Getting the message through to regulators

2 April 2012

It is encouraging to see that governments are, at last, recognising the positive role that packaging plays, not least in protecting our food. The European Parliament has called for urgent measures to prevent food waste stating: “The optimisation and efficient use of food packaging can play an important role in preventing food waste by reducing a product’s overall environmental impact, not least by means of industrial eco-design, which includes measures such as varying pack sizes to help consumers buy the right amount and discourage excessive consumption of resources, providing advice on how to store and use products, and designing packaging in such a way as to increase the longevity of goods and maintain their freshness, always ensuring that appropriate materials, which are not prejudicial to health or to the durability of products are used for food packaging and preservation.”

This statement sums up all the factors our industry has been focusing on in recent years. And with the world population anticipated to grow from 7 billion to 9 billion before 2050, packaging that can protect and preserve food throughout the supply chain will become even more vital if supply is to meet demand.

It’s positive news for everyone involved in the packaging industry, in that the need for packaging can only grow. But it does mean more thought and consideration has to go towards maintaining a sustainable life-cycle with regards to the materials, packs, products and the knock-on environmental effect of their transportation.

In regard to portion packs that help consumers buy the right amount of food so that less is thrown away, this would be helped immensely if supermarkets refrained from encouraging bulk purchases – buy one get one free, three for the price of two, and so on. The consumer can see that to only purchase the quantity they want, they will be paying too much, so they pick up the additional pack(s) to qualify for the offer. Unfortunately, this inevitably results in some food going in the waste bin.

This behaviour by the supermarkets does the image of packaging no favours. The consumer is indirectly encouraged to revert to loose produce so they have more control over their purchases. So the positive image of packaging as a convenient and valuable means of food transportation and preservation is thereby eroded.

Felicity Murray, Editor


Felicity Murray



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