Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc. (head office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President Hiroshi Yoshida) will launch a new grade of polyolefin-based stretch film “DIAWRAPTM SUPER PHM” in Europe and China after April 2012. “DIAWRAPTM SUPER PHM” is a stretch film used for tray packaging of fresh meats and fish at supermarkets and other food retails. The film has been developed as a strategic product to exploit global markets, conforming to the standards for packaging materials in Europe and China, where different regulations apply to the constituents of films, migration limits and so on.

 Mitsubishi Plastics has earned its leading position in the market for food packaging stretch films in Japan, offering the polyolefin-based and PVC stretch films under its brand “DIAWRAPTM”. Recently, Japanese retail and distribution business as well as food-service business have been actively setting up operations overseas, where demand for commercial stretch films for food packaging used at supermarkets and so forth is increasing every year. In order to meet such overseas demand, Mitsubishi Plastics has been working on to develop new products that can meet the standards for food packaging materials in Europa and China.

 “DIAWRAPTM SUPER PHM” is a polyolefin-based stretch film that meets the requirements of EU Directive１ at the highest level (factor one) as well as China’s GB Standards2. Since it is known that an extremely small amount of migration of constituents into foodstuffs occurs when films are used to wrap fatty processed food, Europe and China, like Japan, set their standards on types of constituents and migration limits in order to guarantee food safety. “DIAWRAPTM SUPER PHM” has been developed with the most optimal selection and composition of raw materials so as to conform to these standards, and at the same time, maintain the same level of packaging properties as conventional products have.

 Mitsubishi Plastics makes full-scale entry into Europe and China markets, positioning “DIAWRAPTM SUPER PHM” as a strategic product to exploit global markets. The Company further plans to explore other foreign markets such as Southeast Asian countries by developing products that conform to each country’s standards.

1 EU Directive
European standards concerning the requirements for food packaging materials (i.e., types of substances that can be used, migration limits) used within the borders of the EU. The criteria consist of five factors according to a migration level of film constituents. For example, packaging films classified as “factor one”, which has the least amount of migration, are able to wrap any kind of foods including oil, fats, and preserved foods in oil. Films classified as factor two to five are restricted to wrap certain foods according to their level. Thus, for example, films classified as factor three can wrap foods listed in the category of factor three, four, and five, but cannot wrap those listed in factor one and two.

 

 Factor：Foods allowed to wrap
  1 ：Oil, fats, preserved foods in oil, etc.
  2 ：Margarines, etc.
  3 ：Fish, cheeses, mustards, etc.
  4 ：Meats, processed meats (hams, salamis, bacons), etc.
  5 :Chocolates, sandwiches, etc.
 Source: EU Directive 85/572/EEC

 

2 GB Standards
China’s national mandatory standards concerning the requirements (i.e., types of 　substances that can be used, migration limits) for food packaging materials used within China.

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