SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, has announced that a food-contact grade of its TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio of certified renewable polypropylene (PP) resins is used in the production of Hetbahn ‘햇반’ instant white rice packaging bowls by CJ CheilJedang, a South Korea-based global food company. The rigid bowls are the first of their kind using certified renewable PP in a ready-to-eat-rice packaging in Asia Pacific and align with CJ’s strong ‘Nature to Nature’ sustainability roadmap.
According to Mohammed Al-Zahrani, Vice President of SABIC’s Polypropylene Business, “Food brands around the world are increasingly looking for materials that will help them reduce their carbon footprint without compromising the performance, convenience and food safety of their packaging. We are very pleased about this opportunity to demonstrate SABIC’s vast expertise in sustainable PP resins for rigid food containers.”
The rice bowls are manufactured by sheet extrusion and subsequent thermoforming. The PP polymer from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio has a certified renewable content of 25% and provides the critical attributes of dimensional stability and heat resistance required when microwaving the rice directly in the cup.
Grace Kim, SVP of Global Packaging R&D at CJ, adds: “We are excited to launch our very first ISCC PLUS certified food packaging with renewable PP from SABIC. It marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to reduce the carbon footprint and minimize the use of fossil based feedstock in our packaging.”
SABIC’s renewable polymers are derived from bio-based, second-generation sources not competing with food or feed production. They are manufactured in line with the mass balance accounting recommendations of the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS program, which defines a set of transparent rules for tracking the material flow across complex supply chains from the feedstock to final applications.
The resulting certified renewable compounds form part of SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio and services, which also comprise design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified circular polymers and closed loop initiatives to recycle plastic back into high quality applications and help prevent valuable used plastics from becoming waste.
