FOODBOARD™ Conversion Work in the Frohnleiten Mill
18.07.2014 - FOODBOARD™, Barriers, Innovations / Investments, Company / Mills
4,000 m³ of concrete laid, 40,000 metres of renewed cabling: The restructuring and expansion work in MM Karton‘s Austrian parent mill in Frohnleiten for the production of FOODBOARD™ has begun. Security of supply is guaranteed during this phase. FOODBOARD™ will be available on the market from the beginning of 2015.
With FOODBOARDTM Mayr-Melnhof Karton has developed a new, high-quality, coated recycled cartonboard with a unique functional barrier for safe food primary packaging. FOODBOARDTM protects packed food against defined, unintended substances such as mineral oils, and thereby represents a quantum leap in product safety. With additional features such as preserving the original taste and smell of the food, extending the shelf-life as well as longer crunchiness for packed food and light grease resistance properties, FOODBOARDTM is rightfully seen as „The Next Generation of Cartonboard“.
Conversion work in the Frohnleiten mill
The FOODBOARDTM investment project requires the complete conversion of the coating section on board machine 3, reinforcement of the foundations and the construction of various ancillary facilities in our Frohnleiten mill. The work is proceeding apace. At the same time, the entire drive of BM 3 is being replaced by the installation of ultra-modern servo drives. As a result, the machine will have even more effectiveness in the future as well as working with increased energy efficiency.
The entire work in Frohnleiten to convert to the „inline production“ of FOODBOARDTM will take about three months whereby the cartonboard machine will be switched off for around three weeks in November 2014. By proactively producing standard grades in high demand in advance, we will guarantee the highest possible security of supply even during the conversion phase. In addition, our proven MultiMill concept – production of specific types of cartonboard in various group locations – will secure a seamless supply of cartonboard.
FOODBOARDTM will be available on the market at the beginning of 2015 – well in time before the planned mineral oil regulation comes into force. As things are also moving from a legal point of view:
FOODBOARDTM is in full compliance with the provisions of the 3rd draft of the mineral oil regulation.
On July 24, 2014, the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) presented a further draft for the planned legislation, „22nd Amended Ordinance regarding the Commodities Regulation“ (Mineral Oil Regulation). The current draft relates to food contact materials which are produced using recovered paper materials, and it once again sets limits for the migration of MOSH (mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons) and MOAH (mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons). Indirect migration from the outer- and transport packaging is included in the limits.
Industry and associations could submit comments and suggestions regarding the draft until the middle of September 2014. Then there may be a further hearing or changes may be made to the draft. Experience shows that the EU notification process and coordination with WHO can take up to one year. This means that the regulation cannot be passed by the German parliament before the second half of 2015 at the earliest. Thereafter there will be a transition period of 24 months after promulgation.
FOODBOARDTM meets the statutory requirements announced as well as the stricter detection limits targeted by the authorities in the future. Consequently there is no need for consumer goods manufacturers or retailers to invest in and for expensive adaptations of primary and secondary packaging to prevent migration during transportation, storage and at the point of sale, as FOODBOARDTM guarantees food safety along the entire supply chain.
For further information, please contact our team of experts:
FOODBOARD@mm-karton.com
Interested? Datasheet and Samples of
FOODBOARD™ can be found here:
