Due to ongoing legislative developments in France to ban bisphenol A (BPA) in food contact applications, French homewares group Saint Romain turned to Eastman Chemical Company and its Tritan copolyester as an alternative material to polycarbonate (PC). Tritan provides toughness, dishwasher durability and clarity, whilst avoiding the use of BPA.
Saint Romain specialises in designing and producing plastic tableware and cookware applications for commercial usage in hotels, public institutions, nursing homes, hospitals and nurseries. The company is developing new applications with the copolyester material to add to its tableware and drinkware product lines.
As of January 1, 2013, France has banned the use of BPA in food contact materials intended for use by children up to three years old. In that same legislation, France will extend the ban to all food contact materials and applications, regardless of age, beginning January 1, 2015. Until that time, all food contact materials and articles containing BPA will need to carry a health-warning label.
Because of the legislation, in addition to developing new products made with Eastman Tritan copolyester, Saint Romain is also starting to replace PC with Tritan in some of its existing products.
“As we switch from using PC to Eastman Tritan copolyester for our tableware and drinkware products, we are thankful for the ongoing technical support Eastman provides,” said Richard Saint Romain, owner. “We appreciate a raw material supplier who is willing to work with us. If we have production-related or end-user questions, we know we can reach out to Eastman.”
“We’re pleased to offer customers Eastman Tritan copolyester as a BPA-free material, whether it’s legislation or customers — or both — dictating the need,” said Ferdi Faas, Market Development Manager, Specialty Plastics-Durables and Consumer Goods, Eastman Chemical Company. “As more and more companies consider the material, Eastman will provide technical support and expertise to its customers who have an immediate need for our BPA-free material.”
Saint Romain’s products are available in approximately 30 countries. The company sells directly to dealers and distributors, who in turn sell directly to institutions.