelf life.
“With this test you cover gram+ and gram- bacteria and it is a widely accepted thought that having an effect on these two bacteria will very likely give you a similar performance on other strains from the gram+ and gram- family.
“Upon request of Erze we also performed test on their products using this same protocol with bacteria like Listeria and Salmonella.”
Erze Ambalaj is the largest producer of expanding foam packaging for food in Turkey producing around 15 million trays per day from two locations.
Van der Jagt said it is applying the developed and patented treatment method onto existing materials so it is not producing plastics and does not need to treat all the material needed.
“We can make a concentrated version: we call it Saniconcentrate and this Saniconcentrate is blended in with untreated material,” he said.
“Together with Erze we have developed and tested a very highly concentrated version so that the volume of treated material that needs to blend in with untreated material is very small and hence: very economical.
“This was where the challenge laid. These packaging materials are low cost items, so we are not able to impact the cost too much otherwise it would be impossible to use the technology.”
He added looking at the concentration it has achieved for Erze, it has the capacity to make Saniconcentrate for 40,000 tons of material per month.
Contamination sources
Contamination can come from different sources during the transportation of the package material and packaging of the products.
“There has been big attention on chicken related bacteria on the outside of packaging in the UK after an alarming amount of bacteria were found on chicken packages bought from various supermarkets,” said van der Jagt.
“As the bacteria are on the outside of the packaging they can easily contaminate other food in your shopping basket. Like your apples for example and contaminate your hands.
“These bacteria end up on the outside of the packaging as they can be airborne in the production facilities and very difficult to control.”
Van der Jagt said the technology can be used for almost any kind of plastics.
“We have built up experience with HDPE, LDPE, ABS, PP, PA, PET, TPU, PET, PVC, Tritan and more. And the great thing about the technology is that it is incorporated into the material itself. So you do not need to apply a coating or do any other steps in production,” he said.
“Usually materials are coloured and therefor mixed anyway, mixing-in our technology can be done in the same way and at the same time. So a manufacturer does not encounter any additional steps in his process.”
The technology does not migrate from the packaging and is not coming onto the food, said van der Jagt.
“There is no impact on the properties of the food. The technology is due to the improved mechanical/physical property of the material surface and these are not impacting the properties of the food. We reduce the presence of bacteria on the surface, so we also reduce the presence of odour-causing bacteria.
“To confirm the stability of our plastics we have performed migration tests according to the “Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 on plastic materials and articles intended to come into contact with food”. No migration is identified.”
