Packaging-Related Food Losses and Waste: An Overview of Drivers and Issues

Bernhard Wohner, Erik Pauer, Victoria Heinrich and Manfred Tacker
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Bernhard Wohner: Section of Packaging and Resource Management, FH Campus Wien (University of Applied Sciences), 1030 Vienna, Austria
Erik Pauer: Section of Packaging and Resource Management, FH Campus Wien (University of Applied Sciences), 1030 Vienna, Austria
Victoria Heinrich: Section of Packaging and Resource Management, FH Campus Wien (University of Applied Sciences), 1030 Vienna, Austria
Manfred Tacker: Section of Packaging and Resource Management, FH Campus Wien (University of Applied Sciences), 1030 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Packaging is often criticized as a symbol of today’s throwaway society, as it is mostly made of plastic, which is in itself quite controversial, and is usually used only once. However, as packaging’s main function is to protect its content and 30% of all food produced worldwide is lost or wasted along the supply chain, optimized packaging may be one of the solutions to reduce this staggering amount. Developing countries struggle with losses in the supply chain before food reaches the consumer. Here, appropriate packaging may help to protect food and prolong its shelf life so that it safely reaches these households. In developed countries, food tends to be wasted rather at the household’s level due to wasteful behavior. There, packaging may be one of the drivers due to inappropriate packaging sizes and packaging that is difficult to empty. When discussing the sustainability of packaging, its protective function is often neglected and only revolves around the type and amount of material used for production. In this review, drivers, issues, and implications of packaging-related food losses and waste (FLW) are discussed, as well as the implication for the implementation in life cycle assessments (LCA).

Keywords: Packaging; food waste; food loss; sustainability; LCA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

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