Investigating the link between food loss, packaging and circularity
by Qinthar Aghnia Audiawarman at 15:36 in Circular Economy, Packaging, Environmental
Food waste is a significant global problem. It can lead to severe humanitarian, environmental, and economic effects. "Food loss" and "food waste" are related terms, but they refer to different stages in the food supply chain. Whilst food loss refers to a reduction in the quantity or quality of food, at harvest or production to distribution and storage, food waste occurs at the consumer and retail level, when edible food is thrown away.
Food loss in Southeast Asia: a case study
The 2022 ADB (Asian Development Bank) report stated that around 20-30% of post-harvest vegetables and fruits are wasted before reaching consumer level. The main reason has been outlined as a lack of good handling practices, such as improper temperature control, storage and lack of food contamination barriers. The good handling practice covers not only behavioural aspects, but also other areas of the supply chain, such as how the food is packaged.
Packaging plays a pivotal role in the prevention of food loss. Effective packaging helps safeguard food from spoilage, contamination, and physical damage throughout its journey from farm to fork. However, current post-harvest packaging in Southeast Asian countries is still far from being effective and sustainable. For example, in Indonesia, single-use transport packaging such as cardboard, fruit-net's made from foam, and burlap sacks are still commonly used. We are far less likely to see cold storage transport being used across Southeast Asia like we do in Europe. In less economically developed nations factors such as limitations in capacity and financial resources, along with economic and infrastructure gaps caused by the ongoing urban growth, will require customized policy solutions that cannot be readily replicated from the experiences of more advanced countries.
How packaging could be the solution?
Innovative, yet affordable packaging is not only needed to protect food throughout the supply chain, it is also needed to promote sustainability and consumer awareness. Junior Environmental Compliance Consultant Qin Audiawarman discusses her resent UN-sponsored packaging design project in Indonesia. I'm thrilled to announce that I recently took part in designing a new packaging solution for Indonesia. This innovation was submitted through a competition organised by UN Indonesia, PAGE (Partnership for Action on Green Economy), and the Indonesian National Development Planning Agency. Together with my fellow friends in the US, we designed a bio-based packaging system that can be used for transporting post-harvest food from farmers to wholesalers.
The packaging we designed is made of cellulose, obtained from agricultural byproduct. With a cellulose nanocrystal structure (CNC), we aimed to use its temperature and moisture control features to prevent early rotting. The packaging also has a flexible, cushioning surface to minimise any physical damage. The packaging can last up to 80 days before it starts to decay naturally.
In terms of end-of-life assessment, we did a lab-based analysis session to capture potential material recovery of CNC. By using anaerobic biodegradation treatment, we discovered that the CNC could be completely mineralised within 60 days. The minerals can later be extracted and included into the new CNC manufacturing process. We see this whole process as an opportunity for Indonesia to move forward towards sustainability. In other words, any waste from our innovative packaging wouldn't end as untreated waste, instead, we think it can be classed as circular! 1 Change, 1 Loop, 1 Nation, Infinite Impact.
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