Waitrose has made its own-label passata available in heat-resistant carton packs from packaging machine manufacturer SIG Combibloc, switching from the glass jar format that it previously used.
The premium supermarket chain will now use SIG Combibloc’s flexible filling technology and retortable 500ml Combisafe carton pack for its own label passata with basil and passata with garlic and onion, having previously used 680g glass jars. The passatas will be filled by La Doria in Italy on food filling machines from SIG Combibloc.
Through the use of three modular filling units, a hugely diverse range of products can be filled in Combisafe, SIG said; the size and quantity of the chunky product ingredients can vary in virtually any respect and can be measured out precisely. After the products have been filled into the carton, which is open at the top, the carton top is sealed ultrasonically. The carton packs are then automatically conveyed into an autoclave. Package and product are sterilised together. In the area of carton packs for long-life food, the use of a rotary autoclave delivers optimum temperature distribution inside the carton pack.
Waitrose category manager John Vine said: “Switching to SIG Combibloc’s Combisafe carton pack means we can now offer our discerning customers a lighter long life alternative, which also guarantees first class quality and product protection from our stores to kitchen cupboard storage.
“The carton pack’s impact on the environment will also be an important factor both to Waitrose and our environmentally aware customers. The low weight of the carton pack, due to resource-efficient use of raw materials, plus the excellent environmental performance of the unprocessed cardboard, are major factors in why the Combisafe carton pack has the best environmental performance.”
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