A third of the world's food is lost or wasted every year. Sustainable packaging can make a decisive contribution to protecting and extending the shelf life of fresh food and therefore plays an important role in the fight against food waste.
Around 1.3 billion tonnes of food are lost worldwide every year, enough to feed two billion people - more than the combined population of Europe and Africa. Waste occurs along the entire value chain. According to the FAO, the production of food that is lost or wasted is not only responsible for seven per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but also consumes 30 per cent of the world's agricultural land and six per cent of total surface and groundwater extraction.
The right packaging provides a barrier against moisture and gases, prevents spoilage and protects the food from physical damage during transport. Corrugated cardboard is well suited for the delivery of food, especially for fresh produce, which must be padded, ventilated, stable, moisture-resistant and protected, says packaging manufacturer Mondi. In the production of corrugated cardboard, the material itself is heated three times to at least 100 °C during the production process and is thus ensures the elimination of microbes and bacteria.
Scientific studies have shown that fruit can be kept fresher and safer in corrugated cardboard trays than in reusable plastic containers, as corrugated board significantly reduces so-called microbial cross-contamination. On reusable plastic crates, for example, bacteria can settle in cracks and crevices on the surface of the crates. This risk does not exist with corrugated cardboard solutions, as they are only used once and can then be recycled.
„In a circular economy, products are ideally designed to last as long as possible and can be reused and/or recycled. Reuse is often not the best solution, especially for fresh produce. We can't just look at packaging from a waste management perspective, we also need to consider the functionality, sustainability and overall performance of the packaging.“
Markus Gärtner, CEO Corrugated Packaging at Mondi
Fresh products in fully recyclable packaging consisting only of paper, starch and glue are currently popular with consumers. Mondi, for example, has developed a range of corrugated cardboard packaging solutions under the brand name Grow&Go to protect fresh produce and transport them safely, efficiently and conveniently from the producer to the shelves and on to the consumer's table. The range offers a large number of variants that cover everything from heavy bulk deliveries to light fruit and vegetable assortments for display on the shelf.
The corrugated board of the Grow&Go-solutions, which are often complemented by water-resistant and water-absorbing technologies therefore offers alternatives to existing PE-coated packaging solutions in many cases.
