Why Less Packaging Does Not Always Mean Less Waste: Putting Food Protection at the Center of Sustainable Design
This article explains why less packaging doesn’t automatically mean less waste. For World Packaging Day, FSSC, WPO, and AIP argue that food protection, not material reduction, should be the true measure of sustainable packaging, and explain how FSSC 22000 Version 7 now incorporates this into its packaging design requirements.
As World Packaging Day launches on 6 September, FSSC, WPO and AIP align 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 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% occurring at retail, food-service and household level. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that a further 13% of food is lost after harvest and before retail. Combined, food loss and waste generate 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, almost five times the total emissions from the aviation sector. Food Waste Index Report 2024; UNEP, 2024
As the inaugural World Packaging Day is marked globally on 6 September, the World Packaging Organisation (WPO), the Australasian Institute of Packaging (AIP) and Foundation FSSC are calling for a broader definition of sustainable packaging. 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,” says Nerida Kelton, Vice President Sustainability & 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.
The Save Food Packaging principles were established by AIP in partnership with 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, 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,” explains Kelly Mulholland, Technical Manager Safety & Quality at FSSC. “Now potentially over 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 V7 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. This led to more than 30,000 organizations at the time 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.
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.
