Page 14 - Processing And Packaging News Today

Increasing citizen awareness, investor pressure and government action around the health, environmental, social, and animal welfare impacts of our food systems, means that in 2022 the chorus to translate words into actions, to transform a food system many consider not fit for purpose, is only going to accelerate, expects Mark Driscoll, founder and director of Tasting the Future, a sustainable food systems consultancy.

COVID-19 restrictions have made consumers feel more disconnected to the world than ever before, believes the CEO and founder of world ingredient supplier Red Rickshaw and world food meal kit FeastBox.

With concerns about food waste rising, researchers from Tufts University have hailed silk fibroin-based edible coatings as a potential solution.

Over 40% of consumers have already adopted reusable grocery packaging and are ‘thinking about’ using reusable packaging reveals new consumer research from the UK-based group which aims to give suppliers and retailers insight into consumer attitudes towards refill and return packaging solutions.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is to re-evaluate the risks of bisphenol A (BPA) in food as the Court of Justice of the EU confirms the chemical must be listed as a “substance of very high concern” for its hormone-disrupting properties on the human body.

A new monitoring platform claims it allows CPGs, retailers and farmers to track their land-based carbon footprint within supply chains and target ‘nature-based solutions at scale and speed’.

Many food products sold in Europe including stock cubes, chocolate and spreads are contaminated with dangerous mineral oils, claims Foodwatch.

A new report from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has found that principal members in its ReSource: Plastic programme – including The Coca-Cola Co, McDonald’s, Keurig Dr Pepper, Procter & Gamble and Starbucks – cut their use of ‘problematic plastic’ by 57% between 2018 and 2020. However, the sector needs to move further and faster to a grip on the plastic problem.

Rising commodity prices put an onus on food and beverage manufacturers to exploit the opportunities presented by air as an ingredient in products, believes ‘food futurologist’ Dr Morgaine Gaye.

Packaging manufacturer Westpak has unveiled a series of new punnets and tray designs which it claims deliver a manufacturing breakthrough in packaging sustainability and offer grocery retailers and their suppliers a set of commercially viable paper-based alternative to plastic punnets.