When my sister was in Vancouver, Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics, she brought me back eco-friendly, reusable food wrap.  It was the perfect gift for me, since I always avoid using saran wrap because I think it creates too much waste.  (I’m always using mismatched plates to cover the tops of bowls, which really doesn’t keep the food fresh at all, haha.)  Since this was my first time hearing about this product, I thought I would introduce it and write a review. Note that this is not a professional review and is based on my personal opinion and experience with the product.

Photos below:  Only the Abeego Flats are shown.  Go to http://abeego.ca to see the Abeego Wraps and Abeego Snacks.

Product Information:

The food packaging is made from natural materials such as hemp and cotton fabric, and is coated with beeswax and plant extracts that make it fluid resistant.  The material feels like stiff, slightly waxy, thick linen.

The Canadian company, http://abeego.ca, sells pouches for food and snacks as well as flat sheets that can be used like saran wrap.  Each set of flats comes with 3 different sized sheets.  Photos of the flats above.  The company claims that the beeswax allows the flats to be pressed and molded to stick to dishes and itself.

Pros:

• It’s a Canadian company offering products that will reduce waste and garbage
• The natural materials make this an excellent option for wrapping food for children
• I love the smell of the beeswax in this product
• Each set of Abeego Flats comes with 3 different sized sheets.  Personally, I found that the smallest size was only useful for wrapping foods such as 1/2 an onion or apple or avocado.  But if you have young children (and smaller bowls), this size might be more useful to you.
• When used to wrap food directly, these wraps keep food fresh.  When the wraps were new, they kept 1/2 an onion fresh for Several weeks!
• I haven’t used the Abeego Wraps but they’re adorable and would be a cute and eco friendly way to pack food for a picnic or for school/work
• I think the Abeego Wraps make great gifts for your green friends, your foodie friends, and they make wonderful stocking stuffers, hostess gifts or house warming presents.

Cons:

• Certain types/colours of food can stain the material
• This material can not come in contact with any heat.  You even have to resist the urge to wash it with warm water as it should only be washed in cold water
• The flats do not stick to themselves very well unless there is a lot of overlap or if you can fold it over on itself twice, so they do not form nearly as tight of a seal as saran wrap.
• It is troublesome to use these to cover bowls and especially plates.
• I couldn’t find information on how many uses these products are good for
• After using them several times, they became very wrinkly and unsightly.  Without being able to use warm/hot water to wash them, I became concerned about bacteria collecting in the creases.

Overall Recommendation:

Although I like the concept of the Abeego Flats, they are only well suited for wrapping food directly.  They are troublesome to use for covering bowls or plates, they are ineffective at creating a good seal, and they are difficult to wash.  Having said that, I would probably enjoy and get more use out of the Abeego Wraps.