Safety in food packaging more important than ever
April 8, 2020Within a matter of months and weeks, the coronavirus has turned the way we live upside down and forced us to rethink many of the things we’ve previously taken for granted. At Stora Enso, our efforts are aimed at protecting people and making sure we can continue to provide vital packaging materials to our customers, many of whom serve the medical, hygiene and food industries.
The coronavirus outbreak puts hygiene, food safety and safety of
packaging and materials into focus. Products which have usually not been
packaged in supermarkets are now being packed to ensure safety and hygiene.
Coffee shops have stopped serving drinks to reusable cups for the time being
and favour paper cups for hygiene reasons. Many people stay home and order more
food from restaurants, packed for deliveries.
Health concerns of today take us to the origin of food service packaging, which
was created to improve hygiene. Paper cups were introduced in the United States
in the beginning of the 20th century to prevent disease from
spreading. Today, food service packaging is used to serve food and beverages on
plates, bowls and cups at coffee shops and quick service restaurants, and to
transport food for example in trays, clamshells, wraps and bags.
Paper and board are proven to be hygienic and convenient materials for food and
beverage packaging since decades. They are food-safe and sustainably produced
with fiber-based, renewable and recyclable materials. At Stora Enso, we have
certified traceability systems to trace the origin of our raw materials as well
as certified hygiene management systems at our production sites to secure
product safety. To us, food safety of our materials is non-negotiable every
day, not only in times of pandemics.
Our products must meet high technical and legal requirements, but the benefits
of renewable materials are not only technical. Packaging reflects the values
and sustainability ambitions of brands while providing a tangible surface to
deliver their messages visibly to consumers. And this is where renewable
materials have clear advantages, such as a lower carbon footprint than
fossil-based materials, high recyclability rates and contributing to creating
less waste.
The food service industry faces challenging times in the short-term, with
temporary closures of coffee shops and restaurants to ensure social distancing.
At the same time, delivery and on-the-go packaging has never been as critical
as now for the continuity of restaurant businesses. But consumers will
eventually emerge from quarantines and locked-down cities and return to eating
out with friends and family, buying takeout lunch during work days, and getting
coffee to go. Additionally, they will have learned to order more takeout, which
is an opportunity for new businesses, service models and digitalization to
happen faster.