Self-adhesive product specialist Tenza Technologies has launched an antimicrobial material which it says enables production of labels which inhibit bacteria growth.
Redeveloped in tandem with antimicrobial technology specialist BioCote following its launch at Labelexpo 2005, tenzaguard with BioCote uses silver ions as the active antimicrobial element. These form part of a special coating, providing an active concentration on the label surface. Tenza says the ions “cause functions in the bacteria to break down”, resulting in the bacteria being unable to reproduce, which thus inhibits their growth. This, it claims, effectively “helps break the chain of contamination” on manually handled products and packages.
The BioCote antimicrobial additive is said to be 99.9% effective in reducing levels of MRSA, C-diff, Listeria, E-coli, Salmonella and a range of other harmful bacteria. Tenza, which views the key target markets as pharmaceutical and healthcare, says extensive testing has also shown there is no significant reduction in the additive's effectiveness with time or handling.
