Functionality

Home Compostable Packaging

Econic® home compostable packaging has been purpose-designed to allow eco-conscious companies reduce their impact on the environment while still retaining the same level of functionality and food safety provided by traditional plastic films. The film and finished pack shape can be customised to suit the functionality, processing and barrier requirements of most dry and some moist food items and works well for flow wrap applications. Econic packaging can include features such as four side seals, bottom gussets, home compostable zip closures, tear notches, angle seals, hang sells and degassing valves for fresh roasted coffee.

Superior Taste & Shelf-Life

The superior shelf-life provided by Econic packaging was confirmed in 2013 during a 16-week shelf life trial led by a certified Q Coffee grader with the US Coffee Quality Institute. The trial validated the functionality of the degassing valves and demonstrated that Econic bags with these valves perform the same as the typical non-compostable plastic coffee packs sold into the supermarket trade. You can download the taste report here

The trials were carried out in a lab environment using an internationally recognised scoring format to compare the impact of the various Econic packaging options and traditional paper packs on the flavour, after taste acidity, sweetness and body of fresh ground light roasted and dark roasted coffee over time.

  • At three months all the coffees packed in Econic bags were still consumable, whereas the coffee packed in the unsealed and unvented paper pack deteriorated very quickly – with an optimum shelf prediction of just 10 days.
  • At the four-month mark, the Econic bags with the valves held the most flavour and body across both blends and delivered a cup quality equal to a traditional plastic laminate pack.

Food Safety

Convex is highly committed to ensuring Econic packaging meets all applicable food contact safety requirements:

  • Each of the cellulose and cornstarch components has food contact status approval from the US FDA; and
  • We manufacture Econic packaging in a factory that has a HACCP approved food safety programme

Sealing

Econic packaging provides equivalent sealing properties to standard plastic films and should seal on your existing sealing equipment without any modification. It generally needs to be sealed at a slightly lower temperature than standard plastic packaging. Our technical team is available to advise you on the sealing temperature and equipment settings that will give you the best results.

You can contact our technical team here.

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Coffee Degassing

Econic packaging is being successfully used by numerous roasters for fresh ground coffee and whole beans. Venting valves can be added to the packs to allow gases to be released from the packs. We recommend that you let your coffee rest before packing if possible. Our technical team are happy to help you trial the packs through your supply chain and will advise you on the best way to pack to suit your roasting process. You can contact our technical team here

High Clarity Econic

A high clarity EconicClear film is available to help boost the branding and shelf appeal of the packaged product by making it visible to consumers prior to purchase. A moisture-resistant version of EconicClear packaging is also available for meat and other wet products that require a shelf life of less than 10 days. EconicClear packaging provides the same high oxygen barrier as standard Econic and a lower, more moderate, moisture barrier. It is not suitable at this stage for products requiring a high moisture barrier, like coffee and drinking chocolate. Contact Us to find out more.

Other Home Compostable Packaging Options

Econic packaging is one of several home compostable packaging options developed and/or manufactured by Convex. These options include a high clarity moisture-resistant film called EcoClear™ for packing short shelf-life salad greens and produce. You can read more about EcoClear packaging here. To view our other compostable packaging options please click here

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