Jaime De La Cruz with his company's new fully compostable gel pack.

DLC launches fully biodegradable salmon gel pack

A Chilean company has launched what it claims is the world's first completely biodegradable and compostable gel pack refrigerant, trademarked EcoGel.

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The ice substitute is used for keeping salmon and other perishable products cold during transportation and storage, and is aimed at enhancing the sustainability credentials of the salmon farming industry.

Jaime De La Cruz, general manager of gel producer DLC, said: “We were anxious to know what was going on with our gels once the salmon reached the destination markets. Twenty-four million of our products arrive in the United States each year. Given this, we feel the need to develop an environmentally friendly alternative.”

Developed in conjunction with German firm BASF, the new product uses a certified compostable polymer having a biologically-based variable content.

Once discarded in a composting plant, the gel pack is transformed into compost in just a couple of weeks under the right conditions.

Like traditional gel, the solution contained in each unit of EcoGel is a mixture of drinking water and food-grade biodegradable products that are free from allergens and can therefore be in contact with food. It also meets the requirements of national legislation, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (UEE).

Talking about BASF’s involvement, De La Cruz said: "We met with their innovation department and challenged them to make an environmentally friendly product that maintained the required physical and mechanical conditions. In August of 2015 we signed an agreement of development and mutual collaboration and after a series of tests and tests we arrived at the film that assured us resistance, security and biodegradation.”

BASF's innovation consultant Soledad Ruiz explained: “Ecogel's compostability process begins when it arrives at an industrial composting plant, where adequate temperature, humidity, oxygen and microorganisms are present.

“Practical trials in an industrial composting plant show that bags made with ecovio (polymer developed by BASF, ecoflex compostable polymer [PBAT] and polylactic acid [PLA], (which is derived from renewable maize) can be biodegraded in only a couple of weeks, thanks to its special chemical structure, without negatively affecting the quality of compost. It is important to note that the product alone does not undergo any changes, so that as long as it is stored in adequate conditions, the degradation process will not begin.”

The development area of DLC was required to make improvements and investments in its machinery because the manufacture of products with ecological film required a different technology.

"We understand that investment in R & D is not exclusive to large companies, but we see it as an opportunity for differentiation and growth,” said De La Cruz. “For this reason we are doubly proud that a medium company like ours, has developed the first compostable gel pack refrigerant and we expect our customers see in this alternative an opportunity to continue working for the sustainability of the salmon industry.”