Eight organizations from across the European Union have jointly developed a varnish that can withstand exposure to antimicrobial, oxygen and water vapor, and be beneficial for food packaging.
The project, entitled Svarnish, was the brainchild of various EU countries who have pooled their resources in terms of research centers and companies. The initiative, kicked off in October 2013, will mark its conclusion in August.
Oxygen-moisture barriers and mechanical resistance have been found to be instrumental in determining the quality of food packaging products.
Suited to the requirement of food sector, the project, funded by European Union's Seventh Framework Program, aims at cutting packaging prices by around 20% and minimizing waste material by 8-10%.
The project will suggest methods to reduce the manufacturing time, energy consumption and food waste by 50%. The project eyes recycling 85% of the films used in food packaging.
Traditionally, multilayer structures, which are expensive and difficult to recycle, have been deployed by food packaging industry for providing different properties and functionalities.
It is estimated that the food sector shells out $84bn a year on food packaging and processing, while 8% of what is spent for packaging is being borne by consumers.
The organizations taking part in the project are Technological Centers AIDO (Spain), Matri (UK), Nofima (Norway), Artibal (Spain), A.Hatzopoulos (Greece), Snano (Turkey), Aroma Praha (Czech Republic), and Ferrero Spa (Italy).
