MADISON, WIS. - With the goal of helping prepared foods last longer, Placon has introduced its new patent: a recyclable oxygen barrier material called OxyStar. 

“When creating our custom food packaging, our number one challenge is figuring out how to help the food last longer,” the company said. “Direct oxygen contact with perishable foods has been a problem for food manufacturers since the beginning of time, but not anymore.” 

Placon’s OxyStar barrier material utilizes an active oxygen barrier that stops oxygen ingress through a free radical chain reaction within the packaging sidewalls. Throughout the shelf life of the OxyStar active agent, the oxygen ingress will be near zero. OxyStar is made using PET material, which allows it to be the first barrier material with the #1 recycle symbol.  

“Our OxyStar PET barrier material is bringing a sustainable solution to the barrier packaging space that we have not seen before,” said Brian Hodek, Placon food processor sales manager. “Being able to create a barrier packaging solution that uses the #1 recycle symbol to maintain a closed-loop recycle stream helps support our mission and vision as a packaging company. This barrier application took significant time to develop, but our team has already started working with key customers across the United States and we anticipate many more customers inquiring about OxyStar as we start developing new custom food packaging in the coming months.”