Ineos’ packaging film finds favor with Chinese banana farmers for shelf life extension
29 Mar 2022 --- Styrenics company Ineos Styrolution has developed a food-grade packaging film branded K-Resin DK11, which it claims is the material of choice for controlled atmosphere packaging (CAP) film applications.
K-Resin DK11 combines “excellent” clarity with toughness and high gas permeability. Furthermore, the company highlights the optimized styrenic material for CAP film packaging is ideal for extending shelf life of perishables and compliant with food contact regulations.
Ineos Styrolution says K-Resin DK11 had proven to be the ideal material for Chinese banana farmers who had been looking for an environmentally suitable packaging solution that enabled controlled ripening of bananas during transportation from Yunnan to other coastal regions in the country.
The CAP material can extend the shelf life of perishables and is food contact compliant.“Ideal” material features
The packaging solution is expected to preserve the freshness, color and integrity of the fruit. In addition, it is required to allow the fruit to organically ripen, without the use of preservatives or ripener during transportation.
K-Resin DK11 is easily processed to give a tough, high clarity film. It combines good thermal stability with high gas permeability, making it the ideal material of choice for CAP film packaging for fruits and vegetables while extending their shelf life.
K-Resin is Ineos Styrolution’s crystal-clear thermoplastic styrene-butadiene copolymer (SBC) and is known for its unique blend of sparkling clarity, impact toughness, stiffness and “exceptional” gloss.
Cross-industry applicability
With international food contact regulations compliance, the K-Resin range is an “excellent” material choice for applications requiring food-contact compliance, says the company. It has been used in a wide variety of applications ranging from packaging and toys to medical components and displays for over 40 years.
Ineos Styrolution says its range of crystal-clear thermoplastic SBC, namely K-Resin, Styrolux and Styroflex, offers a combination of high transparency and impact resistance, making them suitable for use in applications across various industries including healthcare, packaging and toys.
“The excellent gas permeability of this film allows for the organic ripening of the bananas while preserving the shelf life of the fruit especially during long cross-city state journeys,” comments Jary Liao, director for transparent specialties, Asia-Pacific.
“With the increasing tightening of plastic food contact safety compliance regulations both in China and globally, Ineos Styrolution continues to renew, improve and differentiate our portfolio and services to generate further value, ensuring fresh fruits and vegetables to the people in China and the rest of the world.” 
“The gas permeability of the film allows for the organic ripening of the bananas while preserving shelf life,” comments Liao.
Biomaterials on the rise
Relatedly, the Waste and Resources Action Programme claims to have proven that plastic packaging doesn’t necessarily prolong the life of uncut fresh produce and can actually increase food waste. The resource efficiency organization has called for an end to unnecessary plastic packaging and Best Before labels on a wide range of fresh uncut fruit and vegetables in the UK.
Other current research also focuses on the development of bioplastic films for fresh produce. Brazil and Portugal-based scientists have developed an environmentally sustainable process to produce biodegradable plastic using pigment extracted from yeast by “green” solvents.
Also, researchers at NC State University, US, have converted leftover sawdust powder and agro-residues into styrofoam-like packaging material.
By Natalie Schwertheim
