There are many things that have a negative impact on our planet, one of them is food waste.
Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates the total amount of food waste in the UK at an alarming 10 million tonnes. This equates to over £17 billion a year, and amounts to about 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Shocking, but unfortunately true. *
Food waste is a complex problem that may happen at any stage of food production and distribution – Products may get damaged or lost in transport and storage; some wastage is caused by supermarket getting rid of items close to their expiry date. A shocking 71% of total food waste in the UK, however, comes from our households.
Recent research on food packaging has demonstrated that customers are growing increasingly conscious of food waste and maintaining product freshness. A study from Mintel, a leading market intelligence agency, has discovered that as many as fifty-six percent of US shoppers would choose one food product over another if its packaging offered a better product protection. **
Over 50% of the respondents were willing to pay more for features such as resealability and better portion control if they could prolong product life by keeping the content fresher for longer.
Resealable packs such as Reseal-it® by Macfarlane Labels are one of the solutions that help to cut down on food waste at home. Not only do they keep food products fresh thanks to its reclosable properties, they are also easy to open and allow for better portion control. In fact, Reseal-it® can be opened and closed to 25 times, which extends the time in which food can be safely consumed.
If you would like to find out more about Reseal-it® and its applications, visit www.resealit.com
References:
* Estimates of Food Surplus and Waste Arisings in the UK: http://www.wrap.org.uk/sites/files/wrap/Estimates_%20in_the_UK_Jan17.pdf
** Reduce, reuse or recycle? Half of Americans prefer to buy foods with minimal/no packaging in order to reduce waste: http://www.mintel.com/press-centre/food-and-drink/reduce-reuse-or-recycle-half-of-americans-prefer-to-buy-foods-with-minimalno-packaging-in-order-to-reduce-waste