M-real shows high-performance & innovative cartonboards for confectionery packaging  

M-real Corporation press release 1 February 2010 at 11.45 EET

M-real shows high-performance & innovative cartonboards for confectionery packaging

Confectionery consumers are longing for a treat and expecting a touch of luxury, holding true even in today’s trying times.  As demonstrated at ProSweets by M-real, one of the world’s leading primary fibre paperboard producers, packaging plays a major role in meeting these requirements.  With tempting design, packaging sends out signals to attract consumers, yet at the same time it has to be sustainable, cost-efficient and functional.  Additional vital requirements for confectionery packaging are food safety as well as taste and odour neutrality, making innovative cartonboards with high-tech qualities the obvious choice.

M-real’s board grades, Carta Solida and Simcote, are designed to meet the high requirements of demanding food products.  These primary fibre grades are produced using renewable raw materials from sustainably managed forests and can be recycled.  Production is subject to the most stringent environmental and safety standards.  “All M-real production plants are ISO 22000 certified,” explains Nina Happonen, Manager Environment and Sustainability, M-real Consumer Packaging.

M-real’s range of packaging boards has undergone continuous development.  They have been light weighted so that they now offer the same properties of stiffness and bulk as heavier conventional grades but in lower substances.  This means they can be specified for confectionery packaging without losing a quality feel, but result in cost savings and benefits to the environment through lighter transport weights and less waste at the end of their lifecycle.

Lightweighting has been achieved by investment in improved manufacturing processes, such as at the Simpele mill where Simcote is made. M-real is also a forerunner in the development of a new type of pulp, bleached chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp (BCTMP), that combines light weight with high purity in M-real’s Carta Solida.

Reducing the weight of a board also lowers its carbon footprint at least in proportion to its basis weight.  A 15% reduction in board weight equates to a 18% reduction in carbon footprint, which is important to users concerned about sustainability.  If they can specify a lighter weight board, provided all criteria regarding stiffness and performance are met, their own carbon footprint will diminish accordingly. In addition, M-real can provide individual product-orientated carbon footprint calculations for its customers.

M-real has also tightened its tolerances to be the tightest in the trade, ensuring better consistency in board quality. This results in clear savings and improves sustainability. For example, in board thickness M-real’s target value for consistency is plus or minus 3%, compared to the 5% considered the norm in the industry. Variations in thickness lead to inconsistency in printing results, as well as stoppages and waste in converting and packing lines.

Increasing consumer awareness of food safety combined with market demands for longer shelf life set high standards for confectionery packaging. “It is vital that food packaging contains no substances that might change the sensory properties of the product or are harmful when in contact with it,” says Nina Happonen. M-real’s manufacturing processes reduce the likelihood of taint and odour arising from its boards, by choosing pulp and coating chemicals that have minimal influence, and maximising cleanliness in production.

In addition, M-real runs a programme of testing boards for taint and odour, primarily by a panel of assessors working to common European standards.  With regular calibration of its sensory panels and taint tests in its laboratories, M-real’s results can be considered as highly reliable.

Link to photo: http://databank.metsaliitto.com/metsaliitto/mreal.jsp?x=6063916&i=9423314940979821473482196199196248410

Notes to editors:
M-real’s primary fibre based cartonboards recommended for food packaging, available globally through M-real’s sales and logistics network, include:

Carta Solida Fully coated bleached paperboard (BCTMP) with white back. Recommended for most demanding and direct contact confectionery packaging. Available in 185-320 gsm.
Simcote Fully coated folding boxboard (GC2). Recommended for confectionery and food packaging. Available in 205-340 gsm.

For further information please contact M-real Consumer Packaging:
Ritva Mönkäre, Marketing Manager
Mobile +358 (0)50 598 7012
E-mail: ritva.monkare@m-real.com