Increase eco-efficiency, reduce food waste 

Consumer demand for transparency, accountability and sustainability is forcing the food industry to revisit everything from ingredient sourcing and supply-chain sustainability to packaging and labelling. As a result of this, and also increasing environmental regulation, increased eco-efficiency and carbon footprint reduction throughout the supply chain has become a key focus area for the industry.

The colossal scale and far-reaching impacts of food waste are one of the drivers that have caused an increased focus on the supply chain and the need for a system-wide focus on sustainability. In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 per cent of the food supply - millions of tons of food are discarded because of spoilage, insufficient shelf life and unsuitable packaging/storage conditions.

Addressing the sustainability challenge and reducing food waste is important to consumers, and is especially important when it comes to millennials because they are drawn to brands that reflect their deeply held personal values, and when it comes to those values, sustainability is the most important, even trumping convenience.

The importance to millennials of products that are inherently sustainable means that they want more than the mere minimum of "eco-friendly" for the products they consume and the packaging that it comes in. Implicit in the need for "inherently sustainable" is the need for a system-wide approach to sustainability - for example, packaging solutions that reduce packaging, decrease food waste and save precious resources.

Vacuum skin packaging is one of the best packaging solutions providing a holistic solution to system-wide sustainability

Traditional packaging - such as MAP, shrink bags and standard vacuum bags - does not provide holistic end-to-end solutions. Vacuum skin packaging (VSP) does, as a result, has become a worldwide trend.

VSP for premium fresh foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, cheese and ready meals provides a holistic solution for the challenges of achieving system-wide sustainability: through significantly reducing the amount of packaging used, significantly extending shelf life and so decreasing food waste, and as a result, achieving an overall saving of resources.

VSP is highly eco-efficient because it weighs less than modified atmosphere tray packaging; uses less corrugate to ship; uses less diesel fuel in transport; reduces retailer food loss and keeps longer in the fridge, reducing consumer food waste.

VSP packaging is also suitable for packing ready meals. This is a new packaging concept that replaces the traditional MAP packaging. The major advantage apart from longer shelf life is that the food stays in place with no leaks, and requires no preparation - it can be heated in the microwave without having to remove the packaging.

VSP optimizes product presentation and boosts consumer appeal by showing off the colours and textures of the premium food product inside. VSP technology consists of:

• Flexible multilayered films
• Vacuum sealed perfectly to the product surface for "second skin"
• Accentuates and preserves original product shape and colouration regardless of height
• Suitable for automatic and semi-automatic VSP machines
• Suitable for work at a wide range of temperatures

In the quest for differentiation and enhanced shelf presence, both brand names and retailers are looking to unique packaging solutions to stand out from the crowd - while at the same time increasing production efficiency, extending shelf life and minimizing returns. By providing a holistic solution to system-wide sustainability, VSP packaging offers a way of achieving all these objectives.