Sustainability

The thirty-month co-innovation research project named Reusify is mainly funded by Business Finland. It aims to develop reusable packaging systems and help reduce the use of packaging materials, fossil-based materials for packaging, and packaging waste. The total budget of the project is roughly 2 million euro. Thanks to this initiative, Finnish companies in all key sectors could potentially reach an export market of 1.45 billion euro by 2035.

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has announced that it making sustainable changes to its fish and chicken packaging, with the adaptations cutting plastic waste by 694 tonnes per year.

The retailer claims its is the first to introduce pulp trays for all of its salmon and trout products and says that this packaging uses 70 percent less plastic and can also be recycled at home.

Somater has joined forces with French start-up Eranova to create a 100% bio-based line of packaging solutions. The partnership aims to provide a sustainable alternative to fossil-based polymers.

Puck launches ‘your creativity, infinite possibilities’ sustainability awareness campaign in UAE, KSA and Oman

This initiative aligns perfectly with the United Nations Sustainability Development goal number 12 that focuses on responsible consumption and production, as well as UAE’s and Saudi’s vision vision to eliminate landfill waste by 2030

“Packaging plays an essential role in securing accessibility, safety, hygiene, and affordability of food and everyday necessities for people around the world. The value of packaging is high, for instance, in helping to solve the problem of food waste that contributes 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling of packaging, a valuable resource, remains the next big challenge that needs partnerships across the industry and visionary start-ups to solve.” 

The product, called Earthfilm Butter-Wrap, is available in various barrier options.

Earthfilm Butter-Wrap utilises coated paper as a recyclable alternative to the butter wraps commonly used in the industry. According to the company, all coatings are eco-friendly water-based barriers, protecting from both grease and moisture.

Options for the butter wrap include standard Xtra – which features moisture barriers on both sides – and Ultra – comprised of a metallised film with a higher barrier and a metallised finish.

The oat milk “leaves” produce 94% less packaging and 85% less weight when shipped, removing supply chain inefficiencies “for a better planet,” Erdogan-Trinkhaus explained to FoodNavigator-USA during the Plant-Based World Expo in New York City earlier this week.

Each concentrated oat sheet makes 8 fluid ounces of oat milk when blended with water, which is designed to “shift the burden that we always put on the consumer to do the right thing” around sustainability and waste reduction, she said.

The Flexible Plastics Fund, established in May 2021, brings together five founding partners: Mars, Mondelēz International, Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Unilever, under the leadership of the producer compliance scheme Ecosurety.

Powered by AI, the group utilizes an 'evidence system' named eco2Veritas, developed by Greenback Recycling Technologies. This system tracks and certifies the collection, sorting, reprocessing, and end-product outcomes of flexible plastics.

Sidel has added a new version to its StarLITE-R range of bottle bases designed specifically for recycled PET (rPET). StarLITE-R Nitro is optimized for nitrogen-dosed products such as still beverages and edible oils in 100% rPET. Nitrogen dosing adds rigidity to ultralight PET bottles filled with still beverages and preserves the shelf life of edible oils by expelling oxygen during filling.

The supermarket chain is replacing traditional plastic trays with airtight vacuum packaging across its entire mince offering.

This move is expected to increase the shelf life of beef mince by nearly 50%, keeping the product fresher for up to two and a half weeks.

Notably, Iceland said it is the first UK supermarket to introduce vacuum packaging for pork mince as well.

Following a successful trial in 50 stores, the new packaging will be rolled out to more than 1,000 stores nationwide and online this month.