food waste

Plastic plays a significant role in preventing food waste. It has an exceptional ability to keep out air, moisture and bacteria that can cause products to go off before they’re cooked or eaten. And it’s often the most efficient and cost-effective material to package food for transportation and storage.

In a recent survey by Boston Consulting Group of 15,000 people globally, 83% of millennial and Gen Z consumers said they’d be willing to pay more for products that came in sustainable packaging.

The product, called Apeel, is a plant-based protection used on fruits and vegetables to slow down their rate of spoilage, keeping fruits and vegetables fresher for longer. Apeel gives produce more time which helps fight food waste between the supplier and store and more importantly in the home.

As a nation, we throw away 6.6 million tonnes of household food waste a year and 400,000 tonnes of that is fruit. Every day, we throw away 720,000 whole oranges.

Currently, the coatings are focused on flowers and fruits with inedible skins, however, the companies are investigating opportunities for edible coatings on other fruits and vegetables.

Consumers today expect retailers to minimize food waste by exploring alternatives to plastic packaging which is what inspired the two companies to devise an environmentally-friendly coating. 

The coating sets an alternative in motion that could improve on waste volumes in the value chain.

An innovative new cardboard box is helping to remove 180,000 polystyrene containers from landfill every year.

Talley’s has worked with packaging company Sealed Air to develop a cardboard box which allows fish to be carried in unrefrigerated vans without the seafood deteriorating.

The move has been praised by the Packaging Forum, as an example of innovative thinking coming to fruition.

The new TempGuard cartons, which are fully recyclable and made from 80 per cent recycled materials, have been rolled out throughout the Talley’s supply chain.