Henkel is introducing the Technomelt Supra Pro Range, a new line of hotmelt adhesive products for end-of-line packaging – in time for the Fachpack 2018 trade fair. As a leading manufacturer of adhesives, the company offers a range of food-safe solutions that meet the highest consumer safety expectations.
Henkel’s focus in product development revolves around the needs of consumers, in order to help packaging suppliers, food producers and retailers to increase consumer confidence in the safety of their products. A recent study carried out by the University of Göttingen on behalf of the German consumer advice center Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. shows that one in four consumers (24 per cent) believes that food producers only make a small or very small contribution to the safety of products. For the food retail industry even one third of the respondents (35 percent) hold this view.
The new Technomelt Supra Pro Range meets the regulatory standards for end-of-line packaging while reaching new levels in food safety. Henkel has also expanded its Food Contact Statements for these products by including additional qualitative and quantitative tests for traces of mineral oils, promoting security within this contentious topic of discussion.
Food Safety Takes Centre Stage with Consumers
Consumer attention towards packaging safety has recently increased due to plenty of recurring reports on mineral oil contamination in various foods. Many brand owners and retailers in the food industry are therefore focusing on achieving greater transparency and food safety in their product offerings. These initiatives have significant implications for the entire value chain in the food industry. Henkel, the supplier of adhesives for food packaging, has already been working on highly effective and tailor-made solutions for many years. “Food safety is a top priority for us. Our products enable us to continuously set new benchmarks in the industry and offer our customers as well as end consumers the highest possible level of safety,” explains Luisa Schott, Market Development Manager at Henkel.
The New Technomelt Supra Pro Range
With the adhesives from the Technomelt Supra Pro Range Henkel is launching a line of innovative high-performance hotmelts. These products offer food safety advantages, particularly in the case of “sensitive foods” such as rice, pasta, cornflakes, or cereals. These foods have a long shelf life and are therefore prone to a higher risk of contamination with mineral oil particles migrating to food from the inner and outer packaging. The risk of contamination also increases when temperatures rise.
Furthermore, Henkel has expanded its Food Contact Statements for the Technomelt Supra Pro products with additional qualitative and quantitative tests for mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH). This provides assurance to retailers and brand owners that the products comply with all mandatory legal requirements. Henkel carefully selects the raw materials used and carries out a detailed risk assessment to offer end consumers a high level of food safety.
Product Range for a Multitude of Applications
Technomelt Supra Pro is also a step change in terms of technical adhesive performance. The products enable more efficient processing. Among other benefits, they are composed of “free-flowing” granules, facilitating automatic adhesive feeding.
“While developing the Technomelt Supra Pro Range, we made a point of optimising the properties of the various product range adhesives for each of their respective areas of use,” explains Schott. The Technomelt Supra Pro Range includes solutions for all areas of end-of-line packaging, such as for sealing boxes and cartons as well as for attaching straws and erecting trays. The line of products also includes low-temperature adhesives. The use of adhesives with a low application temperature of 100 °C, instead of the usual 165 °C to 170 °C for hotmelts, makes it possible for users to save energy and thus increase production process sustainability. The Technomelt Supra Pro Range’s multipurpose adhesive also offers high line speeds without any “stringing” of the adhesive. This leads to an increase in process efficiency – also, because cleaning cycles can be prolonged. Packaging with challenging surfaces, such as polyethylene or those for flour or sugar, can also be sealed. Moreover, these adhesives are suitable for packaging products containing essential oils.
Henkel at the Fachpack
“As Europe's leading trade fair for packaging, processes, and technology, we believe Fachpack is the ideal platform to introduce our various Technomelt Supra Pro Range adhesive solutions to our customers and to advise them on the suitable solutions for their individual applications. You can find us at booth 118 in hall 2,” concludes Schott.
