Food Packaging

Sainsbury’s will be the first UK retailer to roll out cardboard punnets for all mushrooms across all stores.

The change will have rolled out to all 13 own-brand lines including top sellers such as whole baby button, closed cup, organic and chestnut mushrooms by the end of January.

Customers can currently purchase bySainsbury’s and SO Organic mushrooms in cardboard punnets in all stores and online, and the change will affect Taste the Difference lines by the end of January.

Manufactured by Novolex brand Waddington North America, the new products include various sizes of dessert cups, tamper-evident containers, cake containers and bakery clamshells, including:

• Labels will be removed from Sprite and Sprite Zero 500ml rPET bottles as part of a limited trial designed to simplify the recycling process, and reduce use of packaging materials
• Consumers will find the new “label-less” bottles in eight Tesco Express Stores in Brighton and Hove, Bristol, London, and Manchester from January to March 2024
• Labels on 500ml Sprite and Sprite Zero bottles will be replaced with an embossed logo on the front of the pack and laser-engraved product information on the back

The pilot will see labels temporarily

The ASPF brings together a diverse group of global stakeholders to engage with regulators and governments around the world to encourage the adoption of a holistic and harmonized approach to food packaging regulation, according to a news release. The group's goal is to achieve environmental sustainability without compromising on food safety and public health and without increasing the environmental footprint of the food supply chain, the release said.

• Dr.

“This is something we’ve wanted to do for a while, and we’re glad that we’ve finally made it happen,” said Kelley Marian, founder of Green Juju. “We’ve gotten great feedback already from store owners and anyone who’s had a chance to get a sneak peek.”

Green Juju’s Raw Goat’s Milk line includes three variations of 100% pure goat’s milk without added probiotics. The company offers raw goat’s milk, goat’s milk fermented with probiotics, and lactose-free goat’s milk for more sensitive stomachs.

The new rules will require grocers to sell more loose fresh produce in a move designed to combat both food and packaging waste.

If implemented, consumers will no longer be forced to buy larger pre-packed amounts of fruit or veg and can instead choose exactly how much they want to buy, directly reducing the amount of food and plastic waste created.

The BRC has warned that the ban should not go too far, highlighting potential economic and technical barriers to the move.