Feeding a household shouldn’t have to cost the environment so dearly, and finding solutions shouldn’t only come from consumers but also from manufacturers
By comparing prices, choosing cheaper products (or “trading down”), picking up goods with short expiry dates, or loading up on offers and promotions, consumers are using all kinds of strategies to make ends meet at a time when inflation is driving up prices and putting pressure on household budgets.
But solutions to cope with the economic situation should not only be sought by consumers themselves, but also by brands and food manufacturers. Here, it’s not a matter of talking about their strategy to secure their margins, but rather to support customers in their need to save money.
And in this endeavour, one unexpected avenue of exploration involves rethinking packaging, according to a study by the firm Mintel, reported by Food Navigator.
“With double-digit inflation common among G20 nations, consumers will look to brands to help them overcome economy-induced stresses with products and packaging that mesh with purchasing abilities and reflect value without compromise”, says the market research firm’s report.
Read more: The weigh-in: Should it be the law that all restaurants in Hong Kong donate their excess food?
Increasing shelf life
Forget shrinkflation, whereby brands keep the same packaging but reduce the size of the food, if not the quantity, that goes into it.
The goal is instead to come up with new “recipes” for packaging that keeps food fresh to extend shelf life. While in the UK, several supermarket chains (Waitrose, Morrisons) have decided to remove expiry dates from certain foodstuffs that can be consumed beyond a certain period with minimal risk to health, a copper-based packaging film sold to brands operating in Latin America can extend shelf life by 250%.
The company that manufactures this “second skin” is called Amcro LifeSpan and is focusing on the principle of ionisation to slow down the development of microorganisms.
In Italy, research has already been conducted to extend the shelf life of packets of fresh pasta. By using probiotics and changing the ratio used to form the gas that fills the packaging, which serves to eliminate oxygen, scientists have managed to extend the shelf life of fresh pasta up to 120 days.
Estimates suggest that 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions are associated with food that is not consumed. Reducing food waste at retail, foodservice and household level can provide many benefits #ForPeopleForPlanet#ForNature #StopFoodLossWaste pic.twitter.com/Wlm199Y4rJ
— UN Environment Programme (@UNEP) May 15, 2021