Food protection must remain central to sustainable packaging

Reducing the amount of material used in food packaging may appear to be an obvious route towards greater sustainability, but experts are warning that less packaging does not necessarily result in less overall waste. Packaging that fails to adequately protect food can shorten shelf life, increase damage and ultimately contribute to greater environmental impacts through food loss and waste.

The issue has gained renewed attention around World Packaging Day, with the World Packaging Organization (WPO), the Australasian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and Foundation FSSC calling for a broader approach to sustainable packaging. Rather than assessing a solution primarily by the quantity or type of material used, they argue that its ability to protect and preserve food throughout the value chain must also be considered.

Food protection as a sustainability priority

Food packaging performs several essential functions, including protecting products against contamination and physical damage, maintaining quality and extending shelf life. It can also provide consumers with important information about storage, preparation and safe use.

This role becomes particularly significant when considering the environmental impact of food waste. Approximately 1.05 billion tonnes of food are wasted annually at retail, foodservice and household levels, while additional losses occur between production and retail. Food loss and waste are estimated to account for between 8% and 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Against this background, reducing packaging material without considering product protection can create unintended consequences. A lighter packaging format, for example, may have a lower material footprint but could increase food waste if it offers insufficient barrier properties, is easily damaged or cannot be resealed after opening.

New packaging requirements under FSSC 22000

The relationship between packaging and food waste is also being incorporated into food safety management systems. FSSC 22000 Version 7 includes elements of the Save Food Packaging Design Principles developed by AIP in collaboration with RMIT University and End Food Waste Australia and subsequently expanded internationally through WPO.

Under the updated framework, organizations designing primary packaging or packaging materials are expected to consider whether their solutions effectively contain and protect products, preserve or extend shelf life and contribute to reducing food loss and waste. Packaging must also provide appropriate information for handling, storage and preparation without compromising food safety.

According to Foundation FSSC, the new requirements could affect more than 40,000 organizations involved in primary packaging and packaging material design.

Looking beyond packaging material alone

The approach encourages packaging teams to assess performance across the complete product lifecycle. Designers should consider protection from damage and contamination, preservation of product quality, ease of opening and resealing, consumer instructions and the combined amount of food and packaging waste generated.

There is therefore no universal packaging solution. The optimal format depends on the food category, distribution chain, consumer behaviour, regulatory requirements and available collection and recycling infrastructure.

For the packaging industry, the broader sustainability objective is increasingly shifting from simply using less material towards designing packaging that uses resources efficiently while ensuring that food reaches consumers safely and remains usable for as long as possible. Preventing the loss of the resources invested in producing, processing, transporting and refrigerating food can be just as important as reducing the environmental footprint of the package itself.