Cellophane™ Brings Big Savings to Fresh Yeast Producer
Date: 5 December 2005
Latin America’s leading producer of fresh yeast has cut water loss from its product by nearly 50% after switching to Cellophane™ from waxed paper packaging.AB Brasil now wraps all its Fleischmann yeast in Cellophane™ 360MSB from Innovia Films and says product quality and shelf life have been improved as a result.
The company, part of Associated British Foods plc, has also been able to cut energy costs by reducing storage temperatures from -11˚C to -5˚C following the move to Cellophane™.
The white Cellophane™ MSB used by AB Brasil is rapidly becoming the industry standard for yeast wrapping in Latin America.
Manufactured from renewable wood pulp, it is coated to provide a high barrier to moisture and gases to control the amount of carbon dioxide (CO²) and water (H²O) produced within the pack during stocking and distribution. This ensures the activity of the yeast is maximised when it comes to be used.
Cellophane™ MSB also provides a good strong seal without the need for excessive pressure or heat so there is no risk of burning the yeast at the packing stage which would damage both product and pack appearance.
The film has a crisp, glossy appearance and can be printed using all the conventional printing processes.
Cellophane™ handles well on high speed packing lines. The Fleischmann 500g packs are, for instance, wrapped at some 65 packs/min. It has a wide operating window for heat sealing, controlled slip and its lack of resistance to cutting means reduced knife wear.
Equally important, Cellophane™ offers a complete bacteriological barrier which is essential because fresh yeast is highly susceptible to all kinds of external contaminants. Micro-perforated plastics or highly porous paper wrappers provide very limited protection from microbiological contamination, whilst Cellophane™ keeps yeast free from external impurities.
Adds Innovia Films Market Manager for Speciality Packaging Films Clare McKeown: “Wrapping a live product like fresh yeast means protecting it from contamination whilst at the same time controlling the amount of water and oxygen it produces. It’s a challenge requiring a range of technical packaging properties which few materials can match. “
