FDBusiness.com

A major national campaign has launched today aiming to educate consumers of the value of packaging in cutting food waste in the home

The ‘Fresher for Longer’ campaign, which aims to put an end to years of misunderstanding about the role packaging plays in reducing food waste, was launched this morning at a Marks & Spencer store in Kent and is being backed by bodies including Wrap, the Packaging Federation, Incpen, the Food and Drink Federation and the Kent Waste Partnership.

As part of the launch of the initiative, which will form part of Wrap’s ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ campaign, Wrap has published a study showing that a majority of consumers believe that keep food in its packaging at home leads to it spoiling more quickly.

‘Fresher for Longer’ will aim to dispel that myth through a high-profile media campaign and through retailers, brands and councils.

Crucially, the campaign focuses on the role of packaging technologies such as shrink-wrapping, vacuum-packing, modified atmosphere packaging, multi-portion packs and more in reducing wasted product.

The campaign explains that apples should ‘keep their pack on’ and pears hold onto theirs ‘till lunch do us part’, demonstrating that packaging not only keeps it fresher for longer, but also protects food in the home.

A launch of the campaign is also being held at Parliament this afternoon to raise awareness of Wrap’s study.

Dick Searle, chief executive of the Packaging Federation, said that the launch was a “fantastic example of working together across the supply chain”.

“It creates a model for the way forward,” he said. “It’s a huge affirmation of all of the positives of packaging. We need to change the dynamic of people’s perceptions and talk up what it does.

“The whole rhetoric of people apologising for packaging has got to die because that rhetoric is simply wrong.”

Adam Elman, head of Plan A Delivery at M&S, said: “We’re delighted to be part of this new campaign which is a win-win for our customers – not only will it help them to keep their food fresh, but it will reduce their food waste and save them money too.”

Incpen director Jane Bickerstaffe added: “Together we can show consumers how packaging helps them reduce their environmental footprint by keeping the food they need safe and fresh on its journey to the shops.  And also how, thanks to packaging, they can keep food fresher for longer at home.”

Councillor Paul Barrington-King, chairman of the Kent Waste Partnership, said: “The ground-breaking consumer perceptions report, and the fantastic Fresher for Longer campaign, are the fruits of a cross-sector partnership that is delivering results. Harnessing the collective clout of high profile partnerships is a big part of maintaining the KWP’s position at the vanguard of industry activities and I’m delighted it is launching in Kent.”