Pitt Plastics is Expanding its Kansas Operations

Novolex®, a leader in packaging choice, innovation and sustainability, is introducing Power Prep™ wrap for grab-and-go hot sandwiches and other freshly made foods. Manufactured by Novolex brand Bagcraft®, the new wrap is laminated and insulated to keep food tasting fresh as it moves from the freezer to thawing and re-heating, and while it’s held under heat at the point of sale. This allows customers to enjoy a delicious hot sandwich that was made and wrapped off site. Power Prep wrap is ideal for convenience stores, supermarkets and other foodservice operators, catering to the growing demand for high-quality, freshly made offerings.

TIME featured 200 innovations this year in its annual list of the best inventions, and Cruz Cool is featured in the Reuse & Recycle category. Cruz Cool is a curbside-recyclable cold-chain cooler from Cruz Foam, a circular materials company. This modern take on cold-chain packaging replaces traditional EPS foam coolers and is perfect for protecting temperature-sensitive products for up to 48 hours. Cruz Foam is made from chitin, a material derived from shrimp shells and sustainably sourced from naturally occurring waste streams in the seafood industry. Whether it’s meal kits, fish packaging, or frozen-food packaging, it has the same temperature control performance as its non-sustainable predecessors. Cruz Foam, which forms the inner insulation layer of Cruz Cool, is home compostable, and the entire unit is certified through Western Michigan University (WMU) as curbside recyclable. The Cruz Foam is washed out and separated from the cardboard during the recycling process, eliminating any impact on the cardboard recovery.

It’s not unusual in the Western world to throw away leftovers and discard slightly damaged food without a second thought. Yet when we consider that 135 million people face acute food shortages, it is clear that food waste is an issue we can no longer afford to ignore.(1) Food waste campaigner Tristram Stuart has said, “Cutting food waste is a delicious way of saving money, helping to feed the world and protect the planet.” He’s right, confronting food waste is critical to the health of people, the planet and business. It’s staggering that two billion people could be fed with the 1.3 billion tonnes of food that is lost or wasted every year – the combined population of Europe and Africa.(2) In places like Europe almost half lost is at the consumer end of the supply chain, while in developing countries a significant proportion of post-harvest food is wasted. Regardless of location, these high losses are mainly due to lack of proper storage, improper handling and inadequate packaging.(3) click read more below for the rest of the article