Nobody wants more plastic waste. But efforts to ban packaging for perishable foods would miss the target and do more harm than good.  Pre-made salads and pre-cut fruits and vegetables deliver convenience, value, and nutrition.  Rip the bag open, and voila – a quick fresh nutritious meal is ready.  Pre-made salads, pre-cut fruits and vegetables were the stars that broke out from the “commodity curse” and created a category with a US market valued at $4.91B (according to a published report from GrandView Research).  

Pending regulations in Canada and the EU will drive this entire segment of ag economy (and almost half of the produce aisle) to the brink of extinction.  

Regulations to limit packaging waste are well-meaning, and we can all agree on the need for new technologies and investments that would eliminate plastics that litter roadsides, landfills and oceans. But banning packaging for perishable foods doesn’t address the core role that plastic packaging plays in ensuring food safety, ensuring safety and quality of the product, and reducing food loss and waste. 

Consumer research conducted by the International Fresh Produce Association is clear: across the world consumers consider cost of foods, they value freshness and quality. Importantly, consumers expect manufacturers and retailers to provide a product that is safe.  For perishable ready-to-eat products, plastic packaging is the only option for delivering a product that is food safe, of top quality and also pretty cheap.  Let me be clear: regulations that require consumers to bring their own reusable containers to scoop in perishables from communal tubs will lead to devastating food safety consequences of this well-intentioned, but misguided policy. 

In addition to keeping pathogens, contaminants, and spoilage microbes out of bags with pre-made salads, baby greens and pre-cut fruits and vegetables, plastic packaging also locks in freshness. See, the air inside the bag is replaced with the different mix of nitrogen and oxygen, which helps keeps spoilage organisms from growing, thus ensuring freshness for a couple of weeks, without the use of toxic chemicals. Perishable commodities need to be packaged to preserve the quality of the product and to ensure its safety.  Today, there is no alternative to plastics. 

Most pre-made salads, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, and baby greens simply cannot be sold without plastic packaging. There is currently no viable alternative that would allow the safe purchase of fresh-cut vegetables without utilizing plastic containers or plastic packaging. Any requirements that ban their use will result in reduced shelf life, an increased food safety risk as well as more expensive packaging, which will be passed along to the consumer at a time when consumers should be encouraged to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, not less.  The industry invested significantly into innovation and developed compostable plastics derived from cellulose or organic acids.  The use of compostable biodegradable plastics in packaging will also be banned if Canadian proposed regulations go into effect.  The industry stands ready to collaborate on sound policies that leverage innovation, not smother it. 

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In addition to compostable biodegradable plastics, the industry invented a way to retail some fruits and vegetables without packaging at all.  This tiny invention, the size of a thumbnail is a PLU (price look-up) sticker.  The barcode and a 4 or 5-digit code offer convenience at check-out, streamlines managing inventory and – importantly – allows to reinvest into organic product and development of newer varieties.  Under some proposals, regulations would ban non compostable PLU stickers.  Yes, innovative companies already developed compostable PLU stickers, but in some cases (think fruits with fuzzy or rough surfaces, or fresh produce that is misted on display) the existing compostable stickers simply won’t work.   A ban on these tiny stickers will lead to more packaging (such as paper or non-degradable metal or rubber bands). 

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Without being able to reinvest into organic production and recover the cost of organic inputs, growers will have no choice but to revert to conventional production.  According to USDA, sales of organic fresh produce in the US exceeded $19B in 2021.  Bans on packaging and PLU stickers will also make it impossible to differentiate organic produce in retail.  Without an ability to price differences in varieties, there would be little appetite to offer organic and other premium categories, likely resulting in them disappearing from store shelves.  Say goodbye to your new favorite varieties of apples, pears, plums, grapes and peaches! 

Another naked truth about unpackaging perishables: a steep carbon footprint.  Based on USDA data, leafy green vegetables are already the most lost or wasted food post-farm gate.  These are fragile commodities that require a lot of inputs (land, water, fertilizers, labor) to produce.  Eliminate the packaging, and this number will almost certainly double.  In addition to food loss and waste, and almost certainly questionable food safety outcomes, refill, and reuse requirements for all types of packaging will come with a hefty carbon footprint.  Don’t take me wrong: circular economy, wise use and reuse of resources make great financial sense.  However, reimagining the entire supply chain in a few months to get ready for the implementation of pending Canadian and EU requirements will clog up an already stressed supply chain with empty containers, boxes, pallets, and trays chaotically darting through the system.   This is not the sustainable future that we all aspire to achieve! 

If we ban it, the industry will figure it out – that’s what I hear from some of my former friends in the regulatory space.  This is true, perhaps, but invention takes time.   It comes with a cost and requires an investment. Governments, consumers, and the industry will need to share in costs to rethink packaging.  There are also costs we cannot afford: the cost of foodborne illness, the cost of wasted nutritious food, the cost of Carbon emitted back into the air just because someone well intended did not understand the complexity of supply chains.   

Max Teplitski is the Chief Science Officer for the International Fresh Produce Association, the largest and most diverse international association serving the entire fresh produce and floral supply chain.