Topic “Featured News” — Exporter Magazine

Manufacturers are no longer allowed to produce the two food agents or use them in flour production beginning May 1, 2011. However, flour and related products containing the additives are allowed to be sold until the shelf life of such products expires. The PepsiCo-owned company rolled out the eco-crisp bag in April 2009 but was inundated with protests that the polylactic acid (PLA) material was too noisy. In October 22010, the US-based snack-maker succumbed to consumer pressure and reverted to the original non-biodegradable material for five of its six SunChips brand bags. With many importers switching from China (due to higher cost), Bangladesh has new destinations such as Japan, South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and some Latin American countries, the report said. Last year Korean firms won projects worth $25 billion in the UAE, mainly in the oil and gas, petrochemicals and construction sectors. The most important contract was the Korean Government-owned Kepco winning the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation. The soft drinks giant was quoted saying: “While biodegradable packaging can be a sound choice for products that are not commercially recyclable, the process of capturing the embodied energy and raw materials in beverage bottles for reuse through recycling is, in our view, a much better option.”