Opinions regarding food waste in packaging process

Food is one of and most necessary needs for human. Until today, there are almost 1 billion people suffering shortage of food. So any kind of food waste is 100% unacceptable, and should thus be avoided.

A study from The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations shows that about one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted in the world, which is about 1.3 billion tons per year. Food is lost or wasted throughout the whole supply chain, from the starting of agricultural production down to household consumption. According to the U.S. EPA, more than 38 million tons of food waste occurred in stateside in 2014, with only 5.1% diverted for composting.

In Canada, about $31 billion worth of food became landfills or composters each year with 47% of food waste happening at home (Value Chain Management International, 2014 report).

There are many initiatives around the world to address the issue of food waste in food packaging production. In 2015, the USDA and EPA announced a national food waste reduction goal, calling for a 50% reduction by 2030. The United Nations is adopting a similar objective as part of their new Sustainable Development Goals. France banned food waste, forcing supermarkets to sign agreements with charities so no edible food ends up in the trash. Italy’s Senate has passed a law that makes donating food easier for businesses and offers tax credits to supermarkets and farmers who donate. There is a proposal for a National Food Waste Reduction Strategy in Canada.

To efficiently reduce food waste, companies can start their food waste initiative by creating a waste reduction strategy to measure the impact of package use on the shelf life of their products. According to the plan, they can optimize the packing conditions, package format and materials to maximize shelf life and minimize food waste. The shipping container and pallet configuration should also be reviewed and optimized to minimize product damage.

Another efficient way to reduce food waste is the use of barrier packaging, but that means higher costs in packaging. Without using of barrier packaging, the quality of the food products may be compromised and shelf life shortened, so companies need to weigh the risk of dissatisfied consumers and loss revenue due to unsold products. It’s kind of dilemma, the best way is to perform a Life Cycle Assessment, which measures the environmental impacts of the package through the entire life cycle from production, usage to disposal. This can be a long and expensive endeavour.

Packaging can extend product shelf life so as to prevent food waste. It’s still a long way to address the food waste problem. The food packaging industry must balance consumer demands for sustainable packaging with demands for convenience, performance, appearance and cost. A quality package should protect and preserve the product and deliver it safely to the consumer.

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