ALDI innovates in the meat department

Batavia, Ill.-based ALDI has added shelf liners, produced with the aid of technology from Parx Plastics N.V., to their meat departments.

The easy-to-remove liners cover the entire shelf and often interlock to fully cover the shelf surface; when taken out, they can be cleaned and washed off, making for a much simpler process than dismantling and cleaning the refrigerator’s shelves.

Another serious concern of retailers is that bacteria, which can get on food packaging, can be passed on through shopping cart handles, shopping bags, and the like, and in that way be transferred to other foods. Shelf liners can help reduce the risk of cross-contamination from one package on the shelf to another package.

According to Rotterdam, Netherlands-based Parx, its technology has been tested in the drainage systems of freezers and refrigerators in U.K. supermarkets, where it provided a sustainable anti-clogging solution, preventing the buildup in supermarket display cases of a bacteria called pseudomonas, thereby saving supermarket chains the expense and disruption associated with blocked drains.

According to Parx, the plastic company’s goal in developing the technology was to copy the human immune system, which greatly relies on trace elements. Adding a trace element to polymers through an innovative method produced unique characteristics mimicking the characteristics of human skin. Recognized in its early stages by the European Commission, the technology has also received recognition in the United States, receiving a World Technology Award in the materials category.