Plus Pack, Danapak Flexibles and Tibon Technology has won a prestigious Alufoil Trophy 2012 for Consumer Convenience.

The competition, organised by the European Aluminium Foil Association (EAFA*) attracted 52 entries across five categories, including packaging.

TIBON^®, a totally food-approved, multi-layer technology applied to food containers, was a joint entry from Plus Pack, Danapak Flexibles and Tibon Technology.

Head Judge Antoinette Devine, a global packaging consultant for SABMiller, said: “At a time when energy costs and consumption concern everyone, this technology makes a significant contribution by reducing cooking times. It also helps to improve food safety, when cooking from frozen, by rapidly increasing the in-tray temperature above the levels achieved in standard alufoil containers.”

Steen Haustrup, Managing Director of Plus Pack added: ““We work hard every day in order to deliver new innovative packaging solutions to our customers, helping them grow their sales and fully use the market opportunities. The Alufoil Trophy highlights a new technology that might revolutionise standard aluminium containers, which is a unique offer to the market.”

Tests on both frozen and fresh foods have produced greatly reduced cooking times as well as more crispy and tasty foods, according to results from more than 10 major users of alufoil containers. The technology, which is patented worldwide, allows either faster cooking of food at a recommended temperature or lower temperature cooking for a recommended time. This will lead to reduced energy consumption and lower CO2 emissions.

Conventional alufoil containers and lids cook food at around 100°C as these containers cannot transmit higher temperatures, even if the oven is hotter. Containers using TIBON® technology reach temperatures well above 100°C very rapidly because it allows the pack to absorb and retain heat from a conventional oven or grill.

The TIBON® technology allows the TIBON^® alufoil to absorb both radiation heat and convection heat which means that TIBON^® increases the heat transmission per cm^² of the container by up to 400 per cent. This allows frozen food to jump over the water-phase and enables it to go directly from frozen to baked, resulting in a finished meal with improved taste and visual appeal.

Containers treated with TIBON^® will result in reduced cooking times of between 25 and 40 per cent compared to conventional alufoil containers. This unique solution has already been awarded both a regional Scanstar 2011 and an international WorldStar 2011-2012.

The Alufoil Trophy is open to product entries which are either made from alufoil or contain alufoil as part of a laminate or structure. Categories cover almost every market for packaging, as well as many other technical uses, encompassing Consumer Convenience; Marketing and Design; Product Preservation; Resource Efficiency; and Technical Innovation.

*Visit EAFA on www.alufoil.org

For further information on Tibon®, please click here…