Ardagh Group was again successful at this year’s prestigious Cans of the Year Awards held at the Can maker Summit in Scotland, winning a gold trophy. The award came in the Food Two Piece category for the partial internal lacquer in the DWI can produced by Ardagh Group for ConAgra’s Hunt brand in the US. The performance of DWI cans for tomato products relies very much on the internal lacquer. The lacquer is partial at the top and bottom, and is said to better protect the tomatoes from oxidation, even after two years.
Selected products were targeted by ConAgra and Ardagh to receive this special lacquer application. The unlacquered portion of the can interacts with the product giving it a unique flavour and color equivalent to a bare tin can. Rigorous testing took place at Ardagh’s R&D Centre in Crosmieres, France in finding the proper lacquer type and application process.
Mike Gentile, vice president – product development at Ardagh Metal Division,NorthAmerica, explains, “The coatings selection process for ConAgra was primarily driven by the desire to eliminate all BPA from any food-contact surface. Of course, the coatings selected also
had to achieve the desired flavour and color profile as well as achieve a minimum shelf-life of two years.”
“Our ongoing commitment to consumers means that we constantly work to improve our packaging to assure quality and the overall experience,” says Gail Tavill, vice president, Packaging and Sustainable Productivity, ConAgra Foods. “We recognize consumer interest in removing BPA from our cans and are pleased to be able to respond to that desire and offer food that our consumers can feel confident in.”
Ardagh Group, a global leadering lass and metal packaging solutions, announced in 2013 that it had entered into a supply agreement with ConAgra Foods to supply substantially all of their US food can requirements. As part of the agreement, Ardagh Group invested in two new state-of-the-art DWI can making facilities to convert the vast majority of ConAgra Foods’ shelf-sized cans from traditional 3-piece can technology to Ardagh’s flexible DWI(Drawn and Wall-Ironed) technology.
