DuPont poised to support ongoing efforts to raise packaging quality in the UAE, across GCC, says demand for safer, more sustainable packaging solutions on the rise driven by growing food consumption

Kendall Sinclair

United Arab Emirates , October 16, 2011 (press release) – Celebrating World Food Day, DuPont, a leading innovation and market-driven science company, is poised to support ongoing efforts to raise the quality of packaging in the United Arab Emirates and across the Gulf Cooperation Council through its exclusive range of innovative, research-driven products that help reduce packaging carbon footprint by up to 20%.

The demand for safer and more sustainable packaging solutions has increased in the GCC, driven in part by the surge in food packaging requirements as food consumption in the region has been expected to achieve a CAGR of 4.6% over the period 2011-2015 and will reach 51.5 million tons by 2015.

In the UAE, government-led initiatives such as the recently launched 'Pack It Safe, Right Step for Safe Food' campaign in Dubai underline the commitment of the government to promote safe and sustainable food packaging solutions in the country, especially for popular food items such as dates. The same trend is being witnessed in the global sustainable packaging market, which has been predicted to reach $170bn by 2014 from around $88bn in 2009, triggered by rising food consumption, increasing expenditure on consumer goods and growing awareness about sustainability issues.

Kamal Niazy, Sales & Marketing Manager for Middle East and North Africa said, "As we commemorate World Food Day, we are witnessing consumers, manufacturers and retailers are increasingly embracing sustainable packaging solutions because of the growing awareness about sustainability issues in the society. Sustainable packaging solutions make perfect sense from an ethical, ecological and economic point of view, while they are likewise very practical as they are safe to use for any packaging content. DuPont understands the urgency of addressing the evolving requirements of the packaging industry and has acted proactively to introduce innovative products that support the development of sustainable packaging solutions, especially here in the GCC where packaging demand and understanding of the concept of sustainability are increasing rapidly."

In a separate survey conducted by DuPont among packaging manufacturers worldwide, nearly 40% of respondents identified sustainability issues as the top challenge facing the packaging industry. The introduction of DuPont products such as DuPont Surlyn ionomer is aimed at addressing this key concern and helping achieve sustainability in the packaging industry.

DuPont Surlyn, being part of DuPontTM ionomer family of resins, offers the kind of high-end performance characteristics that help eliminate the need for thicker sealant layers as opposed to other lower-performing sealant resins in a packaging structures, thus reduces the total amount of material needed for the packaging film reaching sustainable packaging with improved properties whilst reduced total packaging cost. Last year, in Europe alone, switching from polyethylene resin to higher-performing DuPont Surlyn ionomer resin eliminated several hundred tons of non-renewable packaging raw materials and reduced packaging carbon footprint by up to 20%.

"DuPont has conducted extensive research in the development of sustainable packaging materials. The company emphasizes the necessity of using an inclusive, collaborative approach in responding to the world's safety challenges.We have worked closely with customers through our globally networked development team to discuss packaging programs that help protect the product and environment, improve shelf appeal and convenience, and reduce production costs. DuPont builds on the success in the development of these products to continue with our research to develop new ways to resolve emerging challenges in the packaging industry.

Standards play a key role in the region, as they ensure product quality, safety, reliability and compatibility with internationally recognized equipment used in industries and manufacturing units. The UAE and the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC), namely, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait, Sultanate of Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and State of Qatar, are collectively working on harmonizing their safety standards and requirements where food and packaging requirements comprise part. An example, the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) has published in 01/01/2010 the Standard & Specification For Oxo-Biodegradation Of Plastic Bags and Other Disposable Plastic Objects. The items covered by this standard are essentially, but not limited to, flexible shopping bags and semi-rigid plastic packaging for food, magazines, consumer-durables, garbage bags, bin-liners for household use, shrink wrap, pallet wrap, cling film etc..." added Kamal.

Other DuPont products that have been specifically developed to support the packaging industry include DuPont Biomax Strong modifier, DuPont Appeel 22D843 resin, and DuPont Fusabond resin.

DuPont Biomax Strong modifier is designed to encourage widespread use of bio-based PLA products by enhancing performance attributes, including processibility, durability, impact strength, flexibility and heat resistance, simply by making them less brittle and less prone to making a crinkly noise in film applications.

DuPont Biomax PTT resin, with up to 35% renewably sourced content, can help differentiate cosmetic packaging and other parts where polyesters are used by reducing dependence on fossil fuels and net production of greenhouse gases without compromising performance.

DuPont Appeel 22D843 resin is a new solvent-free lidding sealant that helps ensure sustainability in convenience features by replacing solvent-based lacquer, which requires an energy-intensive recovery process. Appeel for lidding structures or sealant layers in retortable polypropylene (PP) packages also helps protect the contents by ensuring sealing integrity.

Recently honoured in the prestigious South American 2010 Premio ECO Award in the Sustainability in Products category for its role in a closed-loop recycling process for agrochemical multilayer bottles, DuPont Fusabond resin is used as a compatibilizer to bond dissimilar polymers in the recycling process.
DuPont (NYSE: DD) has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802.

The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.