European Industry Voice: Foam Packaging Ensures the Safe Delivery of Fresh Produce for the Last Mile

Table 1: Remaining amount of Vitamin C after 1 week of storage

Many consumers are unaware that EPS packaging is highly suitable for recycling. In Europe, 200,000 tons of EPS packaging were collected and recycled in 2009. Since many countries avoid landfills, EPS packaging is often reused as insulation material. The properties of EPS packaging, its favorable energy balance throughout its life cycle, and its excellent recyclability have convinced leading brand manufacturers. For decades, they have trusted this proven, safe, and sustainable packaging concept.

Table 2: Change in food temperature within 72 hours at a constant ambient temperature of 2°C

Poor packaging performance leads to food spoilage and disposal. The energy saved by avoiding transport damage is far greater than the energy used over the entire life of a package. This applies equally to food packaging and consumer goods packaging.

Food waste due to inefficient packaging materials is distributed throughout the entire supply chain. These losses destroy resources and money.

The energy consumption of four kilograms of fresh trout is ten times the lifetime energy consumption of the entire expanded polystyrene box. For wild-caught fish, this difference is even more pronounced. A polystyrene fish box containing 20 kg of fresh fish requires only 1/20th of the energy used to provide 20 kg of wild cod.

Considering that 5% of the total amount of food waste in the EU occurs at the retail and wholesale stages (including transport), avoiding food loss by choosing the right packaging material saves not only resources but also money.

*Data based on figures from the FAO (2006), Eurostat (2006), and a study on fish packaging commissioned by EUMEPS.

Kurtz molding equipment, specially designed for the production of fresh food storage boxes, meets stringent hygiene regulations and standards in terms of cooling and food freshness, ensuring the freshness of your delicious meals.

For details, click: Electrically driven production of expanded polystyrene fresh-keeping boxes

In 1998, European Expanded Polystyrene Manufacturers (EUMEPS) merged into a European association. EUMEPS Packaging represents the entire European EPS packaging industry, promoting EPS as a protective packaging material with economic and environmental advantages. More information on EUMEPS Packaging and EPS packaging materials can be found on the organization's website.

The above content is selected from the ©2012 EUMEPS industry association report, and the information contained therein does not provide any express or implied warranty as to its truthfulness or accuracy.