The Packaging Industry And Aid Agencies Should Form A New Public Ndashnbspprivate Partnership To Develop Innovative Packaging Solutions To Reduce The Waste Of Food In Developingnbspcountries According To Julian Carroll Managing Director Of Europen The European Organization Fornbsppackaging And The Environmentspeaking At The Save Food Congress Part Of The Packaging Industryrsquos Biggest Trade Fair Interpack Mrnbspcarroll Highlighted The Misconceptions About Packaging And The Lack Of Understanding By Manynbsppolicymakers Of The Valuable Role Packaging Can Play In Reducing Waste And Therefore Promoting Foodnbspavailability Referring To Packaging As Ldquothe Cinderella Of The Food Worldrdquo Mr Carroll Instead Painted Anbsppicture Of Packaging Playing A Central Role In Answering The Question Lsquohow Do We Feed The Nine Billionrdquosprawling Food Wastecarroll Directly Confronted Critiques Of The Industry By Making The Case For Packagingrsquos Role In Reducingnbspfood Waste And Food Loss Which According To The Swedish Institute For Food And Biotechnologynbspamounts To 23 Billion Tonnes Of Food A Year In India For Example Postharvest Food Loss Of Fruits Andnbspvegetables Can Be As High As 50 Or 80 Million Tonnes Which Is Almost As High As The Total Productionnbspof Fruit And Vegetables In The European Union The Discarding Of Edible Food Throughout The Eunbspamounts To 11 Of Total Food Production In Europe Or 89 Million Tonnesnbspcarroll Explained Ldquolet Me Put These Numbers Into Perspective In 2008 The Total Amount Of Food Thenbspworld Gave As Food Aid To Poor Countries Amounted To 63 Million Tonnes This Is Less Than A Tenth Of Thenbspamount Of Food Uk Consumers Alone Threw Away Each Yearrdquopackaging As Development Assistancewith The Global Population Expected To Rise To Over Nine Billion People By 2050 And Agricultural Expertsnbsppredicting A Need To Increase Agricultural Production By As Much As 70 To Feed The World Carrollnbsplamented The Fact That Packaging Has Never Been Considered By Policymakers As Part Of The Equation Tonbspaddress Food Security Issuesnbsptherefore Carroll Called On The Packaging Industry To Join Forces With Aid Agencies Policymakersnbspfarmers And Food Processors To Create A Public Private Partnership That Aims To Further Build Packagingnbspinfrastructure In Developing Countries To Reduce The Amount Of Food Wasted Postharvest At Market Andnbspamong Consumers This Will Enable Farmers To Profit More From Their Harvest And Increase The Overallfood Basket Of Food In Secure Regions Around The Worldnbspldquoletrsquos Go On And Work Together To Explore The Formation Of A Public Private Partnership Between Aidnbspagencies And The Packaging Industry Aimed At Delivering That Help To Build Packaging Infrastructure Itwould Be A Winwin Situation For Both Partiesrdquo Said Carroll In The Conclusion Of His Speechthe Rationale Behind This Approach Is Clear Firstly There Are A Range Of Very Inexpensive Packagingnbspoptions That Can Help Protect Produce And Dramatically Reduce Food Loss Such As Crates That Protectnbspfragile Fruits And Vegetables That Can Be Used Over And Over Again Secondly In The Longterm Asnbspconsumers In Developing And Emerging Economies Become Wealthier They Will Be Able To Afford Morenbsppackaged Foods Which Will Help Reduce Food Waste Even Morein His Speech Carroll Likened The Role Packaging Can Play In Addressing Food Security To The Ability Ofnbspsewage Systems To Improve Overall Health Proper Sewage Has Done More To Extend Life Expectancynbspthan All The Miracles Of Modern Medicine Likewise Decent Packaging Is Likely To Make More Foodnbspavailable To More People Than Expensive Biotechnologysavings In The North To Help The Southldquowhat Is The Point In Devoting So Much Effort To Produce More Food If That Food Rots Or Is Thrown Awaynbspwhy Put Millions Of Acres Under The Plough Just To Waste The Resulting Croprdquo Carroll Asked Thenbspaudiencenbspcarroll Also Explained That By Bringing To Market New Packaging Innovations To Reduce Food Waste Innbsprich Countries These Countries Will Need To Import Less Food And Could Free Up Additional Food To Providenbspas Food Aid
