In the transition away from PFAS in food packaging, Avebe’s PerfectaFILM® portfolio offers an innovative solution for PFAS-free barrier coatings.
The use of PFAS in food packaging has become a pressing concern for manufacturers, regulators, and consumers alike. These fluorochemicals, known for their oil and grease resistance, have long been employed in various packaging solutions to enhance durability and performance. However, mounting evidence of their adverse environmental impacts and potential health risks has driven a significant shift toward PFAS-free alternatives. This transition poses a multitude of challenges, requiring not only a change in materials but also a comprehensive reevaluation of how packaging systems are designed and produced.
Avebe’s PerfectaFILM® portfolio is creating effective alternative barrier coatings that meet stringent performance criteria while creating effective alternative barrier coating solutions designed to meet demanding performance requirements.
The Innovation Platform spoke with Didier Delnoye, Customer Application Specialist for Industrial Applications at Avebe, about the complexities of moving away from PFAS, the need for a systematic approach to barrier design, and PerfectaFILM®.
What are the main challenges manufacturers face when moving away from PFAS in food packaging, and why is this change more complicated than just switching ingredients?
“Fluorochemicals make oil and grease resistance relatively simple. Small amounts could change the surface behaviour of paper and provide a high level of repellency, preventing grease from penetrating”, says Didier Delnoye, Customer Application Specialist Industrial Applications at Avebe.
“PFAS-free alternatives work differently. They generally need to form a continuous protective film on paper. That makes the paper itself, the coating process and the drying conditions much more important. You cannot simply replace one ingredient and expect the same result. You need to rethink how the entire barrier works”, explains Didier.
Could you elaborate on the key factors that influence the performance of barrier coatings when PFAS is removed? How do properties like paper porosity and surface structure play a role?
“When PFAS is removed, barrier performance depends much more on the interaction between the coating and the paper substrate. The paper’s porosity, surface roughness and absorbency largely determine how well a coating can form a continuous barrier layer. A highly porous or absorbent paper may require a different coating design or higher coat weight than a dense, smooth substrate to achieve the same oil and grease resistance.
For this reason, substrate characterisation is the first step in developing a PFAS-free solution. Factors such as paper properties, intended food application, oil or fat exposure conditions and coating method all influence the final performance. The coating formulation must also be tailored to the customer’s process window, including viscosity requirements and application equipment compatibility.
Performance is then validated using recognised test methods and benchmarked against the existing barrier solution under realistic conditions. Ultimately, the success of a PFAS-free barrier coating depends not only on the formulation itself, but on optimising the entire system: substrate, coating formulation, coating process and end-use application. This system-based approach is also at the heart of Avebe’s PerfectaFILM® portfolio, where the coating is tailored to the paper substrate, production process and required barrier performance.”
In your technical paper, you call the shift away from PFAS a barrier-design project. How does your approach differ from traditional methods in barrier design when it comes to PFAS-free packaging? What are the five principles you’ve identified for this development?
“Traditionally, manufacturers focused on finding the right chemistry. We take a different approach: we start with the finished package and work backwards.”
Didier explains that Avebe’s approach is based on five principles:
- Start with the package. Understand what it needs to protect against.
- Know your paper. Porosity and surface structure influence barrier performance.
- Focus on film continuity. More coating does not automatically mean better protection.
- Include the machine. Application and drying conditions shape the final barrier.
- Test in real conditions. Laboratory results alone are not enough.
“The message is simple: design the barrier to fit the application, rather than finding applications to fit the packaging.”
How were these principles applied successfully in case studies to improve packaging performance?
“A good example of these principles in practice comes from a customer developing PFAS-free oil- and grease-resistant paper using Avebe’s PerfectaFILM® portfolio.
The customer developing PFAS-free oil- and grease-resistant paper evaluated a PerfectaFILM®-based coating concept from lab to production scale. The results showed that barrier performance cannot be predicted from the coating formulation alone.
Laboratory trials required roughly twice the coating add-on yet achieved only 50-60% of the performance reached on the production machine. At industrial scale, the film press process delivered a KIT value above seven with a coat weight of just 1.5-1.8 g/m². The key insight was that barrier performance is created by the interaction between the substrate, coating formulation and machine conditions.
The takeaway: successful PFAS-free barriers are not just about choosing the right raw material. Optimising the paper, coating and production process together is essential, and the production machine is an integral part of the barrier technology, not simply the scale-up step.”
The paper highlights the importance of understanding the intended end use of packaging. Can you provide examples from your case studies that demonstrate how different food applications require distinct barrier properties?
“A hamburger wrapper and a pet-food bag both need grease resistance. But their requirements are very different. A hamburger wrapper must handle warm, greasy food for a relatively short time. A pet-food bag may need to resist oily content for months. Bakery and dry-food packaging bring their own challenges, depending on the fat content, temperature and contact time.
To conclude, there is no one-size-fits-all barrier. The right solution depends on what the package contains and how it will be used.”
Why is potato starch, specifically, an attractive alternative for creating oil and grease barriers, and how does it compare to other materials in this context?
“Potato starch offers a promising combination of renewable origin and technical characteristics such as molecular structure, clarity and purity. Its real strength is not simply that it is natural, but that it helps the paper to form an effective barrier. With PerfectaFILM®, we use specific potato starch characteristics to keep the coating at the surface, where it is most effective. It becomes an integral part of the surface layer of the cellulosic substrate, helping to close the paper surface and prevent oil and grease from penetrating the paper. The coating remains clear and colourless, preserving the paper’s appearance.
Other alternatives have trade-offs. Synthetic polymers often rely on fossil-based materials. Waxes can affect grease resistance and printability. Alginates can be costly or difficult to process.”
How did the development of PerfectaFILM® progress in your research? What successes have you seen, and what specific applications is PerfectaFILM® currently targeting?
“We started with the film-forming properties of potato starch. The challenge was turning those properties into reliable barrier performance on industrial paper machines. Our trials showed that production conditions can dramatically improve results compared with laboratory testing. We also demonstrated that PerfectaFILM® can help reduce fluorochemical use in existing coating systems.
These findings led us to develop PerfectaFILM® as a portfolio of potato starch-based barrier solutions rather than a single universal coating. Today, the portfolio is suitable for dry-food, bakery, fast-food, and on-the-go packaging, with formulations optimised for different papers, machines and barrier requirements.”
How do the findings and case studies in your paper align with the industry’s overall direction towards sustainability and performance, especially in the context of PFAS regulation? As development transitions from the lab to industrial production, what are the next steps?
“The industry needs packaging that meets stricter PFAS requirements without sacrificing performance. Our research shows that potato starch-based barriers can play an important role.
But developing a promising coating in the laboratory is only the beginning. The next step is working with customers to optimise formulations on their production equipment. We then need to validate performance after conversion and under actual food-contact conditions.
Through independent laboratory testing, we can demonstrate the biodegradability of starch-based technology. The goal is clear: PFAS-free barriers that work not just in the lab, but on the production line and in the finished package. With PerfectaFILM®, we are translating the film-forming properties of potato starch into practical barrier solutions designed for real-world paper and packaging applications”, Didier concludes.
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