Barrier coatings for paper and board food packaging: Keeping products fresh and safe sustainably

For years, food packaging has had one primary role – to protect and preserve the freshness of food products. However, with increasing awareness of the impact of packaging waste on the planet, today’s brands and converters are seeking to balance packaging performance whilst minimising harm to the environment.

In the specific case of the Paper & Board packaging industry, a key question lies in how to achieve high barrier performance without compromising on effective recycling.

Coating solutions like DecaCode from Flint Group offer the solution to this challenge. DecaCode is a water-based range of barrier coatings, specifically designed to meet the latest regulatory developments for food packaging. The range is fully compliant with evolving regulations on food contact materials, ensuring both safety and sustainability. These formulations enable paper and board to compete with plastics in terms of moisture, aroma and gas barrier performance, while still supporting the circular economy. By enabling the reduction of conventional plastic film lamination to substrates to achieve barrier resistance, DecaCode simplifies the packaging recycling process and offers a transformative solution for the Paper & Board sector.

Essential barrier properties for food packaging

To adequately protect contents, paper-based food packaging must provide resistance to:

• Water and moisture vapour: Fibre-based materials are naturally hydrophilic, making water resistance essential to prevent packs from absorbing liquid and losing structural integrity, as well as avoiding moist products from drying out.
• Oil and grease penetration: Oily and greasy foods, such as pizzas, butters, or pastries, can easily transfer grease to the packaging, affecting handling and shelf appearance.
• Gases and aromas: Fibre-based materials can let in or let out gases and aromas that can have a detrimental effect on the packed product, reducing shelf life and potentially affecting nearby products in the shopping aisle.

How are barrier properties introduced?

To ensure high barrier performance, packaging must be designed in such a way that substances cannot migrate through it. Packaging producers can overcome these challenges by using materials with high barrier properties such as certain plastic polymers, metals or glass. In the case of fibre-based packaging, which offers little or no barrier performance on its own, the substrate can be laminated with a functional barrier material such as plastic – typically polyethylene – or foil. The downside of this lamination process is that when it comes to disposal post consumer-use, it introduces material contamination to today’s single stream paper recycling infrastructure.

How do mixed materials affect recycling?

Recycling forms a key part of most waste management strategies – after reduction and reuse, it represents one of the most effective end-of-life options for reducing a pack’s environmental impact. Recycling paper and board packaging keeps the fibres in use, conserving resources and minimising the amount of greenhouse gases generated through the creation of new packaging. Paper and cardboard also have less energy-intensive recycling processes than plastics, helping to further minimise emissions.

Paper and board are among the most commonly recycled materials used in packaging. In Europe, 79.3% of all paper and board produced was recycled in 2023, compared with 40% of plastic packaging. Maximising recovery of paper and board fibres is key to supporting the packaging circular economy.

Despite this positive picture, laminating barrier materials to paper-based packaging makes the fibre recovery process more expensive and complex. During recycling, any non-paper components such as laminated plastics, foils, or bonded adhesives, can contaminate the recycled paper stream. This reduces the quality of recovered fibres, lowering their commercial value or making them unsuitable for reuse.

Separating these components is possible but requires specialist equipment and processes, hindering the efficiency of recycling. This means that improving paper and board circularity relies on prioritising the development of effective packaging that is manufactured from a single material, as well as innovative coatings that work with, not against, the recycling process.

DecaCode barrier coatings – the more sustainable coating innovation

DecaCode barrier coatings, part of the AQUACode range, exemplify barrier coating technology by delivering high barrier performance while supporting the environment. This next generation coating range is not only water-based and regulatory compliant, but is also free from genetically modified organisms (GMO), palm oil, and contains no fluorochemicals.

These attributes make DecaCode a safer and more sustainable choice for food packaging applications that helps brands and their converters to design packaging that meets today’s stringent food safety standards, while extending shelf life and significantly reducing the need for mixed material packaging designs.

With direct food contact options available, DecaCode’s versatility means it is ideal for applications including bakery products, fast food containers, produce wraps, and more. By offering a high-performance, versatile barrier solution that supports the circular economy, these barrier coatings are making it easier than ever to create food packaging that delivers on protection and the environment.

Discover how DecaCode barrier coatings can futureproof your packaging – contact us or request a sample today by emailing paper.board@flintgrp.com