The recent increased interest in the consumer wellness movement for more wholesome food and ingredients has made major companies like Nestle and Kraft jump on the trend by eliminating artificial ingredients. Now food and beverage companies are looking at food packaging as the next big step in food safety. Back in the early years of 2000, many groups representing concerned consumers began questioning the use of bisphenol A, BPA, in baby bottles and other food and beverage containers. Then in 2012, the FDA placed a ban on BPA in drinking cups and baby bottles. After that, a number of studies were conducted that claim BPA is safe. Despite the studies that have been conducted, the general public doesn’t believe that BPA is safe enough for food and beverage packaging. In 2015 United States consumers have growing concerns about food safety and the safety of their food’s packaging. The FDA has recently raised the bar for safe food and beverage packing to include even newer additives. Addivant, a company that specializes in UV stabilizers, polymer modifiers, and antioxidants spent the last seven year researching and testing their new WESTON 705 nonylphenol-free, liquid phosphite antioxidant additive for use in polyethylene films. Several food packaging companies have began testing WESTON 705 because they want to move away from nonylphenol additives in their packaging materials. “We are very excited with the additive’s progress in global commercial production trials,” says Peter Smith, president of commercial operations for Addivant. “The market is responding to greater consumer demands for packaging materials that meet today’s FDA and global regulatory standards and support the trend of healthier foods.” This new additive had to be compliant with the safety requirements of the FDA and it also needed meet global packaging regulations. Then Addivant had to focus on sustainability. The company then eliminated the use of solvents during production. Addivant then had to create a liquid, not a powder-based, application in order to improve overall product quality. To enhance the performance of the WESTON 705, Addivant created it to enable ideal resin processing, allowing for even greater extrusion output, meaning less downtime to improve costs throughout the supply chain. WESTON 705 also helps to protect the polymer from degrading due to heat and exposure to other elements of the environment.
New Food Packaging Additive WESTON 705
