Biodegradable Packaging certified in 3 continents

Grenidea Technologies AgroResin packaging is made from the by-products of the palm oil industry or agricultural fibers, such as wheat straw which are common by-products of annual crops has received US certification for its food packaging, allowing multinational companies to use its biodegradable product in North America and Europe.

The Singapore-based company's AgroResin product is already being used in the Asian market and is wood free, pulp free, emission free, and chemical free and has already received certification within the EU as biodegradable packaging for food. According to Grenidea Technologies "If your company is a molded pulp manufacturer, you can use AgroResin material with your existing processes, there is no need to make new, significant investments in manufacturing."

Grenidea will introduce AgroResin into the US market at the beginning of 2006 and even though AgroResin packaging can be used in a wide range of food contact applications, from fresh produce, dried food and bakery products to frozen food, Grenidea Technologies says it plans to first target the fresh fruits and vegetable packaging segment of the market.

To be certified as biodegradable packaging in the EU, the packaging must be capable of undergoing physical, chemical, thermal or biological decomposition such that it ultimately decomposes into carbon dioxide, biomass and water. The demand for environmentally-friendly biodegradable packaging is a huge growth area, which is now driven by legislation, such as the EU's directive on packaging and packaging waste, which requires companies and retailers to cut down on the waste produced by their food products.

A new program which is made up of the leading UK retailers, is being launched under the Waste & Resources Action Program (Wrap) which will cause greater pressure on food processors to ship their products in environmentally-friendly materials.