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Why Less Packaging Does Not Always Mean Less Waste: Putting Food Protection at the Center of Sustainable Design

For World Packaging Day, experts argue that food packaging should be assessed not only by its material but by how effectively it prevents waste.

sustainable packaging decisions — Photo credit: Group4 StudioCreative/E+ via Getty Images

The instinct to reduce packaging is understandable. Sustainability discussions often focus on material reduction, recycled content, or recyclability—sometimes in isolation. But using less material is not automatically the lower-waste outcome if it means more food is damaged, spoils sooner, or becomes unsafe to eat.

For food, packaging has a central functional role: it must contain and protect the product, preserve quality and shelf life, and help consumers store and use it safely. A more sustainable outcome is therefore not simply “less packaging.” It is packaging designed to deliver the necessary food-protection performance with the lowest appropriate environmental impact.

The stakes are significant. Around 1.05 billion tons of food are wasted annually, with 19 percent occurring at the retail, foodservice, and household levels. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that a further 13 percent of food is lost after harvest and before retail. Combined, food loss and waste generate 8–10 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, which is almost five times the total emissions from the aviation sector.¹

As the inaugural World Packaging Day is marked globally on September 6, the World Packaging Organization (WPO), the Australasian Institute of Packaging (AIP), and Foundation FSSC are calling for a broader definition of sustainable packaging; that is, one that recognizes its role in food protection, safe use, and food loss and waste prevention.

“Sustainable packaging should not be seen as just about reducing materials—it is also about preventing food loss and waste. We need industry leaders and governments across the globe to guide that balance and elevate the conversation,” said Nerida Kelton, Vice President of Sustainability and Save Food at WPO.

This does not mean that material efficiency, reuse, or recyclability are unimportant. It means that packaging choices must be assessed across the full food value chain. A format designed to use less material may appear preferable at first glance; but if it is more vulnerable to damage, provides insufficient barrier performance, shortens shelf life, or cannot be resealed after opening, it may result in edible food being unnecessarily discarded.

From Design Principles to Management Systems

This is the context for a new collaboration between FSSC, WPO and AIP. FSSC 22000 Version 7 incorporates applicable aspects of AIP’s Save Food Packaging Design Principles into its product design and development requirements for organizations that design primary packaging or packaging materials.

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The Save Food Packaging principles were established by AIP in partnership with Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) and End Food Waste Australia, and have been subsequently globalized through WPO. They aim to help food and beverage businesses of all sizes consider how packaging can minimize food loss and waste while continuing to meet safety, quality, and sustainability objectives. Save Food Packaging ensures that the packaging is fit-for-purpose and functional-first, and then ensures that it contains, protects, preserves, and transports a product across the value chain—all the while offering the lowest environmental impact.

“FSSC 22000 Version 7 incorporates a new packaging design requirement under product design and development,” explained Kelly Mulholland, Technical Manager Safety and Quality at FSSC. “Now, potentially more than 40,000 organizations will be required to consider these principles if they design primary packaging/packaging material, further supporting the reduction of food loss and waste.”

The requirements in FSSC 22000 Version 7, Part 2, clause 2.5.13 (g) oblige organizations to consider how the design of their packaging can effectively contain and protect the product, preserve and extend the shelf life, reduce food loss and waste, and provide clear instructions to consumers for handling, storage, and preparation of the food. Any measures taken shall not negatively affect food safety.

The development builds from FSSC 22000 Version 6, which introduced a food loss and waste requirement. At the time, this led to more than 30,000 organizations needing to implement policies and strategies addressing food loss and waste. The Version 7 packaging design principles extend this thinking to the packaging decisions that can influence whether food is protected, preserved, and ultimately, consumed safely.

Five Questions for Packaging Design Teams

Before developing or changing food packaging, design teams can ask five practical questions:

Will it protect the food from damage, contamination, and deterioration?
Will it preserve quality and shelf life?
Can consumers open, use, portion, reseal, and empty it easily?
Does it clearly explain how to store, handle, and use the food safely?
Does it reduce total waste—both food and packaging—rather than simply shifting waste from one place to another?

These questions are not intended to prescribe a single “perfect” package. The appropriate solution will differ by food category, supply chain, consumer needs, regulatory context, and available recovery infrastructure. They can, however, help product developers, packaging technologists, sustainability teams, and food safety professionals assess a proposed change more holistically.

A Call for Better Packaging, Not Simply Less Packaging

Food loss and waste is also an efficiency issue. The resources used to grow, process, transport, refrigerate, and sell food are wasted if that food never reaches a consumer’s plate.

World Packaging Day is an opportunity to move beyond a simple choice between “more” or “less” packaging. The more useful question is whether each packaging decision helps food reach people safely, remain usable for longer, and ultimately be eaten - while reducing total waste across the value chain.

Reference

Forbes, H., Peacock, E., Abbot, N., and Jones, M. Food Waste Index Report 2024. The UN Environment Program (March 2024). https://www.unep.org/resources/publication/food-waste-index-report-2024.

Kelly Mulholland is the FSSC Technical Manager for Safety and Quality. She has an extensive background in food safety and is driven to make a difference in food safety globally by contributing to FSSC’s impact and support within the food sector and the related supply chain. Before joining FSSC, Kelly was a Technical and Compliance Manager for Food (Global) at a global certification body and a lead auditor for the FSSC 22000 Scheme.

Nerida Kelton is the Vice President of Sustainability and Save Food at the World Packaging Organization and Executive Director of the Australasian Institute of Packaging (AIP). As an active lecturer and trainer in the AIP educational portfolio, Nerida is committed to educating and training packaging professionals on the importance of sustainable and circular packaging design. She is passionate about educating the industry on the important role that packaging plays in minimizing food waste and how designing Save Food Packaging can make a difference.