imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Hubweg 15 74939 Zuzenhausen, Germany phone: +49 6221-65108-0 [email protected] EDITORIAL Kay Barton Heike Fischer Gabriele Kosmehl Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Anthony Withers Editorial & WikiPETia. info [email protected] MEDIA CONSULTANTS Martina Hirschmann [email protected] Johann Lange-Brock [email protected] phone: +49 6221-65108-0 LAYOUT AND PREPRESS EXPRIM Werbeagentur Matthias Gaumann www.exprim.de READER SERVICES [email protected] PRINT Chroma Druck Eine Unternehmung der Limberg-Druck GmbH Danziger Platz 6 67059 Ludwigshafen, Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | www.petpla.net PETplanet Insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ subscription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trademarks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 12/24 www.petpla.net Acetaldehyde in PET bottles: an unsolved problem? Acetaldehyde (AA) has been classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation, although the human body produces small amounts of this molecule itself. Nevertheless, its presence in our environment is an issue that cannot be ignored. AA is found in relatively high concentrations in spirits in particular, such as liqueur wines - sherry or port wine. Its fruity flavour is even appreciated there, especially in sweet wines. However, AA is much less welcome in PET bottles, especially when bottling flavour-sensitive liquids such as water. The PET industry has been working for years to reduce the acetaldehyde content in bottles to a level that is not perceptible in terms of flavour. Numerous technological improvements have been developed and implemented for this purpose: from optimised plasticising processes and advanced hot runner systems in the preform injection moulding process to special AA-reduced virgin PET materials. Additives, so-called blockers, which bind the acetaldehyde in the bottle, were also introduced. These measures have led to considerable progress in the past, and for a long time the issue seemed largely resolved. Personally, I had the impression that the problem was under control in most markets - until I travelled through the Gulf States recently. In this region, where extreme temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius are not uncommon, I repeatedly encountered complaints about the bland taste of PET water bottles. Despite state-of-the-art plant technology, the use of so-called ‘water grade’ PET materials and the implementation of all known AA reduction methods, consumers repeatedly report flavour impairments. A local manufacturer told me in an interview: “We have found that this is the case with many water brands on the market.” To illustrate this, he handed me a bottle of water from a competitor - and indeed, the flavour was unpleasant. “As long as we have control over the storage of the bottles, everything is fine. But we can’t prevent consumers from storing the bottles in the blazing sun, for example.” Extreme conditions such as direct sunlight at high temperatures seem to push previous technical solutions to their limits. Despite intensive efforts by the industry - from the development of innovative materials to the improvement of logistical processes - the problem persists. The challenge of keeping the flavour of water in PET bottles stable even under extreme conditions is still unresolved. It remains to be seen what new approaches the industry will find to tackle this issue in the long term. Yours, Alexander Büchler Dear readers,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY0MjI=