Part 3.1.1: Confectionery

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For many types of confectionery, alufoil’s barrier and decorative properties can be vital assets.

Often chocolate products are stored for long periods but, exposed to moisture and light, it deteriorates and the surface can quickly lose its attractive gloss. Therefore the best protection is one that provides a total barrier to light, moisture, and to any penetration of aroma and flavour.

The natural packaging choice is aluminium foil – not just for its total barrier quality but also the ease with which it can be folded tightly to the surface of chocolate. For this and many other types of confectionery, alufoil’s glittering metallic surface also brings colour and impact, adding to the fun and enjoyment of the product.

Important properties

Barrier protection

A layer of alufoil acts as a complete barrier against the penetration of light, moisture and flavours – so stopping contamination and the loss of organoleptic characteristics.

Decorative potential

Alufoil’s bright or matt metallic finish plus compatibility with all printing technologies provides designers with enormous scope to create stunning graphic design and shelf presence.

Hygiene, safety and product security

Alufoil is safe for use in contact with foodstuffs, does not harbour or promote bacteria and is an ideal protection against contamination and product tampering.

Mechanical properties

Alufoil’s unique ‘deadfold’ characteristic makes it ideal for close-wrapped chocolate shapes and novelties, embossed surface designs, date coding etc.

Heat performance

Alufoil withstands high temperatures without distorting or melting. It also conducts and dissipates heat quickly – ideal for heat-sealing processes.

Sustainability

Alufoil saves weight and reduces spoilage of sensitive products. Easily laminated with other materials, alufoil improves the performance of flexible packaging substrates and makes thinner laminates possible – so saving resources. Modern separation techniques allow aluminium foil in household waste to be extracted and then recycled at a fraction of its original energy cost. Even in cases where the metal is uneconomic to recover directly, its energy content can be efficiently recovered in the form of heat.

Applications

Chocolate bars

An alufoil wrapper speaks quality to the consumer. The crisp, gleaming foil is an assurance that chocolate, when opened, will be in top condition. What’s more, once part of a tablet has been eaten, the rest can be re-sealed and protected thanks to the ‘deadfold’ characteristic of the aluminium.

Embossing - the extra design dimension

This shape retention property, unique in flexible packaging materials offers further design opportunities. The metal retains the impression when embossed, even with a very fine texture. An embossed wrapper ensures that the brand stays part of the product enjoyment until the last portion is eaten. A colour lacquer or printed design on the unsupported foil can further extend the eye appeal and enhance brand identity.

Chocolate novelties

When it comes to shapes and novelties, the creativity of the chocolate makers has no limit. There is a chocolate version reflecting every theme, occasion or character – Santa Claus, Christmas puddings, Easter eggs, rabbits, chicks, Halloween spooks and witches, Valentine hearts, themed fictional characters, gold and silver coins, ‘surprise’ eggs with toys inside, footballs, sports characters, racing cars, and mobile telephones. It is difficult to imagine the success of such chocolate shapes without alufoil’s barrier and deadfold protection. And it is not just the technical performance of the alufoil; the excitement of the metallic glitter and bright colours also do a lot to encourage sales and enhance the consumer’s pleasure.

Biscuits and count lines

The packaging specifier can call on all the sophisticated technology of the specialised foil converter to provide exactly the protection required to suit the product and the chain of production, packaging and retailing. Foil/paper laminates, for example, further extend strength and machinability without sacrificing ‘dead-fold’, ideal for sensitive snack products such as bars and chocolate-covered biscuits. Heat-seal and cold-seal coatings, film laminations and embossed textures are also readily available and high precision slitting and edge quality also ensure dependability on today’s high speed automated packing lines.

Boiled sweets and chewing gum

Foil/paper laminates and twist-wraps ensure quality and enjoyment

Even with individual film or waxed paper wrapping, boiled sugar sweets can absorb moisture and lose vital flavour unless they are enclosed in a sealed alufoil laminate barrier. Twist-wrapped chocolates and sweets also benefit from the extra brightness and protection of an inner layer of alufoil. Laminated wrappers and ‘tubes’ are widely used to protect many brands of fruit flavoured and medicated lozenges as well as chewing gum products.

Protection against insects

For confectionery sold in warm climates, there are special ‘insect proof’ foil specifications. This protection is very effective for products containing nuts or raisins – particularly attractive to the insect world. The heat-seal coating has a very low sealing temperature to protect the product. It is tamper proof, chloride free and FDA approved.

Fresh ideas extend the uses of aluminium foil