Bumble Bee Foods LLC, San Diego, adopted an environmentally friendly approach for multipacking its 5-oz cans of Prime Fillet Atlantic Salmon in September 2008. The four-pack cans are bound together by shrink-sleeve labeling supplied and printed by Printpack, Inc. and are manufactured from Earthfirst® PLA plant-based, biodegradable, compostable film from Plastic Suppliers.

Bumble Bee wanted to support its commitment to sustainable packaging, while also giving its multipacks of gourmet salmon an upscale look on the store shelf. The choice of PLA shrink-sleeve labeling achieves those joint objectives. In addition to being eco-friendly, the film offers excellent printability.

The sleeves are printed in seven-color gravure and include nutrition facts, eye-catching graphics, and a green leaf advising of the environmental benefits of the packaging. Sleeves are slid manually over the stacked cans and run through a shrink tunnel. The 5-oz steel cans, from multiple suppliers, are 100% recyclable.

Bumble Bee consumer marketing spokesman Stephane Bardin says, “This is the first 100% biodegradable packaging that Bumble Bee has introduced, and we are very pleased with the final product. Consumer reaction to the new packaging has been strong and positive. Bumble Bee always is looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact of our packaging, and this biodegradable plastic sleeve aligns nicely with that objective.”