The company is marketing its expanded range of carton-based retortable food packaging, branded as Tetra Recart, as an alternative to canning, saying the new machine and sizes will give customers more choice. The expanded range now includes the form, fill and seal machine Tetra Pak R1, running at speeds of up to 24,000 packages per hour, and the new Tetra Pak R2, a lower capacity unit that can produce up to 6,000 packages per hour. The Tetra Pak R2 is designed as a lower entry cost machine for those who want to use the Tetra Recart technology. The new carton packaging sizes, 500ml and 340ml, form part of the Tetra Recart Midi range. Previously Tetra Pak only offered a 390ml package in the range. Tetra Pak said Italy-based Columbus has been the first to deploy the Tetra Recart 500 Midi package to meet the demand in Europe for 500ml tomato and vegetable products. The Tetra Recart package has a square shape, providing up to a 40 per cent reduction in the shelf space required to display a particular product, the company claimed. "Food producers are using the appealing, modern package to boost sales in mature product categories and to revitalise existing product ranges," Tetra Pak claimed. The packaging is mainly based on paper board, making it lighter than canned products and costing less to transport, the company claimed.
