VIDEO: A little more packaging can make a big difference
Ninety million tons of food are thrown away each year in Europe alone. Alongside the need to change attitudes towards food, protecting the food we have is crucial. European food experts quote packaging as an important tool to help extend the shelf life of food.“Increases in packaging of a couple of grams can prevent food waste that has a much bigger environmental impact”, says Andrew Parry from WRAP in the UK.
Even though Europeans implement packaging solutions to protect food and keep it fresh for longer, households still decide not to eat one third of the food they purchase. This costs every family in Europe 565 euros every year.
Popular thinking in recent years has pushed to reduce the quantity of packaging citing damages to the environment. However evidence now shows that “Food waste has a 10-fold greater environmental impact than the packaging around it,” says Parry.
While Europeans waste too much, the story is altogether different for low income countries. Selina Juul of Stop Wasting Food told us that “In Sub-Saharan Africa, food capable of feeding 48 million people is wasted annually post-harvest, with lack of packaging and poor infrastructure being the main causes, and this is before it even reaches consumers.”
Angelika Christ, Secretary General for FEFCO sums up “Packaging alone can’t solve the food waste problem but as part of a suite of tools, packaging is a key element to prevent food from spoiling and to keep it in perfect shape.”
For more information, visit www.fefco.org
