“The environingingmental factor and the alimentary hygiene were the two big links of union of the congress”

Bogota, the Colombian capital, received of the 12 to 14 September the 11ª edition of the National Congress of Science and Technology of the Foods, a fundamental appointment to know the last projects and advances in the sector in all Latin America. Pedro Melgarejo, responsible of the Line of Business of Packs and Packaging of Aimplas, went one of the invited to this annual congress, in which it presented a report on the new developments in plastic for the alimentary industry. Of his hand, have wanted to know the conclusions of the congress and the future of a key sector, in which, more than ever, development and environingingmental consciousness go of the hand.

Pedro Melgarejo, responsible of the Line of Business of Packs and Packaging of Aimplas.

In effect, I presented this report, and the presentation cursó by the five motors of development of the industry of the packaging. The first of them the development of new materials, which each day more are improving the properties of the final container. The plastic as it knows is the most versatile material in his different typologies, but has the big hándicap to be a material that in his different types, methodologies of manufacture and different compositions can arrive to be a final product very different, and in a lot of occasions find us like a same plastic can not cover all the needs that an alimentary product demands for an optimum conservation. It is here where the industry is centring the efforts in achieving types of plastics more complete in his final version.

Another engine of important development is the improvement of the processes of transformation that every time do that the final products are more effective finally for which are manufactured. The alimentary hygiene of the plastics also keeps on being a worry incipiente in the society, and are many the companies that also are developing his investigations in this sense, plastic materials safer for the contact with foods.

The fourth engine of development is the sustainability with the environingingment. All know the quantity of waste that generates the packaging, and this is a restlessness so much for the consumers, as for the governments and companies that manage these. In this sense, the industry is looking for methods of valorisation of this waste that do that the increasing consumption of containers was not in a future problem for our environingingment. And finally, the fifth engine of development in the world of the packaging is what knows like ‘active containers'. They are containers that no only protect to the alimentary product of the environingingmental factors that accelerate the degradation of this, but interact with the food to improve any of his properties that was valued by the consumer. They are the new generation of containers of the future.

In the new development of materials is working with that that contribute greater barrier to the oxygen of the final container, and preserve to the product of a degradation accelerated by part of this. In the sense of the sustainability, is working of way very effective in the incorporation of material recycled to the containers and in the development of biodegradable materials, that after his function to preserve the product go back to contribute to the environingingment organic matter and obtaining of power, completing like this the cycle of life. In relation with the active containers is working a lot in the development of containers that issue preservatives, and other additives that help to the product to conserve his properties organolépticas in an apt state for the consumption. And like this it could enumerate a sinfín of projects that will do that the plastic follow situating as the main material in the packaging alimentary.

Pedro Melgarejo during his report in the congress Connects 2012.

The conclusion extracted of the congress was very positive. Colombia is a country that is suffering in these moments a strong industrial growth, and as all growth is recommended that go joined with an environingingmental consciousness. In these moments are more prepared to face up, from the environingingmental punto, to this change that does some decades, since the strong development in this sense has caused that there are solutions to combine this development with an environingingmental consciousness. Therefore, the environingingmental factor and the alimentary hygiene were two big links of union of all the reports on foods to which had the luck to assist.

In effect, the R&D is a factor importantísimo in a country in industrial growth as it is the case of a lot of countries of Sudamérica, and this put of self-evident so much in the presentations that took place, as in the number of companies assistants to the evento, with more than 300 assistants that showed continuously a restlessness for moving part of the knowledge to his products and projects.

“The R&D is a factor importantísimo in a country in industrial growth as it is the case of a lot of countries of Sudamérica”

There was a block, very interesting, in which it tackled the importance of the alimentary hygiene in the products elaborated in the country. We take into account that these countries until does very little were countries that autoabastecían to his populations and the number of foods processed was very inferior in comparison with the current numbers. These countries have turned into strong industrial powers where the big multinationals have invested in zones of production and the own companies of the country, have begun to export products to other zones of the world. This has caused that the alimentary industrial panorama have to adopt measures of analogous alimentary hygiene to the ones of other zones of the world where already carry a lot of years practising. This challenge seems that it is achieving with some level of success, but still remains work for doing.

When we speak of less consumption of power and lower generation of waste speak mainly to apply a concept to the hour to design a new container, what knows like ‘ecodiseño'. In few words it treats to apply in each phase of the life of a container the environingingmental concept. Of a reasonable way apply the environingingmental strategy more appropriate for a container depending on the intrinsic characteristics and extrínsecas of the container.

The alimentary container, as it knows , is the engine of consumption of the plastic, is the industrial segment where more plastic consumes . If it is estimated that 40% of the plastic that consumes goes directed to the sector of the packs and packaging, and take into account that of east 85% goes directed to the alimentary container, one begins to understand the importance of this sector. Therefore, all the actions and projects, so much in environingingmental matter as in alimentary hygiene that develop , will have a big importance in the world of the morning, since they will improve the environingingmental contribution and the salubridad of the consumers. In this sense, the industry of the plastic as it can show day in day out is doing big efforts, and Aimplas (Technological Institute of the plastic) second and help with own developments and jointly with companies to these efforts to situate to the plastic like a safe and sustainable material, to environingingmental level.