Tuna steak in high-barrier containers is catching on in Spain

Spanish seafood company Bernardo Alfageme, S.A. is revolutionizing the shelf-stable seafood market in Spain with a new high-barrier plastic cup for its Miau brand containing one-piece tuna steaks. Miau, which introduced the new package last September, asked EDV Packaging(www.edvpackaging.com) to lead the project, and EDV developed an innovative, high-barrier round cup made of white PP/EVOH/PP for the value-added natural-tuna preserves. EDV coextrudes and thermoforms the cups in its production plant in Llinars del Vallès, Spain.

Thanks to the robust EVOH layer, the cup provides a shelf life to prevent decay and preserve taste for up to 12 months, as well as provide a moisture and oxygen barrier, when it is stored at ambient temperature under optimal storage conditions. Damage from light and ultraviolet rays is avoided thanks to the opacity of the base material. The challenge for EDV Packaging was to design a cup that could contain tuna steaks in one piece. It developed a round container that resists breakage during the sterilization process, thus becoming a perfect substitute for cans. The cups are hermetically thermosealed with a high-barrier peelable plastic film from Amcor(ww.amcor.com), which consists of a multilayer structure of PET/polyamide/cast PP. The cups are marketed in a decorated sleeve from Spain's Acpack(34-986-288-993).

The final presentation is eye-catching from supermarket shelves and offers an alternative to consumers looking for healthy, high-quality products that are environmentally friendly. The plastic material makes the cup 100-percent-recyclable.