M-Real increase output of virgin cardboard boxes over mineral oil fears
Following on from the scare about potentially harmful mineral oils leaching into recycled cardboard boxes, M-Real has announced that it will be boosting its production of virgin-fibre boxes, claiming that demand is certain to increase in coming moths.
Mika Joukio, M-Real’s vice president for consumer packaging, said: “In the cartonboard industry, this discussion inevitably strengthens the role of primary fibre-based consumer packaging as both the food industry and consumers start seeing even more clearly the benefits of pure raw materials for food safety.
“In this industry, carton companies that have bee relying on recycled fibre are now facing challenges in their business. For M-Real, who is basing its production on pure primary fibre, this creates a positive challenge on top of the benefits we provide.
“We are actually now proceeding with production capacity increases to relieve the customer need for our primary fibre-based carton boards.”
However Andy Barnetson, a manager at the Confederation of Paper Industries, said that, despite the health scare, consumers should not shy away from recycled boxes, as “the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and many food packaging companies are currently investigating the situation, and looking for solutions throughout the value chain.”
