Oxygen scavenger news expected at Nova-Pack event

Next month’s Nova-Pack packaging conference in Orlando, FL will include at least two announcements of new oxygen scavengers for use in beverage and food packaging. Valspar Corp. (Wheeling, IL) will formally announce the launch of a new generation of oxygen scavengers that expand on the firm’s ValOr product line, introduced at the same conference in 2006.

Advance word is that these new oxygen scavengers are very active, ensuring virtually zero oxygen transmission for up to 6 months, and that at addition levels of about one-fifth to one-sixth of that required with currently available oxygen scavengers. The new scavengers are polyester-based and so do not affect a PET package’s clarity nor its recyclability.

Another supplier, PET manufacturer Invista (formerly part of DuPont), plans to unveil a new oxygen scavenger to complement its PolyShield barrier resins in packaging applications for oxygen-sensitive foods such as juice and wine. According to information provided, Invista’s new polyester-based oxygen-scavenging technology can extend shelf life of oxygen-sensitive foods up to 9 months.

Nova-Pack 2008, the 24th International Conference on PET Containers for Food & Beverages, will take place Feb. 11-13, 2008 at the Ginn Reunion Resort. For more details or to register, visit www.schotland.com.—[email protected]