April 29th is the official Stop Food Waste Day.
The aim of this global day of action is to work together to fight against food waste – and thus also against related challenges such as hunger, poverty and climate change. One third of all food worldwide is lost or thrown away along the value chain. While vast quantities of food end up in the trash, millions of people on the other hand suffer from hunger.
Packaging is a key factor in the fight against food waste.
In contrast to the widespread opinion that food is "over-packaged", avoiding packaging is not a better option. If the protective function of packaging prevents an average of more than 3.5% of food waste, the use of packaging has already paid off from the point of view of climate protection. Of all packaging materials, plastics are best suited to reduce food waste. They offer a longer shelf life for perishable foods and protect against contamination and damage. Hygiene and food safety are also important issues. To maintain the quality and freshness of the products, appropriate packaging solutions are needed during transport and storage.
The member companies of our newly founded platform “Verpackung mit Zukunft” (“Packaging with a Future”) have committed themselves to taking action to protect our valuable foods – with the help of unique and innovative packaging solutions. Especially now, in times of the Corona crisis, it is even more clear how central the careful handling of food is for our society. We, as a member company of the platform, ensure safe and long-lasting food in our daily business activities and also take responsibility in the crisis.
