Specialty Polyfilms to Present Forvara’s PPWR-Ready, PFAS-Free Non-PVC Food Overwrap Films and Catering Films at Interpack 2026 — Ahead of the August Deadline
As the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) reshapes the global packaging landscape and the PFAS restriction deadline of 12 August 2026 approaches, Specialty Polyfilms invites meat processors, fresh produce growers and packers, retailers, HoReCa / Foodservice operators, mushroom growers, and retail packaging decision-makers to Stand 71A18, Hall 7.1 — to discover a Recycle-Ready, Non-PVC, Health-Safe Film portfolio already aligned with the demands of tomorrow’s regulation.
Event: Interpack 2026
Dates: 07 – 13 May 2026
Venue: Messe Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre, Germany
Stand: 71A18, Hall 7.1
Company: Specialty Polyfilms
The Regulatory Moment the Industry Has Been Preparing For
Interpack 2026 arrives at a pivotal inflection point for the global food packaging industry. Two converging regulatory forces — the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the imminent PFAS restriction under REACH — are fundamentally redefining what acceptable food packaging looks like. For private label manufacturing brands, retailers / retail chains, meat processors, produce / mushroom growers and distributors across Europe and rest of the world, the question is no longer whether to transition away from conventional non-recyclable overwrapping films and chemically plasticized films, but how quickly they can do so without compromising performance of their operations.
PPWR 2030 — What It Means for Packaging
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) mandates that all packaging placed on the EU market must be recyclable by 2030. It also requires the minimization and eventual elimination of substances of concern in packaging — including plasticizers, heavy metal stabilizers, and persistent chemicals — in support of a circular economy for plastics.
Forvara films are formulated with select food-grade polyethylene resins and proprietary extrusion process, making them recycle-ready, odourless, tasteless, non-migratory and fully aligned with the recyclability requirements at the core of PPWR.
PFAS Deadline: 12 August 2026 — Three Months After Interpack
Under the EU REACH regulation, a broad restriction on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) comes into effect on 12 August 2026. Food contact materials containing Monomeric / Polymeric PFAS will no longer be permissible under this restriction. With Interpack running 07–13 May 2026, decision-makers attending the show have a narrow window to assess, evaluate, and transition to compliant alternatives.
Every film in the Forvara® portfolio has been PFAS-free since formulation — not as a reactive compliance measure, but as a core design principle. Forvara customers are already ahead of the deadline across the world.
Specialty Polyfilms has spent 20 years developing the Forvara range precisely to meet this moment — engineering films that perform like PVC, look like PVC, and handle like PVC, but contain none of the chemical baggage that regulators, retailers, and end-consumers are actively trying to move away from.
Forvara Food Overwrapping Films: Performance Without Compromise
The Forvara Food Overwrapping Films range — encompassing Non-PVC Meat Wrap Films, Non-PVC Fresh Produce Films, Non-PVC Mushroom Wrap Films, and Non-PVC Cheese Wrap Films — are manufactured using select food-grade polyethylene resins through a proprietary extrusion process. Unlike converters working with third-party films, Specialty Polyfilms controls every stage of production, enabling a depth of formulation and customization that sets the Forvara range apart from its peers.
The range is available in three key variants:
NG U&U (New Generation Ultimate & Unlimited) TW-40: The premium variant engineered for elevated tabletop automatic tray overwrapping machines from Digi, Ulma, Ishida, Fabbri and similar others. TW-40’s exceptional stretch and softness make it the preferred choice for tall-height trays and products with protruding and irregular parts like Bones of Meat, Mushrooms, etc. delivering aesthetically appealing clean, consistent wraps that match — and in many applications, exceed — the performance of conventional tray overwrapping films. Due to its superior mechanical properties, brands can leverage downgauging which enables them to achieve plastic reduction.
AW-40: An entry-level variant of food overwrapping films designed for both elevated tabletop and inline automatic tray overwrapping machines such as Omori, Ossid and similar others, as well as shorter-height tray applications where reliable sealing strength, cost-efficient performance and speed is the priority.
Manual Wrapping Film: Purpose-built for small butcheries, deli stores, and retail / grocery chain environments across Europe, the US, the UK, ANZ and other markets, where hands-on wrapping demands the familiar ease of unwinding, excellent cling, and no foul burning smell from heating rods, no film built up on the heating rods and transparency of PVC — without the PVC.
Why Recyclability Matters Here
All Forvara® Food Overwrapping Films are manufactured from Select Food-Grade Premium Polyethylene resins — a material within established plastic recycling streams across multiple countries. This positions every variant of Forvara® in direct alignment with the PPWR’s core recyclability mandate 2030 for packaging placed on the EU market by 2030. Globally, countries such as Australia, the UK, the USA, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan are advancing similar initiatives focused on recyclability, material safety, and sustainable packaging through evolving regulatory frameworks. Meat Processors, Produce Growers and retailers working towards compliant sustainable packaging programmes can adopt Forvara® films with confidence, knowing the transition does not require a compromise on performance on Automatic Tray Overwrapping Machines from reputed manufacturers.
Cold Chain and Shelf-Life Performance
The technical profile of the Forvara® Non-PVC Food Overwrapping Films range is built around real supply chain demands: high oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and controlled water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) to positively impact product shelf life particularly produce, mushroom, meat and cheese; an odourless and tasteless formulation that preserves the natural aroma and flavour of wrapped produce, meat, cheese and mushrooms; and verified cold chain temperature resistance down to -30°C / -22°F — a non-negotiable requirement for international meat cold supply chains.
Forvara® Non-Barrier Lidding Shrink Film / Top Seal Film for Poultry and Produce Applications
For Poultry: Making its global debut at Interpack 2026, the Forvara® Non-Barrier Lidding Shrink Film / Top Seal Film represents a significant advancement in poultry packaging — a category long challenged by the natural biological behaviour of bone-in chicken cuts.
When fresh poultry with bone — chicken thighs, wings, and whole portions — is packaged and sealed using tray sealers inside Barrier-based Lidding Shrink Films, gases released from the bone and residual blood become trapped within the pack. These gases, if unable to permeate through the film, interact with the poultry and can progressively alter the natural taste and flavour profile of the poultry product. For processors, retailers, and consumers alike, this is a well-known but often overlooked quality challenge in the poultry supply chain.
The Forvara® Non-Barrier Lidding Shrink Film / Top Seal Film is engineered specifically to address this. Its non-barrier formulation delivers a controlled gases transmission rates, high oxygen transmission rate (OTR) — allowing gases emitted by the bone to permeate through the film and dissipate into the external environment, rather than accumulating within the sealed poultry pack. The result is a poultry product that reaches the end consumer with its original flavour, aroma, and taste integrity fully preserved.
Designed for use on standard automatic tray sealers / lidding machinery, the film provides clean, reliable seals on both rigid and semi-rigid poultry trays made from PP, PET etc. and delivers the visual clarity and shelf presentation expected from a premium packaging solution with the hassle of fogging / condensation inside the poultry packs.
For Produce: The same non-barrier film architecture extends naturally into fresh produce packaging, where the challenge is fundamentally different but equally critical. Fresh produce — including high-respiring categories such as mushrooms, cucumbers, tomatoes etc. — continues to respire actively post-harvest, releasing carbon dioxide (in some cases ethylene as well), and moisture within the sealed pack. When trapped inside a barrier film, these by-products accelerate ripening, promote premature decay, and cause the surface condensation and browning / discolouration that renders product visually unsaleable well before its nutritional life is over. The Forvara® Non-Barrier Lidding Film’s high OTR and WVTR characteristics allow respiratory gases and excess moisture to permeate and dissipate continuously — preserving in-pack atmosphere, extending shelf life, and maintaining the visual and textural quality that retailers and consumers expect at the point of purchase.
Regulatory alignment Formulated from select food-grade polyethylene resins, the Non-Barrier Lidding Shrink Films / Top Seal Film is free from phthalates, BPA, BPS, PVC, PFAS, plasticizers, and heavy metal stabilizers — fully aligned and designed with PPWR recyclability, broader chemical safety requirements and the PFAS restriction deadline of 12 August 2026. Team Forvara invites poultry processors, fresh meat / protein retailers, produce growers and packaging specialists to visit Stand 71A18, Hall 7.1 for a direct demonstration of this new technology and a discussion of integration into existing tray sealing packaging lines.
Forvara® Catering Cling Films: Compliance at the Speed of Professional Kitchens The Forvara® Non-PVC Catering Cling Film range is engineered for the high intensity of commercial kitchens of HoReCa operations, and institutional catering environments. It delivers superior adhesion to stainless steel, aluminium, polycarbonate, ceramic, glass, and plastic trays commonly used in commercial kitchens — and it does so without plasticizers (such as BPA, BPS, Phthalates), PFAS, or any substance of concern under current or forthcoming EU and global regulations on food-grade films.
The Catering film range includes purpose-built variants for every professional kitchen scenario:
Printed & Perforated Film Variant: Engineered for high-volume kitchens where colour coded batch identification of food and culinary preparations reduces errors and accelerates workflow — particularly relevant for flight catering and institutional food service.
PVC-Like Tackiness Variant: Delivers the familiar cling performance of conventional PVC, enabling a seamless operational transition for commercial kitchens moving to PFAS-compliant, plasticizer-free alternatives before the PFAS August 2026 deadline.
High Tackiness Variant: Formulated for superior adhesion across demanding surface types like steels and Aluminium.
Dual Side Cling Variant: Provides cling performance on both film surfaces for complex covering and food protection applications.
Practical Compliance Advantage for HoReCa and Flight Kitchens
For flight kitchens and food management companies operating across EU jurisdictions, the 12 August 2026 PFAS restriction is not a distant concern — it is an immediate operational priority. Switching to Forvara® Catering Films is a direct, performance-verified path to compliance, with no sacrifice in cling, coverage, or kitchen operations efficiency.
Private Label Cling Films (For Retail): Circular, Customizable, Compliant
Leveraging the experience curve of 20+ years, Specialty Polyfilms’ Private Label Cling Films range offers retailers, retail chains and private label brand owners a fully customized packaging solution built on a foundation of regulatory compliance, economies of scale and circular economy readiness. Because Specialty Polyfilms extrudes its own films, every product parameter is within reach — from formulation to finishing.
Film & Packaging Customization
Film colour: natural transparent or custom tinted options
Printing: up to 8-colour film printing
Box design: fully custom multicolour print; choice of single dispenser, double dispenser, or refill box formats
Secondary packaging: shelf-ready / display packs, master cartons, shrink wrap
FSC-certified or Recycled Content carton packaging available
Value-Added Features
Integrated roll holder for ease of dispensing
Easy-to-find film design for rapid retrieval
V-shaped curling for effortless first-film access
Reminder label or paper label option
Starter tab for first-use convenience
Cutter Blade Variants
Plastic (PET), serrated, and premium slide cutter (available in stick-on and push-on configurations). The slide cutter delivers smooth, controlled film cutting with a fully enclosed blade — eliminating accidental cuts or injuries and reducing film wastage.
Pack Format Options
Refill Roll: Bare refill rolls insertable into existing dispensers — reducing secondary packaging waste in line with PPWR’s packaging minimization principles.
Combo Bundle Pack: Two or more refill rolls packaged together, ideal for bulk retail and club-store formats.
Clean by Design: The Forvara Formulation Commitment
The most consequential attribute of every Forvara film is one that is invisible to the naked eye — what is not in it. Every product across the Food Overwrap Film, Catering Film, and Private Label Cling Film range is formulated to be entirely free from:
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) — Restriction deadline: 12 August 2026. Forvara films have never contained PFAS.
Plasticizers BPA, BPS, and Phthalates — Plasticizers linked to endocrine disruption and subject to increasing regulatory scrutiny globally.
Heavy metal stabilizers — A category of substances of concern under PPWR and broader EU chemical regulation.
Chlorine content — A fundamental departure from conventional PVC film chemistry.
Any substance that interferes with the natural taste or aroma of wrapped food products.
This is not a reactive compliance posture. It is a founding design principle of the Forvara range — one made possible by Specialty Polyfilms’ proprietary extrusion process using select food-grade polyethylene resins. The result is a film portfolio that satisfies the technical and functional demands of professional Meat & Produce packaging, the commercial demands of global retail and foodservice, and the regulatory demands of the EU’s most consequential packaging legislation.
Forvara Regulatory Alignment at a Glance
Regulatory Requirement |
Deadline / Status |
Forvara Position |
|---|---|---|
PFAS-free food contact materials (EU REACH) |
12 August 2026 |
✓ PFAS-free across all variants |
Recyclable packaging (PPWR) |
2030 mandate |
✓ PE-based — recycle-ready |
No substances of concern in packaging |
PPWR ongoing |
✓ Free from BPA, BPS, phthalates, heavy metals |
No PVC / chlorinated plastics |
Market pressure |
✓ 100% Non-PVC formulation |
Packaging minimization / refill formats |
PPWR 2030 |
✓ Refill rolls reduce secondary packaging waste |
"Interpack 2026 is taking place at exactly the right moment for our industry. The PFAS deadline is three months away. PPWR (Europe) is rewriting the rules of packaging compliance through to 2030. Globally, developed economies are accelerating their transition towards a circular economy, placing packaging recyclability and waste reduction at the centre of regulatory policy. Simultaneously, substances of concern in food contact packaging materials — including plasticizers, phthalates, and PFAS — are facing increasing and irreversible regulatory scrutiny. Forvara was built for this very transition — formulated without harmful chemicals like BPA, BPS, PFAS, phthalates, manufactured from select food-grade recyclable Polyethylene resins in combination with proprietary process innovation, and engineered to perform at the level the world's most demanding food operations require. We are not asking our organizational customers to compromise. We are asking them to come and see."
- Shantanu Deshpande
President Specialty America
