Meat and fish packaging: Balancing functionality and fiber amid demands for safety and recyclability

Retailers and packaging providers are increasingly creating meat and fish packaging that reduces plastic but does not compromise functionality or shelf life.

Meat and fish packaging must protect and preserve products during transport and display in supermarkets.

Packaging Insights speaks to Sealpac and Cirkla about their latest packaging innovations, aiming to reduce plastic, highlighting the meat and fish packaging industry’s unique challenges of providing safety, functionality, and protection.

Packaging with purpose 

Sealpac and Cirkla highlight that plastic is increasingly undesired in meat and fish packaging as retailers and consumers care about environmental impact. 

Single-use plastic can contribute to ocean and environmental pollution, and scientists recently raised concerns over presence of microplastics in packaged fish and meat products. A recent study discovered microplastics in 88% of tested food samples, including seafood, pork, beef, chicken, and tofu. 

Cirkla’s MAP trays are made from renewable plant fibers with an easy-peel liner (Image credit: Cirkla).“The main challenge is reducing plastics while maintaining the shelf life of the product,” says Marcel Veenstra, marketing and communication manager at Sealpac. He argues that not all plastic is bad and that one should consider a product’s overall environmental impact. 

“One always must look at the total footprint, including the product itself. In the case of fresh meat or seafood, it may well be that the product makes up 70% of the footprint, where transport accounts for 25%, and the packaging for just 5%.”

Sealpac’s hybrid packs have a paper base but require a plastic inlay or liner to achieve the “right amount” of barrier for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), says Veenstra.  

Meanwhile, Cirkla’s fiber MAP trays are made from renewable plant fibers with a proprietary easy-peel liner. “These trays reduce plastic waste by 85% while maintaining the oxygen and moisture barriers essential for meat and seafood preservation,” says Glenn Divers, vice president of sales at Cirkla. 

“Crucially, these trays are engineered for plug-and-play compatibility with standard MAP equipment and deliver the seal strength, rigidity, and freshness retention expected from traditional PET or PP trays — while remaining cost-competitive.” 

Fiber is promising, but not perfect  

Fiber-based packaging is a common solution for meat and fish packaging, yet Divers points to a misconception about the innovation. 

“One major misconception is that sustainable packaging can’t deliver on performance — that if you switch from plastic to fiber, you have to compromise on things like strength, barrier protection, or shelf life. That may have been true historically, but it’s not anymore.”

Sealpac has developed an ultra-light recyclable mono-PP or mono-PET tray (Image credit: Sealpac).Cirkla’s meat and fish packaging trays match the technical perimeters that plastic does, like rigidity, seal integrity, and barrier performance, cutting plastic waste by at least 85%, says Divers.  

While the recyclability of packaging products is paramount to a product’s sustainability credentials, Divers is skeptical about the practicality of meat and fish packaging recycling streams, especially as meat and fish packaging is easily contaminated. 

He tells us: “Most multimaterial plastics used in meat trays are not recovered in real-world recycling systems. Cirkla’s fiber-based trays solve this by using a proprietary easy-peel liner that allows consumers to separate plastic from fiber, ensuring the tray enters the paper recycling stream without contamination.”

Sealpac also offers meat and fish packaging with incorporated cardboard. Veenstra highlights that these solutions still contain plastic and must be recycled correctly.

“In hybrid solutions, most plastic is replaced by cardboard, and the packaging can be separated into individual materials after use. Recycling is made easy by throwing these materials away in the appropriate waste bins.”

Visualizing freshness 

Keeping meat and fish fresh is important for consumer safety and health. Veenstra highlights that consumers relate the color of a product to its freshness, especially in the case of fresh meat. MAP maintains the red color of meat, while other types of packaging can turn meat purple. 

Cirkla’s Divers explains that many meat brands have stuck with PET/PP trays as “historically, few materials could offer both sustainability and functional performance.”

“But innovation has caught up. For example, Cirkla has developed multiple solutions, including fiber-based MAP trays that don’t force a trade-off: they deliver commercial-grade technical performance with sustainable, PFAS-free, and recyclable materials.”

Sealpac’s EasyLid system eliminates the snap-on lid, reducing weight by up to 40% (Image credit: Sealpac).Maintaining fresh and healthy produce is an essential part of meat and fish packaging for consumers, which can be helped by the visual appeal of the produce and packaging.

Veenstra does not see this dilemma as a trade-off but as an opportunity for retailers and consumers to understand that hybrid solutions allow product communication and branding.

“Hybrid packs have three main advantages. First, the paper base allows for excellent product communication and branding. Second, the amount of plastic compared to common trays in the market is reduced significantly. And third, recycling is encouraged as the different materials are easily separated after use for individual disposal as plastic or paper waste.” 

Cutting plastic  

Another approach to reduce plastic in meat and fish packaging is to reduce weight and plastic content.  

Veenstra highlights that Sealpac has developed an ultra-light recyclable mono-PP or mono-PET tray. 

“In close cooperation with its partners, Sealpac has succeeded in reducing the weight of the 190 x 144 mm tray, the most common size used in Europe from 18 grams in 2003 to well below 10 grams today.” 

Since 2014, Sealpac has also offered the EasyLid system for reclosable packaging. This system eliminates the common snap-on lid, leading to weight reductions of up to 40%. 

Divers highlights how the most sought-after packaging solutions today are those that: 

• Reduce plastic content without compromising barrier performance 
• Integrate into existing production lines with no need for capital investment 
• Offer clear end-of-life pathways, such as recyclability or compostability
• Maintain cost competitiveness, especially at scale. 

Divers expects that fiber-based solutions will become a “default expectation” in the meat and fish packaging industry (Image credit: Cirkla).The future is fiber 

Divers expects that fiber-based solutions will become a “default expectation” in the meat and fish packaging industry. 

He adds: “Regulatory changes in the EU, US, and other key markets will likely ban or heavily tax non-recyclable plastic packaging — particularly for food. Retailers, too, are tightening their sustainability criteria, demanding that suppliers show reductions in plastic use and emissions across their value chains.”

Sealpac’s Veenstra also highlights comprehension of regulatory demands as essential to the success of the meat and dish packaging industry. “Our customers need to achieve substantial plastic reduction targets, but also at the same time adhere to increased local and international regulations for manufacturing and packaging.”

Veenstra underscores that the development of meat and fish packaging solutions hinges on technical and production workers, of which he says there is a shortage. 

He concludes: “Know-how is reducing, but themes like implementing Industry 4.0 to achieve smart factories and improve product traceability are needed. This requires advice from true packaging experts and innovative packaging solutions that support meat and seafood manufacturers in meeting all these demands.”