Cromwell Polythene Highlights The Importance of Food Packaging In A Post COVID World

The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the importance of good hygiene practices, with constant reminders to wash our hands, use sanitiser and wear facemasks. These messages are helping to keep ourselves and surfaces clean, but what about things like food? This is where the value of food packaging comes in.  Despite the misconceptions, packaging is not only an advantageous addition but also a requirement for some food items. 

Packaging offers a more hygienic & convenient way to handle food, which has been particularly important during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Loose food items are far more prone to contamination, decay, and damage, as opposed to packaged goods, which are more protected, helping them to stay fresher and safer for longer.  

Studies have proven that consumers felt far more comfortable buying packaged goods at supermarkets because they believe there is lower risk of COVID 19 infection. Packaging once opened can be simply disposed of, causing no effect to the consumption of food.  

If wasted food was a country it would be the third-largest producer of carbon dioxide in the world, after the United States and China. Packaged items like oranges and carrots can increase their shelf life with plastic packaging by up to 14 days. Whilst items such as peppers, watermelon, and steak will stay fresher for up to 10 days more than their loose alternatives. A longer shelf life will increase the chances of consumption, which in turn will help reduce the levels of wastage and it's resulting CO2 emissions. 

Extending the life of our food will only grow in importance when the 2023 mandatory household food-waste collections in food caddies are implemented. A very small amount of plastic can make a huge difference in terms of a food’s life span, in some cases it be increased by up to 28 days.  

Cromwell’s vision is to make the world cleaner, greener, more resourceful.  If the use of a small amount of packaging enables us to save a large amount of other resources – whether that be food or any other kind of product – then that trade-off needs to be factored in to the design and planning of the product, throughout the supply chain.  It is also important that proper consideration is given to the selection of materials used in packaging. 

Whilst plastics enable us to package things efficiently, they are undoubtedly a cause for concern if they find their way into the environment through mismanaged waste and acts such as littering.  To address this issue many have argued that paper packaging could be a better option, without fully understanding the impacts it has on the environment. In fact paper packaging has a much greater effect on the environment than most people realise. Although it may offer some protective benefits, a great deal of land, water, and energy are all used in its production (and recycling). This often leaves a far greater footprint than an equivalent plastic product., There is also the issue of transporting paper products, which tend to be bulkier than their plastic equivalents and require significantly more space for an equivalent number of units, leading to more vehicles on the road. 

We supply both compostable food caddy liners to capture food waste and poly bags which can be used as food packaging to prevent the waste from the very source.  We also have the capability to recycle plastic packaging – closing the plastic recycling loop.  

Here are some more benefits that food packaging provides us with. 

For more information please contact Cromwell Polythene: 

Email: [email protected]; Tel: 01977 686868 or contact via our webite: www.cromwellpolythene.co.uk