amcor rigid plastics aims to make the &ldquopet or glass&rdquo question moot with its introduction of a 24oz hotfill polyethylene terephthalate pet container that accepts metal lug closures.the company demonstrated its apex63 container at the private label manufacturers association plma show in rosemont, illinois. in an interview with foodproductiondaily, amcor senior marketing manager bunlim ly said his firm is one of many that had been trying to develop a plastic alternative to the glass jar with a metal lug closure that has been an industry standard for sauces.&ldquowe worked on it, as did our competitors and our closure partners,&rdquo ly said. &ldquothe breakthrough came when our engineers looked at the problem holistically.&rdquo&ldquoinstead of focusing on the container and the lug closure independently, our engineers tackled the entire system. that&rsquos why we are patenting the entire system.&rdquoas a result, ly said, amcor can provide &ldquoa seamless transition&rdquo from glass jars to pet containers. no capital investment is required, as the containers can be adapted to existing capping and filling equipment.the stock containers are hot fillable up to 205°f 96°c, according to amcor. they are designed for food applications such as pasta sauce and other sauces, as well as apple sauce, jams and jellies.&ldquowe started with the 24oz jar and 63mm closure because that is the industry standard for pasta sauce and other sauces,&rdquo ly added.however, the technology is transferable to other container sizes. ly said &ldquowe already have projects under way to produce apex82 jars with 82mm closures for salsas and dips, and apex38 bottles with 38mm closures for sauces and beverages.&rdquo clear advantagesmany retailers, brand owners, and copackers know the selling points of pet vs. glass. pet is shatterproof and 100 recyclable. the apex63 weighs 85 less than its glass counterpart 51g vs. 330g, which results in significantly lower transportation costs.nevertheless, amcor sought to make &ldquopet or glass&rdquo a moot question. the apex containers are completely clear, with or without a barrier layer.&ldquofor customers who need additional barrier protection for their products, we make a version of these containers with a khs innopet plasmax coating on the interior surface,&rdquo ly said. &ldquothe plasmax coating is made with a gas form of silicon oxide that provides glasslike barrier properties and clarity but is fully recyclable. it&rsquos even approved by apr the association of postconsumer plastic recyclers.&rdquobefore introducing the apex containers, amcor performed extensive lab scale and line trial testing to prove the technology. the company also ran focus groups to gauge consumer acceptance.&ldquoconsumers told us the container&rsquos recyclability is very important to them,&rdquo he added. &ldquothey also had concerns about the chemical composition of the container they wanted to be sure it was bpa and phthalatefree.&rdquothose concerns gave amcor an opportunity to educate focus group participants on the merits of pet vs. glass.&ldquowe told them pet is 100 recyclable and has the highest recycling rate of any plastic,&rdquo ly said. &ldquowe explained that recycling pet uses less energy and creates lower co2 emissions than recycling glass.&rdquoly said the focus groups also verified the importance of the metal lug closure to their acceptance of the package. &ldquothey want to see that tamperevident indicator button and hear that &lsquopop&rsquo when they open the jar so they know the product is safe and its freshness is intact,&rdquo he explained.industry receptionthe apex container was &ldquovery well received&rdquo by plma show attendees, ly said. &ldquopeople kept coming up and tapping the container to check that it really was made of plastic, not glass.&rdquo&ldquoretailers were particularly impressed with the container. some of them called it a gamechanger.&rdquoin fact, he said, several national brand owners and larger comanufacturers also expressed keen interest in the container, &ldquobut it&rsquos the retailers who are pulling it through.&rdquonow, amcor is busy &ldquosending out a lot of sample bottles and setting up production line trials throughout the country,&rdquo he added.for more information httpwww.foodproductiondaily.compackagingamcorrollsoutpetcontainersthattakem…
