Can Packaging Help Solve America’s Massive Food Waste Problem?

Effective packaging innovations can help prevent rampant household food waste that eats into family budgets and produces climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, but a new academic study confirms that too many U.S. consumers don’t understand how or why. 

Conducted by Michigan State University’s School of Packaging and sponsored by AMERIPEN and the Environmental Research and Education Foundation (EREF), the study – “Packaging and Household Food Waste Intersections: Facts and Consumer Awareness” – reveals that consumers are generally unaware of the value of specific packaging solutions in preserving food freshness and reducing waste. However, when consumers become better informed of packaging aspects that keep food fresh longer, they’re more likely to choose such packaging at the grocery store. The findings point to a clear opportunity to educate consumers and help them recognize the value of packaging in food waste reduction.  

The MSU study assessed which foods are most frequently wasted in U.S. households and quizzed participants about their understanding of the value of certain types of packaging in helping to prevent such waste. More than 1,000 consumers participated, representing a broad cross-section of the U.S. in terms of gender, age, education level, income, location, and other demographics. 

Fruits and vegetables, prepared foods, and dairy are the most frequently wasted food categories, according to the findings. Among fruits and vegetables, whole fruits and vegetables accounted for more than three quarters of this waste, with bananas, lettuce and strawberries discarded most frequently. 

More than half (56%) of discarded whole fruits and vegetables – the most wasted food group cited by participants – had no packaging and spoiled before consumption. Yet packaged bananas will last nearly two weeks longer than unpackaged bananas, according to the 2017 “Value of Flexible Packaging in Extending Shelf Life and Reducing Food Waste” study.

Among “prepared foods,” fresh, ready-made meals accounted for 74% of the waste, while milk accounted for 68% of the dairy products wasted in participants' households. Zooming in more closely, MSU researchers found that assessing the state, or stage, of the food wasted by households provided even greater insights into the value of packaging. Half-eaten packaged food products, unpackaged food that spoiled, and uneaten leftovers were reported as the top three food waste states in American households. 

The MSU researchers point out that consumers often are confused by food labeling. The sell-by date, for example, is designed to inform retailers when they should sell or remove food products from store shelves. This date labeling is not a measure of the food’s safety, but many consumers believe it is. This and other examples in the MSU study of label confusion among consumers bolster longstanding arguments for revamping and standardizing food packaging labeling to help prevent waste.

The study also offers important insights into what consumers want, or expect, from their food packaging. When researchers polled study participants about the importance of packaging features in helping reduce household food waste, respondents cited food freshness, package resilience, and product dating as most important. This data gives packaging industry leaders an incentive to protect existing solutions and develop even more sophisticated food protection technologies that more clearly convey information about product freshness. 

Industry professionals already know that active packaging, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), and intelligent packaging can be used to extend the shelf life of fresh produce, and thus, reduce food waste. However, consumers are woefully uninformed about how these advanced packaging technologies work. Indeed, only a small percentage were able to identify which food items packaged in different technologies would stay fresh longer. When asked about intelligent packaging, MAP, and active packaging’s ability to keep food fresh, only 32%, 28%, and 23% of participants, respectively, selected the correct answer when compared to other less effective packaging. When consumers were asked about aseptic packaging and retort packaging, they fared even worse, choosing the correct answers only 16% and 9% of the time. The study found that consumers know far more about vacuum packaging: 80% of survey respondents consistently chose vacuum packaging correctly as keeping food freshest, compared to less effective packaging methods. 

Participants were well informed about traditional packaging formats, but primarily as they relate to convenience. For example, most respondents could correctly identify bottles and jars as the best formats for resealability. Most correctly identified bottles and cartons as the best choice for ease of emptying contents, and they correctly cited cans and bottles as the best formats for ease of grip and protection against physical damage. At the same time, MSU found that consumers are more likely to buy food with zipper seals, or peelable and resealable lids, than those contained in upside-down rigid packaging, or multipacks that reduce the amount of food wasted when consumers buy too much of a product. 

This research can help our industry better understand the intersection of food, packaging, and consumer behavior. The findings illuminate challenges and opportunities for the packaging industry. It’s clear that more work must be done to educate consumers about the ways packaging extends food shelf life and stretches household grocery budgets. With consumers increasingly concerned about climate change, our industry must start communicating more effectively about the role packaging plays in keeping food out of landfills. 

This new data is an excellent launching point for an industry-wide conversation about how to develop new packaging designs, convince policy makers to recognize packaging as a crucial food waste reduction tool, and educate consumers. Our industry’s innovations are helping to reduce food waste already, but if consumers don’t recognize packaging’s value, we are not maximizing its potential. As we continue to provide consumers with better food packaging choices, we must also work to educate them to ensure the full benefit to them, the environment, and our industry.