Food Packaging:

When I was a small boy the food was quite different from what we have today: -

• milk came in glass bottles with a foil cap

• bread either had no packaging, or was wrapped in waxed paper

• ice cream came in cardboard cartons

• fruit and vegetables were loose and could be packed in paper bags

• fresh meat (and our fish & chips!) was put in grease proof paper and wrapped in newsprint

• paper sacks or cardboard boxes were used for groceries

There was hardly any plastic to be found.  Three types of packaging material predominated:  natural fibre (paper & cardboard / hessian), glass & metal.

Roll on more than 40 years and most foods come wrapped in plastics.

During the last decade the packaging used for some products has been criticised for excessive and unnecessary use of packaging materials.  More recently the use of plastics for packaging foods has been under scrutiny for their environmental impacts: -

1.     Greenhouse gas emissions where petrochemicals are used as raw

materials for making plastics

The life cycle emissions should be used for comparison of packaging materials rather than limiting it to the carbon dioxide equivalents of just the source material.  In many cases the emissions from manufacturing far outweigh the “carbon footprint” of the packaging item itself.

For example work has been done that demonstrates the comparative impacts on global warming from different types of shopping bags:  A paper bag would need to be used 3 or 4 times before its emissions fell below that of a lightweight single use plastic shopping bag; a cotton bag would need to be utilised about 150 times to achieve the same.

2.     Environmental contamination from used plastic packaging

Plastics have been formulated to be resilient and impervious and it’s these properties that enhance food quality, safety and shelf life.   These characteristics of plastics also make them persistent in the environment:  Plastic particles and microplastics pollute soil & water and are increasingly being found within living organisms.

There are several alternatives to petroleum sourced plastics including bioplastics (made from biological sources rather than petroleum) and biodegradable / compostable materials.  However, the key with all of these is the ability for the waste packaging to be managed effectively:  by way of re-using, recycling and composting.   In New Zealand because of our small population and remote location the infrastructure to deal with plastic packaging waste is poor to non-existent.

When selecting food packaging it’s important to ensure that the food safety / quality needs are satisfied, and then to choose a system that minimises the environmental costs (including the ability to re-use, recycle and dispose of the packaging).  If there are non-plastic options what are the impacts of these materials by way of greenhouse gas emissions?  Are there practical options to re-use / recycle?

Future (of) Food

What foods will we be producing and consuming in 5 – 10 – 20 years?

The food industry is experiencing huge pressure for change:

• Climate change is affecting primary production (where things will grow, new diseases etc.)

• The impacts of fertilisers and wastes on waterways are leading to restrictions on land use

• Animal welfare considerations are fundamentally altering permissible farming techniques

• The carbon footprint of food products from farm to fork is being scrutinised

• Access to water to undertake production is limited via climate change and resource allocation

• Loss of plastics into the environment is changing acceptability of plastic packaging

• An increasingly multicultural society is leading to new types foods being available

• Food technology is being used to develop novel foods (eg meat analogues)

Some of these things are forcing changes on the food industry, and others are the food industry providing new options.  The pressures for change are taking place both in New Zealand and overseas.

These changes will affect all food producers to a greater or lesser degree.  Have you considered how to ensure your business remains sustainable in the future: environmental impacts via emissions, water use and plastics use; maintaining a social licence to operate; and ensuring that your business remains financially viable?

Further to this, these changes will also put pressure on the regulatory systems used to manage food safety and ensure food suitability.

MPI’s New Zealand Food Safety business unit is currently consulting on their draft strategy.  This strategy is aimed at ensuring that the food safety systems can keep up with changes in demographics, novel foods and processing methods.  Their responsibility to influence and lead internationally, to facilitate trade is also critical.

Take the opportunity to consider this and have your say.  Search on A strategy for New Zealand Food Safety

Food Recalls

Many businesses have found themselves in a situation that nobody desires – needing to recall foods that expose consumers to food safety risk.  Since the start of 2018 there have been well over 100 food recalls in New Zealand.

A food recall can have serious repercussions on the financial health of food and beverage businesses.  It’s important for everybody involved to actively connect to the fact that what they do has a bearing on the health of their customers.

It’s sobering to note that even with the best systems in place, business owners can find themselves involved in recalling their food products.  Many of the businesses & brands involved in food recalls did so, not because of failures in their own processes, but because of the inputs that they purchased.

If you are a food & beverage business owner, I’d strongly recommend that you subscribe to the MPI food recall updates.  (Search on Subscribe to MPI).  It’s a good way to learn from others’ mistakes!  Ask yourself could something like this happen in our business?  If the answer is “Yes” then you can make changes to reduce food safety risks.

More than 80% of food recalls related to 3 areas:  undeclared food allergens, foreign matter and pathogens detected in the food.  Below is a short summary of each.

Food Allergens

Almost half of all food recalls were associated with the presence of undeclared allergens.  It’s also fair to note that almost half of these recalls appear to be associated with one ingredient used by many businesses containing an allergen that was not declared in the finished product.

Understanding what’s in the foods you produce is important.  Take the time to obtain and check the specifications and labels of ingredients that you purchase. 

If you make claims about your foods in relation to the absence of certain allergens, the duty of care goes further.  You are responsible for having systems in place that demonstrate that the claims you make are true.

Ensuring robust control of pre-printed packaging/labels is something that can prevent mis-labelling.  You want to ensure your operation cannot use the wrong label or package.

Foreign Matter

About a quarter of all food recalls were associated with the presence of foreign matter.  Minced meat was the biggest culprit.  Any size reduction activity can take a contaminant, make it smaller, and spread it widely though the product / batch.  What can you do to minimise the risks?  Prevention is better than cure.  Introduce best practice – preventive maintenance and work procedures.  If the risks are still high look at equipment for defect detection & removal.

Microbiological

Raw milk products dominated the products recalled for the presence of pathogens.Businesses producing high risk ready to eat foods need to focus on good hygienic practices and ensure that all personnel – including contractors are aware of what they need to do to keep food safe.

MPI Launches New Food Safety Tools

New Zealand Food Safety has been working with industry to make it easier for food businesses to comply with their food safety obligations.

These new tools were publicly launched in Nelson at NIMIT on Friday 19 June 2019 by the Hon Damien O'Connor, Minister for Food Safety and Bryan Wilson, Deputy Director General for Food Safety.

It was noted by both the Minister and Deputy Director General, that the cost of compliance can be very high for small businesses.  Although the food safety standards themselves cannot be reduced, the compliance costs to businesses can be reduced by improving processes.

Remote Verification

The Hon Damien O'Connor set the challenge for remote verification.  Many food businesses in his constituency are remote.  This makes the verification processes more expensive compared to food businesses operating in larger centres where verifiers are close at hand.

New Zealand Food Safety is a global leader, introducing remote verification for food safety.  Very few if any food regulators offer this option.  Remote Verification allows audits to be conducted using skype and smart phones over a good broadband connection.  Most people and businesses have access to these tools.

Remote verification is currently only available to lower risk food businesses operating under National Programmes.  Physical on-site audits will still be required but less frequently.  Although the audits may take a little longer – there can be significant overall savings by reducing the costs of travel and accommodation associated with getting the auditor to and from the food business.

Remote verification will take additional auditing skills, as senses such as touch & smell are not available to them.  Verifiers will need to specifically register as remote verifiers.

My Food Rules

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered “my food rules” which is a tool that has superseded “where do I fit”.  At the time I realised what a big improvement this was.  It is quite broad and includes businesses that may not operate under the Food Act 2014 including those needing to operate under the Animal Products Act and the Wine Act.  Where appropriate, it produces a template programme, and relevant guidance.  For example, if it determines that you need a custom food control plan, the generic pre-evaluated programme elements will be provided, and it will advise sections that need to be developed that are specific to your business.  Existing templates have been incorporated into this updated tool.

New Zealand Food Safety will continue to develop this tool, as new pre-evaluated templates are developed, to cater for more businesses.

If you want more detail on either of these tools, there is good detail in the MPI website. Search using the following terms:

MPI My Food Rules

MPI Remote Verification

Mark