Single-Use Packaging Actually Increases Waste From Fresh Foods

According to studies, supermarkets should cease selling fresh produce such as apples and potatoes in plastic wrapping since it does not extend their shelf life and contributes to pollution and food waste.

Excessive Wrapping

The 18-month research, which also looked at sales of bananas, broccoli, and cucumbers, debunks the premise that single-use plastic wrappers help reduce waste.

Instead, excessive packaging sometimes drives individuals to buy more food than they require, exacerbating the waste problem.

While wrapping was vital and frequently played a crucial function in protecting food, Wrap's research discovered that plastic wrap "doesn't always prolong the life of uncut fresh fruit," adding, "In this scenario, it might increase food waste."

According to Green Peace, every year, Britons throw away about half a million tonnes of fresh vegetables and salad, as well as a quarter of a million tonnes of fresh fruit worth £2.1 billion because it has gone mushy or moldy, or the date label has expired.

This waste is harmful to the environment: food and drink account for nearly a third of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions.

Is Packaging Essential?

Packaging was shown to be less essential than other elements in the fight against food waste, such as allowing consumers to buy the proper amount or how it was stored.

"We discovered that keeping food in the fridge at below five degrees increased the quality of the product by days, weeks, even months in the case of apples," Gover added. "We discovered that the plastic packaging in which most things were supplied had little or no effect on their shelf life.

"In situations when customers have little option but to buy more than they need in pre-packaged containers," he noted, "this might potentially increase food waste."

Wrap looked at five different items: apples, bananas, broccoli, cucumber, and potatoes, all of which were stored in their original packaging and loose and at various temperatures.

It was projected that removing the best-before dates from just five goods will save more than 10,300 tonnes of plastic and 100,000 tonnes of food per year, the equivalent of 14 million shopping baskets of food.

People bought the proper amount of food and used their judgment rather than date labels to determine if it was still edible. One out of every ten persons throws out goods based on the date, resulting in wasted food.

Wrapped Goods

Most supermarkets currently offer some of these goods lose. Still, Wrap, whose research helps influence government policy on environmental issues, said the findings provided convincing evidence for a larger range of fruits and vegetables to be sold in this manner.

Gover said there was a solid economic and environmental rationale for ringing the changes in grocery aisles, as consumers faced rising gasoline and food expenses, and businesses should step up and act on Wrap's findings.

Wrap acknowledged that change would take time. It will now discuss with the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the food sector to make loose produce in supermarkets a reality by 2025.

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