Antibacterial plastic bag wins industry award for ‘Best New Idea’

A plastic ‘bag for life’ produced using antimicrobial technology has been awarded the accolade of ‘Best New Idea’ at a recent industry event.

The bag, produced by UK-based Addmaster, was recognised at Foodex 2016, a trade event for the food and drink industries, beating 73 entries representing new trends across the manufacturing sectors.

The bag is produced using the company’s ‘Biomaster’ antimicrobial technology, which protects contents from common types of harmful bacteria such as E.coli, MRSA, Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Legionella and Pseudomonas.

With the introduction of the 5p single-use carrier bag levy in England last October, the use of reusable shopping bags has increased.

This, however, has brought about new challenges relating to food poisoning, given the ability of bacteria from food packaging to breed inside the bags and potentially contaminate future products, food preparation surfaces, or human hands.

Independent tests show that bacteria can survive in an ordinary resusable shopping bag for up to eight weeks, however, the Biomaster bag for life contains inbuilt technology proven to inhibit the growth of dangerous bacteria and helps prevent cross-contamination.

“The product demonstrates that Biomaster antibacterial technology is a simple and safe solution to bacterial cross-contamination and can easily be incorporated in every day products bringing permanent protection for consumers without a significant cost impact for the retailer,” commented Sandrine Garnier, Addmaster’s Sales Director, upon collecting the award.

Addmaster Marketing Manager, Karl Shaw, added: "The bag for life is just one example of how innovative Biomaster technology can help prevent contamination from bacteria and the risk of food poisoning throughout its preparation, processing, packing and distribution." 

The Addmaster Bag for Life will be available on the high street later in 2016.