Organizacion Barcel, first snacks Company in the world To Launch Degradable Metallic Packaging

Grupo Bimbo’s subsidiary company, Organización Barcel, held a press conference today to announce that it has begun to use metalized polypropylene packaging in its products. This material contains a pro-degradation additive, which includes a bio-degradation function to the packaging once their useful life is over.

Daniel Servitje, Grupo Bimbo CEO, together with Gabino Gómez Carbajal, President, Organización Barcel, Patricia Villalobos, Ph.D., Grupo Bimbo Research and Development Director, Juan Méndez Novell, Ph.D., CIQA Director General (Centro de Investigaciones en Química Aplicada of CONACYT) and Michael Laurier, Symphony General Manager, announced that Barcel will be the first snacks company in the world to incorporate this degradable and environmentally friendly material in its packaging. Starting today, the TAKIS product line, will be offering packaging with this technology, which will gradually be used with other Ricolino products, so that metalized degradable packaging will be used for all product lines by the end of 2010.

Gabino Gómez Carbajal, President, Organización Barcel, said that although a considerable investment was required to develop this technology in coordination with CONACYT (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología), what most matters to Barcel is that, in the long term, it be profitable in environmental terms.

He added that Barcel seeks to set a precedent, hoping that in this way, other companies will follow this initiative and also start to use such degradable materials in their processes He added that Organización Barcel has ongoing lines of research and development in association with CONACYT in this area of food packaging innovation and sustainability.