The important traits of aluminium foil include:
- Barrier protection – preserving the aroma and characteristics of food.
- Heat stability – stands up to extreme temperatures from freezing to oven cooking.
- Hygienic – completely sterile and safe for use in contact with foodstuffs.
- Light and strong – and very malleable without losing its barrier integrity.
- Multiple cooking methods – food in foil trays can be heated by convection, fan oven, and, yes it's true, in microwaves, too.
- Recyclable – without any loss of quality.
About recyclability, it is believed some 75 per cent of all aluminium ever produced since the early 1900s is still in use.
But, despite its many attributes, this superhero of the packaging world only gains its full strength and effectiveness when partnered with another product that possesses equally impressive superpowers.
K Foil lidding film, from KM Packaging, is to the aluminium foil tray what a shield is to Captain America, a hammer is to Thor, and a cape is to Batman. It is almost invisible, but is strong and flexible, and constantly using its powers to protect, present and preserve the food.
Unique composition continuously developed
K Foil is the world's first range of lidding films explicitly designed for foil trays. Alan Lockhart, our UK Business Unit Director, explained: "K Foil was first developed in the late 1990s in response to a request from Marks & Spencer who needed a reliable lidding film for their uncoated smooth-wall aluminium food trays.
“It is now used by leading food manufacturers in the UK and around the world."
K Foil's unique plastic composition has been continuously developed to ensure a reliable seal can be made to the tray in most conditions. The key features of K Foil are:
- Available transparent or opaque.
- Delivers an effective sealing solution.
- Antifog versions available.
- Macro holes, hot needle or laser perforation options.
- Available weld seal or peel.
- Mono solutions available for recyclability.
- Seals to coated (lacquered) or uncoated aluminium trays.
- Available with high barrier properties for MAP application.
- Suitable for chilled, frozen or ambient conditions.
- Laminate structures for print protection.
- Suitable for, microwave, conventional oven, hot-fill or retort/pasteurisation.
And its benefits include:
- Improves pack presentation.
- Extends shelf-life.
- Reduces food wastage.
- Reduces pack weight.
- Easy open with superior peel-ability.
John Shipley, Business Unit Director for the Australian market, said: "Aluminium trays offer the best barrier you can have in terms of water and oxygen transmission, odour and UV light.
“With our extensive experience of supplying K Foil lidding film to food manufacturers around the globe, we're well equipped to provide the right solution, to suit the nuances of a customer's needs. We can also offer recyclable film for the Australian marketplace, which is RedCycle suitable as determined by APCO’s PREP tool."
Recyclable and suitable for oven heating, aluminium trays have long been a feature of supermarket shelves in the UK. Waitrose launched its No.1. Ready Meals range in gold coloured foil tray, and, similar to the plastic tray markets, we’re seeing supermarkets opt for multi-coloured trays for stand-out shelf appeal.
For example, Marks & Spencer’s Modern Classics range is packaged in a quintessential British blue foil tray and Higgidy’s plant-based ready meals are a bright yellow.
Also, the Co-op has replaced plastic packaging with a foil tray and card sleeve on some of its ready meal lines, such as its Irresistible fish pie.
Suited to the ready-meal market
Whether your product requires an uncoated or coated tray, and no matter what the colour you opt for to complement your brand, we stock our K Foil plastic lidding film range in a number of specifications and are able to easily add enhanced functionality.
As an illustration of the comprehensive customisability of the range, it contains more than 20 different datasheets. There are two key products within the range:
- K Foil PF specs, offering high impact resistance, even under frozen conditions. This range of lidding film is designed to give strong but peel-able seals in frozen, cold, and ambient conditions when sealed to uncoated aluminium trays. Suitable for use in the microwave.
- K Foil WF specs, films that can be retained during reheating in microwave and conventional ovens. They weld seal to coated and uncoated foil trays and offer a hot peel to both. Cold peel is also available.
Across the range, K Foil film delivers an effective strong seal for the impervious surface of aluminium trays. This helps to prevent consumer complaints and food wastage caused by leaks and failures during packing, distribution, and retail display.
Our K Foil range is ideal for the ready-meal market and it includes grades that are suitable for oven, microwave and pasteurisation. Depending on the application, films can be supplied with antifog properties to enhance pack presentation as well as high or standard gas and moisture barriers for MAP applications to improve shelf-life further.
Special attention is given to the ease of consumer peel while high-performance K Foil specifications can include high strength and impact resistance.
K Foil plastic lidding film is the product of more than 20 years’ development here at KM. Our specialists are continuing to use their expertise and knowledge to ensure K Foil rises to the challenge of all your requirements as well as helping to reduce overall packaging weights.
In fact, if FOIL is the superhero, K Foil is the trusted sidekick completing the range of superpowers that help the world become a better place by protecting, presenting, and preserving your food products and combatting the evils associated with food waste.