Environmental impacts assessment in packaging and its contribution to reducing food waste

In the modern world, food consumption is not limited to areas near production centers. In this complex distribution chain, packaging plays a crucial role, extending shelf life and protecting products from contaminants or mechanical damage, contributing to reducing food waste during transportation, retail, and inside our homes. On the other hand, packaging is responsible for environmental impacts that are perceived as very harmful to environment by consumers. However, is it possible to demonstrate that packaging, in certain products and operating conditions, can be beneficial to environment? The goal of this article is to investigate the potential environmental performance of food products sold with or without packaging. To identify the potential food waste reduction through the use of packaging, three interviews were conducted with supermarket owners in Curitiba - Brazil. The interviews have revealed that the use of packaging can result in a food waste reduction of up to 20%, because it prevents excessive products handling and allows for sale of damaged product parts. The products identified as critical and selected for this study were broccoli, grapes, and papaya, for which a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted to compare potential impacts of samples of products exposed with and without packaging and to simulate the food waste reduction rate at which the use of packaging could be favorable in each impact category. The functional unit considered was 1 kg of food product for human consumption. The product system embraced a cradle-to-grave approach, covering food and packaging production, retail, and final disposal of both food and packaging. Calculations were performed using the Ecoinvent 3.8v database, the EPD (2018) method, and potential impacts were determined through OpenLCA. Results indicated that, in the case of excessive handling, packaged broccoli and grapes had lower impacts in seven of eight evaluated categories. The use of packaged cut papaya had lower impacts in all eight categories, with restrictions regarding the amount of packaging used in the process. The study concludes that the evaluation of the use of packaging should consider the reduction of product waste generated by them. The main contribution of this study, therefore, is to emphasize the importance of evaluate all impacts related to a product, not just those that are easily known, such as the generation of solid waste in packaged products.