Mondi and Sealpac experts dissect fresh produce packaging amid plastic ban proliferation

16 Mar 2022 --- Recent laws banning plastic packaging for fruit and vegetable products above certain weights has called into question the efficacy of wrapping fresh produce: do we need to package items like fruits and vegetables at all, or would selling them loose result in higher levels of food waste and therefore increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions? 

France and Spain both passed legislation forbidding plastic use for a range of 30 different fruits and vegetables – if they weigh less than 1.5 kg, they must not be wrapped in any form of plastic. 

These moves, already in force in France and set for implementation in Spain in 2023, sparked various debates both about the intra EU implications of such laws, which followed shortly after the EU Single Use Packaging Directive, and whether they will have an inverse impact on the environment or whether they haven’t gone far enough in wiping out plastic from the aisles. 

PackagingInsights sits down with experts from Mondi and Sealpac to get a deeper look into the issue of fresh produce packaging as a whole, what the latest developments are, where policymakers can help and what we can expect to see in the future. 

Mondi and French Group LSDH’s Les Crudettes salads with functional barrier paper packaging made from 95% fiber.The food waste crisis 
Jan-Mark Wilke, business development manager for fresh food, Mondi Consumer Flexibles, says the issue of fresh food spoilage is at the heart of all packaging issues. 

“The foremost function of packaging is to protect what is inside, during production, storage and transportation. If this is not the case, the resources used in producing both the food and the packaging itself will be wasted.”

“If not packaged properly, especially delicate fresh food products can be compromised before making it to the dinner table. Discarding these compromised or damaged products can lead to another challenge, food waste.” 

It is estimated that 33% or 1.3 billion metric tons of the world’s food are lost or wasted every year, accounting for roughly 7% of GHG emissions. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, if food waste were a country, it would be approximately as big as Canada and India combined. 

This equates to 1.4 billion hectares – 28% of the world’s agricultural area. It would be able to feed the 800 million hungry people on the planet with just a quarter of its surface.

Fighting the waste 
Sealpac’s PerfoLid made with Equilibrium Modified Atmosphere Packaging.Marcel Veenstra, marketing and communications manager at Sealpac, says that innovative packaging solutions can significantly increase the shelf life of fresh fruit and vegetables. “When stored in an optimal atmosphere, their metabolism slows down, so they remain fresh, crunchy and appetizing for longer,” he explains. 

“A modern fruit or vegetable pack must fulfill a wide variety of different requirements. Aside from highest food standards and product protection, producers expect maximum efficiency in their production process.” 

“Retailers are demanding maximum shelf life, attractive optics to provide buying impulses to customers, and best logistical characteristics such as stacking at point of purchase. Consumers’ wishes include not only an excellent fresh product and an easy-to-open pack, but also improved environmental sustainability.” 

Smaller pack sizes, shorter preparation times and ready-to-eat portions are now standard, Veenstra continues. 

Respiration rate 
Determining how to meet these needs requires analysis of individual products. 

“Fresh produce needs to be able to breathe. This is why contrary to modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), most of the packs cannot be hermetically closed. We see different solutions here, where the optimal situation would be to have the packaging fit to the exact breathing pattern of the product inside,” says Veenstra.

“When it comes to pre-cut or processed fruits and vegetables, MAP is clearly more common. Here, we see many innovative packaging solutions that address the issue of convenience.” 

“Our partner PerfoTec has a solution to reach the optimum protective atmosphere inside the pack, also known as Equilibrium Modified Atmosphere Packaging. This is achieved by laser perforation of the top film, where the amount and size of the holes are perfectly tuned to the breathing pattern of the product.” 

WRAP claims to have evidence that selling fresh produce without any plastic packaging extends shelf life.By combining this with Sealpac’s EasyLid system, which provides sealing and lidding in one single step, it is possible to create an environmentally sustainable, reclosable pack with optimal freshness until the very last portion. “We call this our PerfoLid concept,” continues Veenstra. 

Similarly, Wilke says Mondi often uses “clever packaging solutions that not only prevent spoilage by inhibiting exposure to gasses, grease, oxygen, mineral oil and moisture through their barrier properties, but they can also help consumers buy the right amount, providing convenience and portion control.”

“When it comes to preventing food from spoiling, the packaging industry can play a key role at all stages of the supply chain.” 

Last year, for example, Mondi equipped French Group LSDH’s Les Crudettes salads with functional barrier paper packaging made from 95% fiber, replacing its previous plastic bags with a solution recyclable in France. 

The plastic issue
When it comes to fresh produce, if we want to prevent food waste, it is almost impossible to do without plastic, says Veentstra. “That is why our motto can only be: as little plastic as possible, as much as necessary.” 

“If we did not apply plastic, we would have to throw away much more fruits and vegetables, which on its own is far more damaging to the environment than the packaging itself. However, we can support customers in reducing the amount of plastic to the minimum, increase the recyclability of the remaining plastic and/or introduce alternative materials.” 

Mondi is calling for greater EPR to aid its food waste reduction efforts.However, a recent report by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) shows that plastic does not necessarily extend the shelf life of fresh produce and can damage products, having the reverse impact. 

The resource efficiency organization called for an end to unnecessary plastic packaging and Best Before labels on a wide range of fresh uncut fruit and vegetables in the UK, similar to France and Spain. 

WRAP also says evidence shows that selling fresh produce loose and removing date labels could prevent 14 million shopping baskets worth of food from going to waste and 1,100 rubbish trucks of avoidable plastic simply by allowing people to buy what they need.

Policy shifts 
Ultimately, Mondi says fundamental shifts need to be reached at the governmental level to address fresh food waste and that innovations and technology created by industry can only go so far. 

“Key challenges that remain are the lack of harmonization of collection, sorting and recycling guidelines across countries and regions as well as evolving extended producer responsibility (EPR) fee modulation. 

Changing fees paid by producers in a collective EPR scheme based on products’ environmental performance, while adding complexity, can be a driver of upstream innovation and incentivize eco-design,” says Wilke. 

“More innovation is needed if we are to simultaneously reduce food loss and waste, conserve resources and reduce the impact of packaging on the planet, and we are constantly exploring new ways to do this. We can’t do it alone, and it is, therefore, more important than ever that we work together – as manufacturers, brands and consumers – to find solutions to stop food waste and address food insecurity for the long-term benefit of everyone.” 

By Louis Gore-Langton