Patents have been granted in Europe and the USA for a plastic coating that can be used in packaging material both for liquid and dry food stuff cartons. Called Ensobarr, the new barrier coating created by Enso Paperboards is said to give packaging board superior protective qualities than conventionalplastic-based barrier layers and has comparable performance to aluminium foil. It is also reported to make the packages easier to recycle than conventional packages made of thick polymer or aluminium laminates1. The coating, now available for a range of packaging applications also meets the latest German monomaterial criteria that suggests a maximum limit of 5 per cent weight of other than the main material2.

A new paperboard with higher tearing strength will give the chocolate manufacturer Kraft Freia Marabou in Sweden lighter and stronger chocolate boxes. Performa 350 g/m2 light-weight paperboard from Enso Paperboards in Finland will replace the Solid Bleached Sulphate, SBS, packaging based on 380 g/m2 paperboard currently used by the sweet company. The new paperboard is reported to meet critical odour and taste criteria required for such packaging.  The change will involve the entire annual production of the assorted chocolates, Aladdin and Paradis, in the most popular 500 g packs. Production of the ranges is located to the chocolate manufacturer's largest production site north of Stockholm.

A new instrumental analysis system, which evaluates the sensory properties of packaging boards, is intended to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the paperboard quality control at Finnish Enso Paperboards. The system, called electronic nose, will be taken into operation in 1998 as a further quality control tool at the company´s Imatra mill. It is a development of an instrument, MDG-1, which was originally constructed in Finland for military use to detect chemical warfare agents. To a great extent, the analysis system will be used for the company´s Enso Performa paperboard, which is aimed at food, sweets and tobacco applications with high demands on odour and taste neutral packagings.

An uncoated SBS board called Ensocard, designed to meet environmental challenges and offer uniform printing quality is being introduced by Enso Paperboards. It is the latest addition to the company's graphic and packaging board family that also includes Ensocoat, Ensogloss and CTMP-based Enso Performa.

Nestlé, one of the world's leading confectionary and food manufacturers, has approved Enso Performa for use with its After Eight chocolate range.  The packaging board manufacturered by Enso Paperboards in Finland meets the stringent quality criteria laid down by Nestlé says Joachim Soditt, head of their packaging development department. He says the paperboard offers a competitively priced alternative to other types of fibre-based packaging material.