Radish in paper flowpack for French market

As Europe prepares legislation to shrink the plastic mountain, some countries do not think it is going fast enough. They have already picked up the gauntlet, France leading the way. Dutch and Belgian AGF companies with customers in France also have to adapt. For instance, vegetable supplier Versland now packs its radishes in a paper flow pack designed by Argos. 

After a ban came into force in France on 1 January 2022 on the sale of a number of fruits and vegetables in plastic - except for packaging over 1.5 kilos - the law was meanwhile further adjusted and tightened. From 1 January this year, there is no escape. Yet there are some exceptions: fully ripe fruit - where the risk of spoilage is too high - and 29 types of fruit and vegetables, including fresh herbs, some types of salad, asparagus, mushrooms, broccoli and soft fruit. Meanwhile, for stone fruit, grapes or cherry tomatoes, to name a few, plastic punnets or cups are out of the question in France. 
 

Packaging can be done on the existing machines

The radishes that Versland, a total vegetable supplier from Poeldijk, packaged for a supermarket in the French market have also been in paper bags instead of the familiar foil for a few months now. "We got the question from France," says Ed Koelewijn, "where retailers have to look for alternatives to plastic. And then, of course, paper comes to mind. But that is not without its problems, because paper is more expensive than plastic and, it has to be said, it also travels a little slower on packaging machines.  
On the plus side, the packaging can be used on existing machines, provided some modifications are made. We are already working with this type of packaging for other parties, because the trend is clear." 

Visibility important

Although it is still early to make definitive statements, Ed generally hears that fruits and vegetables, when fully visible, such as in plastic packaging, sell slightly better than when part of the product is hidden from view. "Anyway, law is law. No one can get away from that. However, it would be easier if it were regulated at European level, now each country still has its own regulations, which is difficult." 

That visibility is important, packaging producer and designer of this new paper flowpack Argos Packaging & Protection knows all too well. The bag of brown virgin paper with attractive full-colour printing - in collaboration with Versland and the end customer, the packaging was designed so that it does not differ much from the design of the original plastic flowpack - leaves enough space for a cellulose window. 
 

Test days

"We have been working on this product for more than two years," says Martijn Dammers, marketing manager of Argos, which produces packaging and protective materials for multiple sectors from Honselersdijk, including ornamental horticulture, AGF, construction, retail and food and non-food. "In 2022, a network of interested parties in this product was built through our test days. Versland was also a guest and, like other invitees from the AGF sector and packaging industry, was able to pack a sample of their own brought fruit and vegetables on the vertical and horizontal packers displayed for the occasion." 

Versland packed radishes there as a test and took them home, where the packaging was subjected to an examination and in the following days, shelf-life performance was also closely monitored. A year later, the application came and the paper flowpack packaging was actually delivered. 


 

Good shelf life

"We get feedback from Versland that the shelf life is at least equal to that of the plastic flowpack," states Miquel van den Ende, Sustainability & Innovation Specialist at Argos. "In other countries, where carrots and potatoes are packed in our FSC®-certified (FSC-C158067) paper flowpack packaging, tests indicate that the shelf life is even better than that of traditional packaging solutions. Although we always advise customers to test properly first, because one chain is not the other."

"Now we are in talks with several parties to carry out tests with other products. At the Berlin trade fair, there was a lot of interest in this kind of material. Interest is becoming more and more concrete, not only from France, where legislation is reducing plastic, but also from Belgium, for example, where demand is more likely to come from retail and consumers themselves. If you want to get rid of plastic, you quickly end up with a paper version like this," says Miquel.

Argos' paper flowpack packaging is fully recyclable and can go with the paper waste stream, including the cellulose window. This sustainable mono-packaging is a circular solution produced from a single raw material type, greatly simplifying the recycling process. (PB/PDC)