Packaging's Role in Minimizing Food Loss and Waste Across the Supply Chain

This paper presents the results of Australian research that explored the role of packaging in minimizing food waste in the supply chain. The economic, social and environmental costs of food waste have been well documented elsewhere. This research contributes to the debate by identifying opportunities to reduce or recover food loss and waste through improved packaging. In the fresh produce sector, e.g. waste can be reduced through the use of packaging that improves product protection, ventilation and temperature control. Other opportunities include improved design of distribution packaging to reduce damage in transport and handling; design of primary packaging to reduce waste in the home, e.g. through appropriate portion sizes and by reducing confusion over date labels; and the use of retail‐ready packaging that minimizes handling and improves stock rotation in stores. An important conclusion of the study is that packaging can have a significant impact on reducing food waste in the food supply chain; and in some cases, a focus on reducing food waste will require more rather than less packaging. Packaging developers must therefore consider the product and its packaging as a complete system to optimize sustainability. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Selection of Packaging Systems in Supply Chains from a Sustainability Perspective: The Case of Volvo

The purpose of this article is to develop an evaluation model for the selection of packaging systems in supply chains from a sustainability perspective. A theoretical evaluation model for comparing cost efficiency and the environmental impact of packaging systems in supply chains are developed from literature. The model is tested in a case study of a supply chain involving Volvo Car Corporation and Volvo Logistics Corporation, comparing the use of newly developed, one‐way packaging with the sustainability of returnable packaging. The model compares the environmental and economic impacts of two packaging systems in a specific supply chain. The criteria used in the model are (i) packaging fill rate, (ii) packaging material, (iii) transport, (iv) material handling, (v) waste handling and (vi) administration. In the case study, the one‐way packaging resulted in fewer economic and environmental impacts, thereby indicating the importance for companies to question their packaging systems. The model has been tested on one component in a case study. It provides a comparison of the packaging choices included using comparative, but not absolute, figures for the economic and environmental impacts. Managers can use the model to compare packaging systems for component supply and determine the most sustainable packaging from environmental and economic perspectives. The case study indicated that the returnable packaging system commonly used in the automotive industry is not always preferable in terms of sustainability. The article fulfils the need to evaluate the impact of packaging systems on supply chain sustainability in terms of economic and environmental criteria. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Supply Chain Perspective on Green Packaging Development‐Theory Versus Practice

The purpose of this paper is to provide insight into how companies work during packaging development to reduce negative environmental impact along supply chains, and to compare their practical approaches with the theoretical concepts presented in the literature. The research approach is explorative and based on nine cases in the food and manufacturing industries in Sweden. Data were collected from the managerial perspectives of the packaging manager, the logistics manager and the environmental manager. The findings indicate that companies commonly apply a variety of green packaging approaches with a focus on approaches with clear economic benefits. Moreover, companies seem to lack guidance on how to handle trade‐offs and are unable to fully utilize the theoretical environmental benefits of green packaging approaches because of internal and external barriers. The paper presents five propositions regarding to what extent the theoretical green packaging concepts are applied in practice. To address the gap between theory and practice companies should: develop packaging solutions that contribute to a reduction of environmental impact from the consumer phase (for example through improved apportionment, user‐friendly and informative packaging); use local packaging adaptation as a strategy to address geographically varying transport, handling and waste management conditions; replace brand recognition through packaging size and shape with graphic design, high‐quality materials and printing. The results confirm that internal and external collaborations are important requirements for successful green packaging development. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simplified environmental evaluation tool for food packaging to support decision-making in packaging development

Packaging developers in the food industry must consider several, sometimes conflicting, environmental requirements on packaging along with an already complex combination of marketing, logistics and production requirements. Existing methods for the environmental evaluation of packaging either focus on a limited amount of environmental packaging criteria (such as recyclability or renewable content) or rely on life cycle assessment methodology requiring expert competence. To support the food industry in their efforts toward developing product and packaging combinations that reduce the total environmental impact in food supply chains, this article presents a simplified environmental evaluation tool for food packaging. The presented tool was developed through an iterative process in a collaborative research project with the food industry. It evaluates packaging systems based on packaging criteria sorted into four areas that represent the life-cycle steps packaging material production, transport, household and end-of-life. A comparison of the tool results and screening LCA results for three packaging cases showed no major differences. From the practitioners' perspective, the main advantages of the suggested tool are that it does not require LCA-competence, that the required input data is commonly available in packaging development projects and that its overall structure invites several functions of the company to participate. The theoretical benefits of the suggested tool are that it allows for a parallel assessment of eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness criteria in a life cycle perspective and that it considers littering risk as well as the influence of packaging on food waste in households     

An evaluation of the mechanical performance of extruded wheat starch loose fill

During the distribution process, products are continuously exposed to dynamic forces resulting from vehicle vibrations as well as drops and shocks from various types of handling. In order to reduce the adverse effects of such loads, protective packaging or cushioning materials are used. Engineered packaging materials are generally petroleum based (plastics) and present significant environmental concerns after their disposal. The use of environmentally friendly, bio‐compostable, alternatives is a logical development; however, if the salient protective characteristics of these materials are not well established, their use may lead to greater losses and a larger environmental impact through product loss. This paper introduces a comprehensive approach for the mechanical characterisation of alternative cushioning materials, which includes the effects of environmental conditions. The procedure is used to compare the performance of loose fill starch beads with a commonly used engineering cushioning material, namely medium density, closed cell polyethylene. The results show that the starch beads can offer a viable alternative to the engineered cushioning materials as they provide reasonable overall cushioning character, albeit over a narrower stress range when compared with the polyethylene cushions. The loose fill was also shown to perform in terms of vibration damping and resistance to sustained dynamic loads for low static stress levels.     

The Role of Household Food Waste in Comparing Environmental Impacts of Packaging Alternatives

This paper examines the environmental impacts of food waste and the influence that packaging alternatives can have on causing food waste. This paper presents the results of three life cycle assessment case studies on packed food products. The life cycle assessments were conducted for ham, dark bread and Soygurt drink (fermented soy‐based drink). In each case study, the environmental impacts of the products were assessed with different assumptions about the packaging sizes and alternative materials. The studies especially considered the environmental impacts resulting from food waste generated by consumers as a function of the variable packaging options. The food waste of other parts of the production chain of the studied products was also taken into account. A consumer survey was carried out to estimate the amounts of product waste generated in Finnish households connected to the three investigated products. The environmental impacts of the food products, household food waste and packaging were modelled by scenarios with varying rates of household food waste and different waste management options. The results indicated that the significance of the production and post‐consumer life of packaging was relatively low for climate change, eutrophication and acidification, in comparison with the production chain of the ham, dark bread and Soygurt. According to the results, packaging solutions that minimize the waste generation in households as well as in distribution and retail will lead to the lowest environmental impacts of the entire product‐packaging chain. Therefore, it is important to design packages that protect the food properly and allow the consumer to use the product fully. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

可视化智能包装在减少食物浪费中的应用

目的研究光学系统领域内用于监测水果、蔬菜、肉类等食品新鲜度的可视化智能包装技术手段,掌握相关原理,从而减少食物浪费。方法简述智能包装技术的概念和特点,阐明智能包装指示食物新鲜度的现状,根据食物不同特点,对几种不同指示新鲜度的应用进行阐述。结果智能包装的应用便于食品质量检测,可实现产品的可追溯性,大大提高了包装的智能性和信息性,促进了食品安全检测系统的发展。结论智能包装有助于消费者对食物可食性的判断,从而减少食源性疾病的发生和食物的浪费。智能包装在国内的发展仅处于起步阶段,需要国家的大力支持以及包装科研者的不懈努力,才能促进智能包装在食品领域更好地发展。     

Environmental assessment of food packaging: Impact and improvement

Food packaging plays an important role in carrying food and drink from production sites to the consumers, and environmental aspects of this packaging receive considerable attention. As the functions of packaging are derived from the actual food requirements, environmental aspects of packaging should be compared with those of the food for a balanced optimization of environmental impact. The outcome of such combined analysis is illustrated with a macroscale analysis of the actual food supply situation in The Netherlands. An ‘overall’ survey of this system is used to indicate important interrelations between the subsystems and to estimate the order of magnitude of the environmental impact of each part of the system. The major environmental effects of the total food supply system and both impact and influence of the packaging subsystem are quantified in mass and energy terms. It is concluded that more attention should be given to matching the actual and varied demand of different size consumption groups, and suggestions are given for effective incorporation of environmental constraints into product development and packaging design.     

轮足式包装搬运机器人减振装置设计

目的 为了降低轮足式包装搬运机器人在仓储运输等工作过程中受到振动冲击时对工作性能的影响,实现轮腿结合处的减振功能需求。方法 提出一种油压缓冲器与机械减振装置相结合的设计方案,分别用能量法和有限元法分析减振装置中主要弹性元件的刚度系数,比较采用不同结构弹性元件条件下驱动轮的刚度特性。结果 设计了具有油压缓冲器与平面S形弹性片的轮足式包装搬运机器人驱动轮机构,并进行了样机的轮式移动实验和环境冲击实验。实验过程中机器人的本体运动幅度波动很小,运行平稳,表明轮足式包装搬运机器人减振装置能有效地减少落地冲击,降低环境对包装件的物理冲击,验证了该减振装置设计的合理性与实用性。结论 该减振装置设计方案可以有效地减少轮足式包装搬运机器人在工作过程中受到的振动冲击,减小环境对包装件的物理作用,提高机械本体与电气元件的安全性,使它的工作性能更加稳定。     

Framework for Sustainable Food Packaging Design

The environmental impacts of packages have been found to be relatively small compared with the food items they contain. Furthermore, from the environmental and operational point of view, the most significant task of the package is to protect the product, which is important to acknowledge in the packaging design process. This study introduces a guiding framework for designing sustainable food packaging. In this approach, the entire life cycle of the product–package combination is taken into consideration. The emphasis is on the prevention of food losses in packaging design as a major environmental criterion. Consideration of the properties of both the package and the product itself when designing the final package will lead to a better end result with smaller product losses and environmental impacts. By using different assessment methods in the different stages of the packaging design, the sustainability of the package can be enhanced. The decision making of the packaging designer is facilitated with methods that are introduced step by step and in a certain order that will also allow for corrective measures through back‐loops in the design process. The purpose is to integrate sustainability aspects at all stages firmly into the design process. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effect of Active Packaging on Minimizing Food Losses: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Essential Oil Component‐enabled Packaging for Fresh Beef

Packaging plays an important role in ensuring food safety and quality, and the development of active packaging, especially antimicrobial packaging, enables actively inhibiting/killing the microorganisms causing food spoilage and thus extending the product's shelf life. A survey of the publications revealed that generally 50% shelf life extension is possible. The goal of this study is to assess the overall environmental performance of the food and packaging system considering the effect of food loss reduction by using active packaging. A comparative life cycle assessment has been carried out, focusing on a case study: essential oil component‐enabled packaging for fresh beef. Different scenarios were set up to contrast the situations of food using conventional packaging (current situation) and food using novel active packaging (containing active coating). Additionally, a sensitivity analysis has been integrated, aiming to identify the breakeven point of the balance. In the scenarios using the best‐performance active packaging, it was shown that a breakeven point can be achieved across the four impact categories evaluated, including global warming, fossil energy demand, acidification potential and eutrophication potential. It is expected that the obtained results would serve as guidelines for active packaging development striving for a positive eco‐profile of the food and packaging system. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

鱼类胶原蛋白在包装中的应用进展

目的研究鱼类胶原蛋白在包装中的应用进展。方法介绍了作为天然蛋白质的胶原蛋白具有的良好生物相容性、生物降解性、抗原性低等特点,以及作为食品包装材料在制备人造肠衣、胶原膜以及胶囊等方面的应用;简述了国内外对胶原蛋白在包装方面的研究进展,尤其说明了鱼类胶原蛋白的优势及应用。结果我国是渔业大国,鱼类胶原蛋白资源丰富,如果直接作为废弃物丢弃,不仅浪费资源,造成环境污染,而且对企业效益也不利;反之如果能够充分利用,不仅可以增加鱼类加工价值,对保护环境也有利,而且在安全方面没有任何顾虑。结论与哺乳动物胶原蛋白相比,鱼类胶原蛋白具有其独特的优势,将成为人们关注的热点。     

南荻生态包装箱的全生命周期评价比较研究

目的 对南荻生态包装箱和传统木质胶合板包装箱的全生命周期进行环境影响比较分析,探索前者对后者的生态替代性。方法 文中基于生命周期评价(Life Cycle Assessment, LCA),使用ReCiPe 2016方法对2种包装箱的18种环境影响类型展开全生命周期的LCA研究。结果 南荻生态包装箱全生命周期环境影响单一分值为3.08 Pt,包装箱生产、运输和废弃物处置阶段占比分别为68%、8%、24%;传统木质胶合板包装箱全生命周期环境影响单一分值为3.61 Pt,包装箱生产、运输和废弃物处置阶段占比分别为75%、6%、19%;前者较之后者每功能单位减少14.7%的环境影响。结论 结果表明南荻生态包装箱整体环境表现优于传统木质胶合板包装箱,南荻刨花板用量的减少带来的环境效益最大,循环利用包装箱及其生物质,以及改进包装箱尺寸设计也是减少化石资源消耗的可能途径。在洞庭湖造纸业全面退出情境下,研究为决策者在技术和环境层面选择南荻的利用方式提供了依据。     

一种可拆卸回收的快递包装箱结构设计研究

目的 促进快递包装的重复利用,提高废弃快递包装的回收率,从源头改善快递包装的浪费和对环境的污染,在不影响产品保护的同时推动绿色包装的发展。方法 深入分析当前快递包装回收业务中存在的问题,探索如何应用可拆卸设计方法对快递包装箱的结构进行设计,研究如何对快递包装箱进行伸缩调节,以适应不同产品的运输要求,并优化拆卸、更换和组装的工序,摒除当前包装整体废弃的弊端,实现局部回收,提高快递包装的利用率。结果 该可拆卸包装箱在组装、开启、拆卸、收纳等过程中操作方便,在实操测试中用较短的时间即可完成上述工序,并在抗摔测试中能经受住装载与运输过程中的外力碰撞,能对产品起到良好的保护作用。结论 利用可拆卸设计方法对快递包装箱进行结构设计,能方便地对损坏的包装部件进行更换,能有效减少包装废弃物的产生,具有便利性、兼容性与安全性,有利于建立高效通畅的回收与再用系统,减少对资源的浪费和环境的污染,在生态保护与绿色发展等方面具有积极的意义。     

Selection of Nanomaterial‐Based Active Agents for Packaging Application: Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a Tool

The interest for using metallic nanoparticles for active packaging derives from its superior antimicrobial efficacy, no negative impacts on the food sensory properties and compatibility with harsh polymer processing conditions. There are a few candidates for this purpose, and the selection of which can be assisted by considering the packaging's environmental impacts. As a case study, three packaging films incorporating different active agents (silver nanoparticles, titanium dioxide nanoparticles and a mixture of both) were evaluated using life cycle assessment and the associated impacts were calculated and compared. The functional unit was set in such a way that it directly focuses on the function that the antimicrobial packaging is supposed to deliver: to ensure food safety and quality. To this end, the antimicrobial efficacy of each agent was integrated in the environmental impact calculation. The results show that the film incorporating the mixture of nanoparticles had the lowest environmental impacts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

New ways to enhance the functionality of paperboard by surface treatment – a review

This review summarizes recent development of functional materials to improve the barrier properties of paperboard with emphasis on bio‐based polymers. Focus is directed to novel application techniques and water‐borne, renewable coating materials. Some aspects on substrate properties and the requirements on food packaging are discussed as are the processability, convertability, recyclability and biodegradability of packaging materials. The functionality, advantages and disadvantages of several bio‐based polymers are presented in detail. Among these are starch and cellulose derivatives, chitosan, alginate, wheat gluten, whey proteins, polycaprolactone, poly(lactic acid) and polyhydroxyalkanoates. Also discussed is the enhancement of barrier properties by incorporation of nanosized materials, by application of thin protective top coatings and local reinforcement by self‐healing agents. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

可持续发展理念下的包装设计——“归安德化”黑茶包装设计发想

自然环境与社会资源的复杂性,是摆在每个负有责任感的设计师面前的新问题。世界环境与发展委员会（WECD）提出的可持续发展理论模式,从保护环境和发展统一起来的高度提出处理人与大自然的关系。可持续发展理念下的包装设计既要降低商品包装成本,又要降低包装废弃物对环境的污染程度。“归安德化”黑茶包装正是践行可持续发展理念在包装设计整体过程的优化和组织的设计作品。     

Migrants from food cans revisited – application of a stochastic model for a more realistic assessment of exposure to bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE)

We have used a two‐dimensional probabilistic model to estimate the short‐term dietary exposure of UK consumers to bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) migrating from light metal food packaging. Using three UK National Dietary and Nutrition Surveys comprising 4–7‐day dietary surveys for different ages and genders, actual body weights and survey years, a sample representative of the UK population was obtained, comprising around 4200 food items. The packaging type of each food item was assigned by utilizing known packaging type from the database or by sampling from a distribution based upon market share information or expert judgement. For concentration data, we have used published data for foods or food simulants or a combination of both. The probabilistic approach allowed sensitivity analysis to evaluate the relative importance of the input parameters and placed confidence bounds on the outputs to show the effect of the uncertainties. The refined estimates gave an exposure for UK consumers, at the 97.5th percentile level, of 0.41–0.83 μ/kg body weight (bw)/day for the different age ranges and scenarios run. All estimates are well below the new tolerable daily intake value of 150 μ/kg bw/day for BADGE and its two hydrolysed forms, and are also well below the restriction value of 17 μ/kg bw/day for the other regulated BADGE derivatives. The main contributors to exposure are beverages, along with aqueous and acidic foods. This is because of the high consumption of these classes of foodstuffs, even though levels of migration into these foodstuffs and into their appropriate simulants is normally non‐detectable. Reducing the non‐detectable level six‐fold reduced the estimate of exposure by 40–60%. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Attributes of packaging and influences on waste

An important area of focus for the reduction of domestic waste is packaging and food packaging specifically. At some point in the life of packaging in the consumers' home, the packaging goes through a transition from something of use, of value and of worth to the consumer to something that is no longer any of these. Being able to indentify attributes of packaging that might have an impact on this transitional point to change the use or value so that the packaging is re‐used, recycled or composted rather than being landfilled is very important in successfully diverting packaging waste from landfill. This research aimed to conduct a variety of tests to indentify attributes of packaging that have an influence on the eventual waste route and to determine what that influence was. The research included an extensive literature study looking at consumer test methods, current waste and packaging waste studies, and packaging design literature. This was followed by a series of four tests: ‘bin raids’, ‘digital diary’, ‘visual survey’ and ‘ethnography’. These tests were designed to determine how consumers would treat specific examples of packaging in an end‐of‐life scenario and what influences those decisions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technical note – effects of seaming conditions on external and internal double‐seam characteristics in round metal cans

Canning is the major packaging technology for fully preserved food products. To obtain safe canned foods with extended shelf‐life, the closed cans have to be hermetic. The consistency and quality of the seaming process are crucial to food safety. This note investigates the effects of different seaming conditions (base‐plate pressure and seaming‐roller pressure) on external (seam thickness, seam height) and internal (body hook length, overlap, lid hook length, seam gap and body hook butting) double‐seam characteristics in round metal cans. External double‐seam characteristics were significantly affected by the seaming‐roller pressure during the final closure of the cans. Generally, there were small effects of base‐plate pressure on the external double‐seam characteristics. In contrast, all the investigated double‐seam characteristics were affected significantly by the seaming‐roller pressure, whereas only body hook length and seam gap were significantly affected by the base‐plate pressure. This note illustrates the importance of close control and optimization of the seaming conditions during production of canned foods as a means to reduce the processing induced variability in double‐seam characteristics, and subsequently to obtain safe and high‐quality canned products. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.