The quality of the FSC certified raw materials combined with the knowledge of the papers has allowed LIC Packaging to develop this winning project and use it on the market with companies such as Giovanni Rana, for its line of “Pasta Kit” ready meals.
(video: Giovanni Rana)
The consumer’s request: hygiene, food safety and less plastic
From this was born the LIC intuition: to create in 2015 the ECO&FOOD business line dedicated to contain food in direct contact with pure cellulose papers from certified forests that guarantee hygiene and food safety so that become the true option to the disposable plastics use.
Recent market researches show that today the consumer is more and more aware of the plastic invasion in food, water and air and would even be willing to increase the selling price by Industry and Distribution to discourage its use. The consumer ecological sensitivity is increasingly high and that’s why the LIC Packaging proposal is very current and is finding wide consensus.
HT Board packaging, multifunctional and really sustainable: how and why
Wrap, carry, cook and Eat food
Thanks to the know how on innovative materials and to the study of the market by the R&D Team of LIC Packaging, an innovative corrugated board specific for the direct food contact has been born: HT Board, a revolutionary material as nature intended. HT Board packaging was born from the need and conviction to offer solutions in pure virgin paper not only able to pack food but also to carry, cook and eat food in a single pack.
Custom solution: challenge for large scale food industry
Thanks to this unique material and to the experience and industrialization capacity of the production department, today ECO&FOOD business unit of LIC Packaging designs and manufactures custom solutions able to meet the food industry needs large-scale retail trade, which are also called upon to face the sustainability challenge and pushed by a final consumer who is increasingly aware and sensitive to this issue.
Recyclable and compostable
HT Board is totally recyclable in the paper chain because is monomaterial and received the biodegradability and compostability certification according to EN 13432.
Certified Tests for direct food contact
With a view to selling HT Board primary packaging especially in the ready meals and take-away sectors which are constantly growing due to the changing customer LIC Packaging has carried out various tests to verify their direct food contact conformity by an accredited laboratory simulating different test conditions in order to assess their correct use and functioning.
The cooking or heating test of food directly inside the HT Board trays were applied to refrigerated and frozen different types products. The stress test results were excellent and the trays strenght even aesthetically was optimal:
- In traditional oven up to 60′ at 250°;
- In microwave oven up to 15 minutes at 900 W.
Five different HT Board composition for different food contact solutions
To meet the customers needs belonging to different food sectors and their different product characteristics, the ECO&FOOD Team developed five different HT Board compositions that allow to increase and improve both the performance of barrier to fats, oils and liquids in general and as non-stick material. These features combined with the fact that the paper is by its nature breathable, often greatly reduce the moisture during cooking thus optimizing the process and consequently improving the quality. It therefore results in a better uniformity and a potential reduction of cooking times.
In the various compositions there is also the choice to use the Grass paper as raw material in the HT Board production with the logic to reduce its environmental impact in the world.
The Grass Paper contains up to 40% of grass fibers and to produce 1 TON of raw material there is a Co2 emission reduction of 75% in the atmosphere, energy savings up to 4,500 Kw/h and water savings up to 5,000 l because it takes only 2 l. Moreover in the grass fiber production no chemicals are used.
Value for food: protection in transport, exaltation of cooking
Really Eco Friendly solutions, performing and food certified: with the HT Board packaging material the ECO&FOOD line reached the goal of being the only cardboard packaging able to enhance food, both preserving it during transport and enhancing its cooking and heating. The FSC certified raw materials combined with the paper knowledge allowed LIC Packaging to develop this winning project.
The quality of the FSC certified raw materials combined with the knowledge of the papers has allowed LIC Packaging to develop this winning project and use it on the market with companies such as Giovanni Rana, for its line of “Pasta Kit” ready meals present on the international market and the Cigierre, an Italian company in the catering sector that manages over 300 restaurants with the Old Wild West, America Graffiti, Wiener Haus, Pizzikotto, Shi’s and Temakinho brands in Italy and Europe.
