Peelable foil ends meet wider processing needs

The Canmaker: "Peelable easy-open ends for food cans are expected to be used for a wider range of heat-processed products following the launch of the Easip lid from Impress.
French vegetable canner Bonduelle has been helping to develop the ends at its filling plants in France and Hungary. First trials were in 2007 since when about 40 million of the ends have been used by Bonduelle."

Key feature of the patented design is that it doesn’t require overpressure in the retorting process, as was necessary for earlier designs of aluminium foil lids, in which a membrane is bonded to a steel ring and seamed onto the can after filling. “The technical breakthrough comes from the ability of the new Easipend to withstand pressure differentials of up to 1.3 bar in continuous retorts commonly used by international food groups,” says Impress, in a statement. “To compensate for the pressure differences during sterilisation the membrane is designed to flex, accommodating pressure changes which occur between the can and the retort during processing.”

M. Château, Communication and Corporate Marketing Director of Bonduelle, said, “This is an exciting development for us and is another example of how our partnership with Impress delivers real value to our consumers and ensures we maintain our market leadership.”

Easipends are constructed using a steel or aluminium ring with an aluminium foil, reducing the weight significantly compared to a standard easy open end - by up to 50%; this is another example of an Impress development in metal generating a tangible contribution to sustainable packaging.