Tag: europe

New packaging rules adopted by the European Parliament today raise serious trade and food safety concerns. If endorsed by the EU Council later this year, they will almost certainly negatively impact global supply chains and food security at a time when more than 37 million Europeans cannot afford a quality meal every second day.

EU Parliament and Council reached a provisional agreement on revamped rules to reduce, reuse and recycle packaging, increase safety and boost the circular economy.

The Alliance for Sustainable Packaging for Foods notes that the JRC Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) omitted considerations of food loss and waste. 

Pamela calls in from Bavaria, where she checks out the retail trends in Europe. News slows down around the holidays but Greg says a federal indictment for produce inspection fraud spiced things up.

Leading European thermoforming packaging specialist Waddington Europe, a division of Novolex, has become the first to supply a full range of soft-fruit punnets to the UK market that are easier to recycle and use less plastic than conventional punnets.

Nations of the European Union, led by France, are starting to mandate that PLU labels on fruits and vegetables must be “home compostable.” Those little plastic labels that we use in this country (apart from having the annoying quality of sticking to your kitchen counter once you take them off) are not compostable. 

International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) submitted public comments on the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on packaging and packaging waste.

I often encounter people turning up their nose at our lack of seasonality in some categories, saying maybe we shouldn’t have some fresh produce items on shelves 52 weeks a year and should learn to appreciate produce that is at its peak and turn to other foods in the off-season.   I respectfully disagree in some cases, and especially with apples.  

North American produce companies that export to Europe face new regulations on packaging.