Voridian, the world's largest supplier of PET resins for packaging, has launched a new PET resin that provides ultraviolet (UV) light protection for food and beverage products. Vitiva PET PC715, as the material is called, contains an FDA-approved UV absorber that protects delicate colours, flavours, vitamins and nutrients in custom packaging applications.
"Vitiva PET combines solid UV light protection with superior technical performance while maintaining the crystal optical clarity of PET," said Lavonna Buehrig, Voridian market manager, North America. "Products damaged by UV light can result in reduced consumer appeal and lost sales. Vitiva PET helps enhance brand image by enabling sleek designs and sharp colors in a resin that extends shelf life."
UV light can adversely affect the natural and synthetic pigments and dyes, vitamins, lipids, fatty acids, and flavours found in many foods, beverages and pharmaceutical products, as well as household, cosmetic and personal care products.
Voridian claims that containers made from Vitiva PET will block virtually all UV light from 320 to 370 nanometers, whereas standard PET and other packaging materials, such as glass, polypropylene, and polyethylene allow UV light to pass through the packaging. This can negatively affect product quality and brand integrity.
The UV absorber in Vitiva PET is chemically bound to the polymer chain, which enables bottle manufacturers and brand owners to more easily obtain consistent UV performance. Vitiva PET extends product shelf life by protecting against many UV light initiated or catalyzed degradation reactions.
Vitiva PET also offers significant processing advantages, according to the firm. The resin is capable of efficient blow-molding output rates and can accommodate a number of bottle production stages. The resin's UV inhibitor produces no plate out on molds or dryers. Using existing injection-molding and/or blow-molding tooling, Vitiva PET requires no extra capital investment in machinery or tooling. It can also be used as a drop-in replacement for standard PET.
Vitiva PET has been specifically designed to combine UV protection and high clarity in a single PET packaging material. The polymer is capable of producing sharp, consistent colours in packaging applications. The material also allows for significant bottle design flexibility and crisp definition on embossments and logos.
"Vitiva PET underscores Voridian's commitment to providing customers with comprehensive packaging solutions that help them ensure product integrity and drive sales," said Buehrig. "Together with Heatwave polymer for hot-fill applications, we can now offer bottle manufacturers and brand owners a portfolio of Voridian UV products to fit their specific application needs."
Voridian, a division of Eastman Chemical Company, manufactures PET, polyethylene polymers and acetate fibres. The firm is the world's largest supplier of PET packaging. It employs about 3,400 employees in more than 15 countries worldwide and operates eight manufacturing sites in six countries.
For more information about Vitiva PET, please email vitiva@voridian.com