Packaging of poultry products is going to play a key role in helping the meat reach its full growth potential, according to Packforum seminar organised by New Jersey-based, global specialty packaging provider Sealed Air.
British Poultry Council director Philip Wilkinson said that more people are reaching income levels of $10 per day or more and their need for more meat, particularly processed and packaged forms, will increase. But to reach that potential, the sector needed innovative packaging.
“Packaging can make a key contribution to food safety and shelf life to help face the global food challenge,” Wilkinson added.
Centralized food preparation and packaging of case ready supplies can also reduce waste within the supply chain. In the US, centralized processing and packaging systems are estimated to produce downstream yield savings for fresh red meat of about 5% of total sales, reports FOOD productiondaily.
Despite negative perceptions of food packaging, in reality it is already an efficiently operating sector. For example, in the UK, producing and transporting food requires ten times more energy than the packaging used to protect it.