All posts by Jeff E

Food Packaging

The Next Step in Food Packaging

Food is one of the vital requirements of the human race.  We would not be able to survive without the nourishment that is provided by food.  As technology has improved, it has become easier to ship food across long distances.  To do this successfully though, it is important that the food products are packaged correctly to prevent spoiling and ruin.

Packaging Supplies

According to a study commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations called “Global Food Losses and Food Waste” one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted around the globe.  This amounts to approximately 1.3 billion tons of food per year that is lost or wasted.  To cut back on this extremely high number of food that is not able to be consumed, new packaging and distribution methods have been explored, as the current methods contribute to increased pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Demand has been growing for food barrier-packaging solutions that are recyclable and biodegradable and would shield and protect the quality of extended shelf-life foods.  One potential solution to this problem is to use paper.  Technical advancements in ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) technologies allow the paper industry to create packaging that safeguards food quality and at the same time minimizing spoilage and waste.

EVOH is a high gas barrier thermoplastic that is used in household food packaging for products like shredded cheese and baby foods.  It contains a semi-polar, semi-crystalline molecular structure that provides an excellent barrier against gases such as oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.  The gas barrier protection it offers is between 10,000 and 25,000 times more than the low density polyethylenes found in common plastic bags.  Since it shuts out oxygen, it slows the microbial degradation of the food from the ingress of oxygen over time, and ensures flavor is maintained while protecting vitamin content.

PVOH is a synthetic resin that has been used historically to coat paper for sizing, strengthening, and as a carrier for pigments and optical brightening agents.  Similar to EVOH, it has a low permeability to oils, greases, oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, but under dry conditions surpasses EVOH’s barrier performance due to its higher polarity and crystallinity.  It is considered to be the one of the highest barrier polymers available, and will greatly improve paper-based food packaging.

The food market wants to preserve foods for longer periods of time while using packaging that will not have a negative effect on the environment.  Paper packaging meets these demands, and the inclusion of EVOH and PVOH coatings and technology can help packaging manufacturers meet their goals.  At Cheever Specialty Paper & Film we can provide you with the film or paper that will meet your packaging manufacturing needs.  Contact us to learn more about how we can help you.

Medical Marijuana

Who Put Paper in My Marijuana?

Cannabis Plant Break Down
Cannabis Plant Break Down

Who Put Paper in My Marijuana?

That’s right folks, Specialty Paper is showing up in the Medical Marijuana space.  Now of course not literally but Specialty Papers like Parchment, Glassine, PTFE are all being used in this new Medical Marijuana market.

Is It For Real

I don’t think there is a soul out there that is reading this blog posting that has not seen or heard of the Marijuana market space taking off.  The adult usage in regards to market sales in 2014 was $373,800,000 and then in 2015 in grew by 232% to $1,241,400,00. This is the fastest growing market area to date according to Leafly.com

Where Does Specialty Paper Fit In

I’m going to leave the actual marijuana 101 out of this article, there are tremendous sites out there that are incredible about explaining marijuana.  I highly recommend Leafly (www.leafly.com).  Just take a quick look and you will quickly realize this is not a “burn-out”, hippie, throwback hang out, and there are several other sites.

It is all about the process of extracting marijuana for the oils.  It is in this process that a Specialty Paper is used.  Growers will take the buds, heat and compress them causing a sap like oil (hash oil sometime it is known as) to be forced out.  But before this happens, they put a 6” x 6” square of Silicone Coated Parchment paper down, so when the oil starts oozing out, it can easily be scrapped and removed. (For the avid marijuana growers, please exclude the crudeness in the simplified explanation, we are targeting the Specialty Paper suppliers here – please don’t take offense).

Several Sizes Needed

There are several sizes that are used for this, anywhere from 4” x 4” to 12” x 12” squares.  Some folks are needing printing/branding, some need shapes similar to ring boxes, others need some type of folding pattern.  The most common request we see is for Silicone coated parchment.  This is your typical baking sheet that you would bake with.  For the small mom and pop growers, Costco and Bj’s have been filling their needs.  Also keep in mind, there is Quilon coated parchment, which has been around since the dawn of time.  Of recent it has received a bad rap due to the Chromium that is inherent in the parchment made with this due to the Quilon coating.  Before you think bad, just think, every cupcake you ate when you were a kid, was baked with a Quilon coated paper cupcake holder, and you are still here today reading this silly blog – go figure.

Also used is Glassine paper.  A very smooth paper that has a barrier resistance, not as good as parchment, but can work in certain applications.  But for true total 100% greaseproof, waterproof, barrier proof, and extremely resistant to all chemicals it would be Teflon coated paper, known as PTFE.  The drawback, it is the most expensive of the papers listed.

Markets Served

The Paper industry is just one industry that is benefiting from this growing market.  Medical and biological labs have transformed into extracting marijuana due to already having a lot of the gear and process in house.  The equipment to make extractions has revised several manufactures that were selling into the fragrance markets that were hunted down by marijuana expertise to “tweak” their machine’s for extracting the oil.  Farming – sort of no explanation needed here.  Just look at the areas in Colorado and Washington that were barren and is now being transformed into a rich paradise for growing.

Mircosoft is even in on the game – that’s right.  They are helping to write software that will monitor the growth of the plants and help monitor the whole process.  Think about this, Microsoft is putting energy into the Marijuana space. Heck even Whoopie Goldberg has her own company around a certain strain of marijuana.

Conclusion for the Paper Industry

So you get the point, this is not a fad, it’s not going away, you will see all 50 states in your life time be medical marijuana enabled – there I said, I will get off my pot box.

For Specialty Paper suppliers like myself, these are very, very exciting times.  We have already been dealing with several small growers, several medical labs, marketing specific companies and publicly traded companies with their only mission is around medical marijuana.  We have been helping companies find the correct parchment or correct size, as well as work on educating them about printing on certain materials, and what oils work best with what paper.

We have also in the last month partnered with a local mill in using their parchment like paper to create a very unique offering.  This is Nano cellulose fibers, using Nano technology to align these fibers which makes a barrier resistant parchment like paper.  Then we coat with Silicone both sides, creating  a truly unique Specialty Paper.  In our next posting will dive into this and the Nano craze taking hold in some areas of the Paper Market space.  Please visit us at www.cheeverspecialty.com or shoot me an email, would love to answer any question etc. – jeff.e@cheeverspecialty.com

National Safety Month

National Safety Month 2016 & Cheever’s Safety Products

Every day thousands of people are injured in the US, and many of these injuries are preventable. Some happen at work, some happen on the road and some happen during recreational activities. Many of them are traumatic, often leading to serious injury, a life time of disabilities or even death.

The National Safety Council has realized that constant reminders and reinforcements are needed to bring about the desired mindset shifts. To do this, National Safety Month was created to be the flagship effort in this direction. Celebrated over the month of June, it offers individuals and organizations:

  • Free resources to boost safety best practices at work, on roads and in homes
  • Free webinars and instructional videos tackling specific safety concerns like emergency preparedness
  • Free online trainings on First Aid, CPR and AED
  • Promotional material to generate safety awareness

Cheever’s Contribution to Safety:

Cheever Specialty Paper & Film supplies industries with quality specialty paper and film products, while providing excellent service to our customers. Over the past 75 years it has done its bit in boosting safety with:

Labels, warning characters

  • Safety Tapes or barricade tapes that are chemical resistant and tear proof. With these products different types and categories of hazards can be cordoned off and passersby’s can be warned of their presence preventing mishaps and accidents.
  • OSHA, ANSI and ISO compliant safety labels that can be customized in terms of the substrate, language of instructions, size and template. With these products workers and handlers can be made aware of the dangers of using certain tools and chemicals. Often safety labels also contain information related to storage of intended items.
  • Packaging material to protect goods from jostling and exposure ultimately ensuring their fitness for consumption and application, depending on the industry concerned.

At Cheever Specialty Paper & Film, our goal is to make sure you get the products you need for your desired application.  Our wide range of product options, and the ability to work with you to find custom solutions for your needs make us the best option to assist with your safety needs.  Contact us here for more information about how we can help you.

Packaging

Corrugated Packaging Stops Bacteria

One of the most popular forms of packaging for food items are returnable plastic containers or RPCs.  They are widely used in the food industry because the plastic used to make these containers creates a durable packaging option that can be used multiple times, while keeping the food items inside fresh.  Recently new scientific research has been done that shows evidence that a better packaging option to keep food fresh is corrugated packaging.  The findings from this study could lead to a shift in the packaging of choice for food storage and shipment.

Corrugated Packaging

A research study conducted by a research team at the University of Bologna’s Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, and published in Frontiers in Microbiology, had results which showed corrugated containers keep fruit and vegetables fresh up to three days longer than RPCs. The study showed that bacteria or microorganisms would get trapped in the paper fibers and die due to lack of water and nutrients.  Without the corrugated material to trap them, bacteria would survive much longer on plastic surfaces.   The goal of this study was to study microorganisms that could cause foodborne illness and see how they reacted when exposed to both plastic and corrugate packaging materials.  While the study was carried out with both materials under the same environmental and correct storage conditions, it was clear that the corrugated packaging material was able to stop bacteria and keep food fresher longer.

At Cheever Specialty Paper & Film we strive to satisfy our customers by exceeding to meet their needs and expectations.  We offer numerous commercial packaging supplies including items such as bubble wrap, stretch film, dispensers and tape among many other products.  Our team will work with you to put together a full packaging solution that will meet your needs and fit your budget. Contact us for more information on who we can help you with all of your packaging needs.