Packaging Strategies That Save Food: A Research Agenda for 2030

TLDR

Optimizing packaging systems can significantly reduce food loss and waste, a goal central to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of halving per‑capita food waste, and five key issues have been identified to guide this effort. The study proposes a set of research issues to be explored and reviews the challenges associated with each. These issues are categorized into five areas: (1) gathering data on packaging functions that affect food waste, (2) assessing the environmental trade‑offs between protection, preservation, and footprint, (3) integrating these functions into footprint evaluations, (4) redesigning packaging processes to minimize waste, and (5) analyzing stakeholder incentives to reduce loss.

Abstract

Summary Thoroughly considering and optimizing packaging systems can avoid food loss and waste. We suggest a number of issues that must be explored and review the associated challenges. Five main issues were recognized through the extensive experience of the authors and engagement of multiple stakeholders. The issues promoted are classified as follows: (1) identify and obtain specific data of packaging functions that influence food waste; (2) understand the total environmental burden of product/package by considering the trade‐off between product protection and preservation and environmental footprint; (3) develop understanding of how these functions should be treated in environmental footprint evaluations; (4) improve packaging design processes to also consider reducing food waste; and (5) analyze stakeholder incentives to reduce food loss and waste. Packaging measures that save food will be important to fulfill the United Nations Sustainable Development goal to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains.