Frito-Lay
DCL
It became known as the bag of chips that could stop a conversation and it wasn't because the chips were so tasty. The biodegradable SunChip® bag had to be pulled from the market because the bag was so loud to open that you couldn't have a conversation while eating them.
The revolutionary bag had to be refigured to make it a less dramatic eat. And it turns out, as Food Production Daily reports, the new bag is no longer compostable under standard temperatures.
According to Food Production Daily:
Brad Rodgers, Frito-Lay's R&D director, told BakeryandSnacks.com the bag is home compostable within the 14 week claims made by the company, but only under a hot active composter temperature that needs to reach above 45- 55 degrees Celsius.
The compost pile needs to be at 55 degrees Celsius for the bag to break down efficiently, though Frito Lay claims the bag will break down eventually, it just takes a longer period of time. The company also admitted that they have gotten some negative feedpack as a result of the new redesign for the length of time it takes for the bag to break down.
According to the story:
Sales for the crisp brand fell in the 18 months following the initial introduction of the bag in April 2009, with about 52,000 people signing up to a Facebook group called "Sorry But I Can't Hear You Over This SunChips Bag".
But Pablo wrote that the previous bag had similar issues in compost tests. Consumer Reports Magazine tested its ability to breakdown in a 13-week study and found that while the items next to the bag composted, the bag itself did not.
Maybe the bag isn't so revolutionary after all.
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