Jonathan Raineau, managing director of Copperprotek USA.
Copperprotek USA, the US-based division of Copperprotek SpA, announced FDA/FSIS GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) approval of its patented microparticle.
The announcement has led to a US-based industrial-scale testing period to launch in 2025. Copperprotek is a biotechnology research firm with nine-plus years of experience that produces a patented 100% copper microparticle-the first copper salts-based shelf life extension additive cleared by the FDA and FSIS designed to be layered into food-packaging materials.
After a four-year process of intense testing, the FDA has validated the safety of Copperprotek-enhanced masterbatches, allowing the company to prioritise securing additional US-based partnerships in the new year. Achieving FDA/FSIS GRAS approval in June 2024, Copperprotek can formally announce that it is launching production testing with a US-based $5B global packaging firm in January 2025. This development paves the way for Copperprotek technology to be utilised in consumer-facing US animal-based products such as fresh beef pork, as well as processed meats like ham and hot dogs, beginning in 2025.
Copperprotek was founded in 2015 by esteemed research scientist Javier Lavin, a Chilean national who sought to leverage the country’s status as the world’s top copper producer (according to the International Trade Administration) to identify advanced, consumer-facing applications for the mineral.
In 2015, Lavin identified copper’s use as an antibacterial agent for food preservation in food packaging materials as the primary focus of his research. Since 2015, the company has completed two rounds of fundraising and achieved regulatory approval from ANVISA in Brazil, and now the FDA in the US.
Copperprotek’s patented microparticle can be combined with virgin polyolefin resin, which is then layered into packaging film. After more than a decade of research and development, Copperprotek’s technology can extend the shelf life of some proteins by up to 30 days, and findings have been substantiated and verified by the FDA/FSIS. Copperprotek ions disrupt bacterial membranes and inhibit their ability to reproduce. Additionally, they generate oxidative stress, damaging bacterial proteins, lipids, and DNA.
Due to the minimal amount of copper required (80mg per square metre of packaging film) to achieve this effect in packaging film, no labelling disclosing the presence of copper is required by the FSIS. Additionally, Copperprotek-integrated packaging remains translucent.
“Four goals drive our business, and they feed each other in this order: enhance food safety by extending shelf life (even amid cold chain interruptions), reduce food waste, reduce packaging waste, and ultimately improve bottom lines for food manufacturers,” said Jonathan Raineau, managing director of Copperprotek USA. “Gaining access to US markets through FDA approval has allowed us to commercially test this hypothesis at scale in one of the world’s most regulated spaces.”
