Report
Teaser, summary, work performed and final results
Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MYPACK (Best markets for the exploitation of innovative sustainable food packaging solutions)
Teaser
The MyPack project aims at helping sustainable food packaging technologies to reach or to extend their market. It will provide general guidelines to select the best market for novel packaging technologies developed during the project and to ensure their best commercial...
Summary
The MyPack project aims at helping sustainable food packaging technologies to reach or to extend their market. It will provide general guidelines to select the best market for novel packaging technologies developed during the project and to ensure their best commercial development. Different aspects are considered, including: (i) the optimal environmental efficiency considering the impact of food waste and packaging, optimised end-of-life (EOL) scenarios (recycling, landfill, incineration), preserved consumer health, (ii) the best consumer acceptability, and (iii) optimised industrial feasibility. Three key objectives will be considered during the project in order to promote the commercial development of: biodegradable and compostable packaging, packaging from renewable resources, and elaborated (high barrier and active) packaging technologies. Seven innovative sustainable food packaging solutions are considered of which five will be developed and exploited. The state of the art of sustainable food packaging is comprehensively described and it is made clear how MyPack solutions will extend beyond it. The MyPack consortium is composed of 18 partners from 6 different countries from the academic, scientific and industrial sector, including SMEs. MyPack started on November 1st 2017. The project has a duration of 42 months.
Work performed
The access to the market of 7 packaging technologies is worked with two complementary approaches:
(i) the first is based on an incremental innovation approach: the manufacturers of new materials work with plastic transformers for the realization of innovative packaging, based on specifications provided by food manufacturers. The application areas targeted are quite broad since the project involves a ready-to-use salad manufacturer, a manufacturer of baby jars, and a large brand of products from organic farming.
(ii) the second approach aims to provide all the tools that will lead to breakthrough innovation strategies. Thus general works are carried out
- in the field of life cycle analysis; simplified evaluation criteria allow to detect if a packaging is obviously oversized compared to the product it contains
- in the field of the perception of the consumer the works relate on the one hand on the criteria of acceptability of a technology packaging, on the other hand on the consumption behavior compared to a displayed value of the life of a food product; indeed the generally accepted principle that a longer product life (usually associated with a higher environmental impact of packaging) results in a reduction of food waste is not necessarily verified.
During the second period of the project, incremental and breakthrough innovations will be combined and applied to the 7 technologies, in order to extend the range of their potential future market, and to secure effective access to these markets.
Final results
Expected Impact :
With a view to supporting the transition from a linear to a circular economy, proposals should show how some, or all, of the following impacts will be achieved:
• wider and faster deployment of innovative, user-driven, packaging solutions resulting from greater industry and consumer acceptance, and higher visibility of innovative solutions, overcoming the barriers to market uptake.
• reduced waste in both food and packaging materials, and its negative impacts on the environment (e.g. resource utilisation, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution).
• strengthening of the EU\'s position in manufacturing, improving competitiveness as well as opportunities for growth, diversification and job creation for the EU food and packaging sector in general, and SMEs in particular.
• strengthening the European food value chain through continued support to product quality, contributing to consumer trust and increased consumption.
• support for the transition from a linear to a circular economy.
Website & more info
More info: https://www.mypackfood.eu/.