Bakery packaging eases eco-concerns with plastic reduction, bio-based and shelf life extension technologies

21 Apr 2021 --- Innova Market Insights has reported steady +2.4 percent average annual growth in new bakery launches (Global, CAGR [2018-2020]). However, with increasing demands for environmental sustainability being levied through legislation and consumer demand, the bakery packaging sector is under unprecedented pressure to innovate with its materials and designs. 

PackagingInsights explores recent market trends and new technological developments with two of the sector’s leading companies, Sealpac and Taghleef Industries. 

Marcel Veenstra, marketing manager at Sealpac, and a team of Taghleef Industries’ experts highlight key issues in the category. These include the importance of plastics reduction and bioplastic innovations, as well as the need for shelf life-extending technologies. 

COVID-19 food waste 
According to WRAP, bread is the second most wasted food item in the UK, with 900,000 metric tons going to waste every year, equating to 24 million slices of bread every day. 

Over the COVID-19 period, there has been a significant increase in the amount of fresh food thrown away as consumers over-buy, with bread being one of the main items going to waste. 

WRAP estimates that in the UK alone, food waste has a value of £19 billion (US$26.4 billion) per year and is associated with more than 25 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Modified Atmosphere Packaging 
Veenstra asserts Sealpac sees food waste as a major trend running through bakery packaging, which will determine industry success in meeting the sustainability requirements of the future. 

In the UK alone, 900,000 tons of bread goes to waste each year.The answer is producing shelf life extending packaging, which for bakery products is critical. Veenstra highlights the importance of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) technology, which can double the shelf life of various food products. 

“By exchanging the normal air inside the package with a suitable gas mixture, shelf lives of at least 30 days can be achieved. For example, in the growing segment of bake-off rolls, or in the case of gluten-free bakery products, another booming segment, MAP prevents these products from drying out.”

“MAP technology is significantly increasing the shelf life of all sorts of bakery products, therefore preventing food waste.”

Even though environmental sustainability goals are sometimes focused on reducing plastic waste, Veenstra says reducing food waste is of even more importance for some products. 

For example, concerning fresh meat, the carbon footprint of a packaged product is mainly caused by producing the meat itself, where the impact of the packaging is often less than 10 percent, he explains. 

“This is where the bakery industry will have to find its optimum between plastic waste and food waste.”

Plastic reductions 
Plastic packaging continues to be a contentious industry issue, with a growing number of consumers seeing reductions in petrochemical materials as central to sustainability efforts. 

However, the bakery sector continues to rely heavily on plastic materials. Innova Market Insights reports that bakery is the third-largest end-use sector in the European flexible packaging market with a 9 percent share of total volume. 

Its share is likely to fall over the coming years due to material reduction programs by brand owners and retailers and the move away from plastic packaging to alternative, more sustainable materials.Companies like Taghleef and Sealpac are working to increase plastic alternative packaging for bakery products.

However, in a recent survey, Innova Market Insights found 74.1 percent of global bakery products launched in 2019 were packaged in plastics, only a slight reduction from 74.4 percent in 2015. 

PET in bakery packaging product launches actually increased from 2.1 percent in 2015 to 2.6 percent in 2019, but more products were also packaged in recycled PET (rPET). 

The bakery category evidently will face challenges in adapting to a new packaging landscape. Impending plastics regulations such as the UK Plastics Tax, the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive, and the US Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act loom over the sector.

Baking with bio-based 
The Taghleef experts emphasize the importance of converting plastic bakery packaging to materials with post-consumer recyclate (PCR) and incorporating bio-based materials. 

“Bio-based packaging uses renewable resources and is an alternative to fossil-based materials, while home and/or industrial compostable products can provide more end-of-life options,” the experts explain. 

“Furthermore, although as of the moment it remains proof of principle due to limited availability, we will see an increase in the use of materials with PCR chemically recycled content, which is food contact compliant.”

Bio-based materials were recently called into question through a UK government consultation, which found that while viable sustainable materials exist, many options currently on the market are misleadingly labeled and contaminate conventional recycling streams.

The consultation reported that harmonizing the definitions of bio-based, compostable and biodegradable plastics is essential to securing genuine sustainability. 

Switching to compostable or biodegradable forms of plastic could be essential in improving sustainability.Taghleef experts echo this concern, adding that social infrastructure must also be improved and made consistent for bakery packaging. 

“The capability to replace multi-material structures with mono-material solutions also improves the packaging’s recyclability and compatibility with existing recycling streams,” they note. 

Sealpac solutions 
Sealpac is actively working to reduce its virgin plastic content while advancing shelf life properties, says Veenstra. 

“Even though most bake-off products are already packaged in relatively thin, flexible film, we still try to reduce the thickness of the film by offering the Rapid Air Forming System on our thermoformers.” 

“This system achieves an improved forming consistency, particularly in the corners of the pack, without requiring an additional stamp mechanism. As a result, up to 10 percent thinner films can be used.”

The company is also offering a resealable packaging format through its EasyLid system, for reclosable product types such as for cookie dough. 

Taghleef innovation
Taghleef is providing films with improved performances in terms of sealing and proficiency in high-speed lines, with thinner films for reduced material consumption and an ability to provide functionalities to other materials such as paper.

Taghleef also offers mono-material solutions that are Polyvinylidene chloride (PVdC) free and can replace Alu-foil and PET, as well as bio-based solutions such as bio-polypropylene and its compostable material Nativia. 

By Louis Gore-Langton