From government investments in net-zero economies to growing consumer spending on sustainable products, food contact parts manufacturers face pressure to adopt a sustainable and circular economy. Timeline pressures, regulation changes and complex global supply chains can increase cost and risk for companies pursuing these new opportunities in the marketplace. There is a quick and simple way for you to de-risk your business.
Set to consume nearly $10 trillion in goods and services by 2030, Asia’s fast-growing middle class fuels demand for time-and space-saving appliances and sustainable kitchenware. Globally, consumers have been investing in smart homes and kitchen remodels, along with upgraded kitchenware, coffee makers and cooking appliances to more durable, comfortable and eco-friendly models. For you – food contact parts manufacturers – these trends signal a growing need for innovative, more sustainable and higher performance food contact materials.
With the recent surging energy and logistics prices combined with material shortages and widespread supply chain disruptions, you may have been struggling to keep your production lines open and keep costs under control – especially because of stringent requirements for material-based, safe-for-use assessments.
Consequently, you might face increased time pressure to deliver new products. For instance, you and other food contact manufacturers may have already experienced the stress and inconvenience when a program is fast-tracked by an unexpected need for design modifications or a new material. Now, you may be more likely to have your parts recalled because they are not in compliance or fail.
To enable product innovations and roll them out quickly, you need to keep up with the speed of innovation, sustainability adoption and change in the market. Meanwhile, you face a race against time to evaluate decisions. You may discover that the new design brings new material requirements, or the materials need to comply with new regulations. Often you must move towards higher-performing or safer materials than you are currently using to fit in the chosen design and still meet the launch dates.
Despite challenges in the market, there are also opportunities for growth. However, if manufacturers don’t change their material approach, they risk losing their competitive edge. To thrive, you need a strong materials partner with reliable materials that can help you speed up.
We can help you de-risk your operations with safe, sustainable and reliable material solutions for your food contact applications. Besides offering a broad range of materials for appliances, packaging, kitchenware and industrial applications, we combine in-depth material expertise with advanced engineering, part design, prototyping and cost assessment support to help you lower the risks for your operations and bring top-quality components to the market faster.
As your trusted partner, we help you accelerate your material replacement projects and tailor your contingency plans to local needs and lead times. Plus, our improved regulatory service gives you quicker safe-for-use assessments so you can start improving your success rate, while saving time and money.
We can also help you navigate sustainable choices and offer you more reliable materials. For example, when European startup DiFold needed a sustainable material for its foldable Origami Bottle, we helped them use Arnitel® Eco, a durable, water-safe solution made from a plant-based material that is soft, yet stiff enough to be folded repeatedly without damage. Using our sustainability, regulatory and technical services in Europe and China, we helped DiFold bring this product to market on time and with consistent quality.
As part of our commitment to preserve our planet for future generations, we launched the Simply Circular™ initiative in 2022 to help our customers rethink their manufacturing processes. Our sustainability work with kitchen appliance manufacturers has helped them reduce their carbon footprint and make appliances suitable for cradle-to-cradle certification.
Beyond its superior conditioned mechanics and stain resistance, EcoPaXX® PA410 helps kitchen utensil manufacturers position sustainable articles and reduce the compliance risk of cyclic polyamide oligomers. When compared to standard PA66 materials, partially bio-based PA410 reduces the CO 2 footprint by 50%. Further, kitchen utensils made with EcoPaXX® let companies comply to the strict German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) regulations on cyclic polyamide oligomers – whereas PA66-based kitchen utensils often do not. BfR recommends that consumers keep contact with food as brief as possible when using PA66 kitchen utensils, especially at temperatures above 70°C/158°F.
Partnering with us can help you develop your designs to operate in a sustainable and circular way. We do this by helping you focus on sustainable sourcing, simple solutions, and eco-friendly designs – alternatives that can decrease harmful impacts to the environment.
Market Development Manager at Envalior
After obtaining his Ph.D. in supramolecular and organic chemistry, Pim Janssen began his career at Envalior as a chemist for the engineering plastics Akulon (PA6) and the biobased EcoPaXX (PA410). He also spent a few years in product development and program management for high temperature polyamides ForTii (PPA), Stanyl (PA46), EcoPaXX (PA410) and Xytron (PPS). In 2018, he joined the business management team as market development manager for water and food contact, industrial applications, and to develop a unreinforced PPA portfolio.
31 October 2023
Food contact safety standards in the kitchen
