Ahead of the seventh International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on 29 September, the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), Australasian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and Foundation FSSC argue that food packaging should be assessed not only by the material it uses, but by how effectively it protects food, preserves shelf life and helps prevent avoidable loss and waste.
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 does not automatically produce a 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 tonnes of food are wasted each year, with 19 per cent of this waste occurring at retail, food service and household level, according to UNEP’s Food Waste Index Report 2024. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that a further 13 per cent of food is lost after harvest and before retail. Combined, food loss and waste generate 8–10 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions – almost five times those of the aviation sector.
The WPO, AIP and FSSC are calling for a broader definition of sustainable packaging that recognises its role in protecting food, supporting safe use and preventing food loss and waste.
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
This does not mean that material efficiency, reuse or recyclability are unimportant. It means 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 relevant elements of AIP’s Save Food Packaging Design Principles into its product design and development requirements for organisations that design primary packaging or packaging materials.
The Save Food Packaging Design Principles were established by AIP in partnership with RMIT University and End Food Waste Australia and have since been globalised through WPO. They aim to help food and beverage businesses of all sizes consider how packaging can minimise food loss and waste while continuing to meet safety, quality and sustainability objectives. The approach puts functionality first: packaging must contain, protect, preserve and transport a product across the value chain while delivering the lowest appropriate environmental impact.
FSSC 22000 Version 7 incorporates a new packaging design requirement under product design and development.
Potentially more than 40,000 organisations will be required to consider these principles if they design primary packaging or packaging materials, further supporting the reduction of food loss and waste.
FSSC 22000 Version 7, Part 2, clause 2.5.13(g), requires organisations to consider whether packaging design effectively contains and protects the product, preserves and extends shelf life, reduces food loss and waste, and provides consumers with clear instructions on handling, storage and preparation. Any measures taken must not compromise food safety.
The development builds on FSSC 22000 Version 6, which introduced a food loss and waste requirement. At the time, this meant more than 30,000 organisations needed 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 broadly.
Better packaging, not simply less packaging
Food loss and waste also carry an efficiency cost. The resources used to grow, process, transport, refrigerate and sell food are wasted if that food never reaches a consumer’s plate.
The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on 29 September provides 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.
About the authors: Kelly Mulholland is Technical Manager Safety & Quality, Foundation FSSC; and Nerida Kelton is Vice President Sustainability & Save Food, World Packaging Organisation, and Executive Director, Australasian Institute of Packaging.
