Alcoa will unveil Reynolds Wrap Release, a non-stick aluminium foil aimed at making sticky foods easier to wrap.
The new foil will be available in 12-inch wide, 35-square foot rolls and will be sold in the US with at a premium price to the standard product.
Release is designed for pizza, lasagna, frozen ground beef, chicken nuggets, battered fish fillets and other foods that stick to conventional foils. One side of the foil - the one embossed with the words "non-stick side" - is coated with a proprietary, food-safe, nonstick surface that makes using grease or non-stick sprays unnecessary, Alcoa said.
For competitive reasons, Alcoa isn't disclosing what the coating is made of, but says it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The foil is safe at temperatures from minus 40 degrees to 650 degrees Fahrenheit, the company said. The foil is kosher (it meets Jewish religious standards) and recyclable.
"Our research - indicates strong purchase intent and broad appeal," said Ruth Mack, president of Alcoa's Consumer Products business.
She says consumers will use Release when they don't want their food to stick and Reynolds Wrap's traditional foil "when the non-stick benefits aren't as pressing."
Alcoa said more than 96 per cent of the consumers it polled said they would use the non-stick foil in the oven and 83 per cent would use it on a grill. The most common foods they'd use it for were chicken, other meats and desserts.
Alcoa acquired the Reynolds Wrap business when it purchased Richmond, Va.-based Reynolds Metals in 2000. The foil is part of Alcoa's packaging and consumer products business, which accounted for about 10 per cent of the $27.3 billion (in sales the company reported last year and 9 per cent of its $20 billion in after tax operating income.