Global Alliance for Sustainable Food Packaging launched to harmonize regulation for sustainable food packaging

GLOBAL – A coalition of non-profit industry and non-governmental organizations has established the Alliance for Sustainable Packaging for Foods (ASPF), aiming to collaborate with global governments and regulators in the pursuit of safe, sustainable, holistic, and harmonized food packaging regulations.

ASPF aims to uphold food safety and public health, minimize the environmental footprint of the food supply chain, and develop new rules for sustainable food packaging.

The alliance highlights its engagement with ongoing EU negotiations on the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, as well as Canada’s developments in packaging regulation, such as the P2.

It has also released a position paper analyzing peer-reviewed publications on the trade-offs between food safety and packaging.

Founding members of ASPF include Aneberries, Canadian Produce Marketing Association, FMI – The Food Industry Association, Fruit South Africa, Frutas de Chile, International Fresh Produce Association, National Milk Producers Federation, National Council of Farmers Coops, National Wooden Pallet and Container Association, North American Meat Institute, Organic Trade Association, Reusable Packaging Association, STOP Foodborne Illness, U.S. Dairy Export Council, and Western Growers Association.

Max Teplitski, Ph.D., IFPA Chief Science Officer and Chair of ASPF, stated, “When discussing the future of packaging, food safety and quality, and reducing food loss and waste are non-negotiable.

“Members of ASPF are clear: we are committed to significantly reducing packaging waste, just not at the expense of food safety. We will work hard with the regulators and policymakers around the world to do so.

“The purpose of ASPF is to find opportunities for partnership across global stakeholders to create a holistic and harmonized approach to packaging regulation, reflecting and accounting for the key outcomes central to a sustainable food supply.”

Todd Hoff, Executive Vice President at the Reusable Packaging Association and Vice Chair of ASPF, added, “Sustainable packaging solutions for food, such as reusable packaging, can also lead to superior product protection and temperature management performance, ensuring food quality and safety and reducing waste.”

ASPF plans to utilize working groups to contribute to its goals by implementing priorities and action plans focused on government relations strategies and approaches to advocating for compliant and pragmatic regulations.

The alliance expresses its support for collaboration across value chains to achieve its objectives.

A similar alliance, the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, was formed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and WWF in 2022, consisting of 83 international businesses across the plastics value chain, financial institutions, and NGOs, aiming to lay the groundwork for future policy engagements with governments regarding the global plastic waste crisis.

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