M-real showed high-performance cartonboards with excellent sensory properties at ProSweets 2009

02/02/2009
Press release 02.02.2009

Increasing consumer awareness of food safety combined with market demands for
longer shelf life set high standards for confectionery packaging.  M-real, one
of Europe's leading producers of primary fibre cartonboards was able to advise
visitors to Prosweets 2009 on the best way to control the sensory properties of
packaging materials and ensure that products are kept free from unwanted taint
and odour. 

M-real also showed its range of cartonboards designed with properties
especially for the confectionery market, including Carta Solida and Simcote. 
All are made from pure virgin fibre, sourced from sustainable, well managed
forests.  They are manufactured under the highest environmental and safety
standards, with ISO 22000 certification held by all its mills, 

“Our customers are very aware of their responsibilities towards the consumer in
respect of health and safety, and we are continuously developing our products
in order to help them do this,” said Tiina Karppinen, Research & Development
Manager for M-real Consumer Packaging.  “As well as protecting confectionery
from external contamination, we have to ensure that the packaging is itself not
a source of substances affecting the sensory properties of the food and be safe
to come into contact with it.” 

M-real described how its manufacturing processes reduce the likelihood of taint
and odour arising from its boards, including choosing pulp and coating
chemicals that have minimal influence, and taking care of the cleanliness of
the manufacturing process.  A good example is BCTMP (bleached
chemi-thermo-mechanical pulp), used in M-real's Carta Solida, a pulp that
ensures excellent sensory properties thanks to its high purity. 

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 reliable. 

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.
 M-real's boards also offer very high consistency and printability, increasing
efficiency throughout the value chain. 

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. 
                          

Link to photo:
http://databank.metsaliitto.com/metsaliitto/mreal.jsp?x=6056552&i=11117814558377
146991715611328226135175 

For further information please contact M-real Consumer Packaging:

Ritva Mönkäre, Marketing Manager
Mobile +358 (0)50 598 7012
E-mail: ritva.monkare(at)m-real.com