“The emperor has no clothes,” says Shay Zeltzer who is M.Sc. Agr. He is a postharvest specialist and, Founder of Postharvest Hub Ltd. An active environmentalist, he has over 30 years of experience in developing protocols and packaging to preserve the freshness of produce and reduce waste.
Although working in the food preservation and waste reduction industry for close to 30 years, Shay Zeltzer was shocked after spending two days at the Fruit Logistica trade event in Berlin recently. “Just by switching out plastic-based packaging for paper-based packaging, the packaging business has overnight become a paper-based sector. Pure greenwashing, I tell you! “He claims. Produce does not keep fresh in this paper/mesh-combined packaging, which is contrary to all logic and any form of professional approach.
Shay, a postharvest expert and the founder of Postharvest Hub Ltd., claims that he communicated this to a colleague who holds a top position with ULMA packaging. “He responded, “They don’t care; it appears more sustainable, and that’s what matters.” “
Shay says, “I feel compelled to communicate my feelings and not to keep this fury to myself. “This paper revolution is nothing more than a trend that is causing an ecological catastrophe and has a significant negative impact on the planet Earth, which we will regret.”
Shay claims he is opposed to it for a variety of reasons.
“Paper bag manufacturing requires more energy than plastic bag manufacturing. The United States Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that 5,162 kWh on average are needed to generate one tonne of paper (craft paper of around 200-250 grams per square meter). According to research by the European Commission, one tonne of LDPE film (of around 20 to 30 microns in gauge) used almost half the energy to be manufactured “he exhibits. Then, it consumes a lot of water, using between 1 and 25 cubic meters for every metric tonne of paper produced.
He continues by saying that in order to make paper packaging sealable, lamination or adhesive additives must be used. Both have a detrimental impact on their compostability.
“It causes more dehydration, which shortens food’s shelf life and increases food waste across the supply chain. At the consumer level, it causes more deforestation since forest farming cannot keep up with the rising demand for paper-based packaging. In addition, it is thicker and heavier than plastic. Thus, when it is shipped, it leaves a larger carbon footprint: A common plastic bag has a gauge of around 30 microns. Per square meter, it weighs 0.0276 grams. An equivalent rip-strength paper-based bag to a plastic bag weighs around 60 grams per square meter. Paper is 2,000 times heavier than an equal LDPE bag when comparing the same tear-strength property.
To stop this widespread practice and return to sanity, Shay advises that action be taken as soon as possible.
Criticizing is simple, but what is the remedy? We’re talking about the 3-Rs, a wise man at NNZ stated. Recycle, Reduce, and Use Again. “We need to utilize plastic-based packaging carefully, limit packaging gauge, avoid overpacking, and use the appropriate packaging composition for the item packed,” explains Shay.
R.O.P Ltd, StePac, Amcor, The University of California, Davis, Volcani Research Center, MIGAL Research Institute, and others, including specialized research centers, postharvest specialists, and packaging technologists, spent the equivalent of thousands of years on research and development with a focus on reducing waste and maintaining freshness, the author notes. “This cannot just be thrown away in lieu of a hip replacement.”
“Standards are required to make “sustainable” quantifiable, and choices should be made in accordance with these standards. Regrettably, individuals are frequently taken by surprise, and choices are frequently made purely solely on perception.”
He recalls a meeting he had with a green bean grower in Homestead, Florida, years ago. The grower told him that the buyer at Loblaw’s had advised him to contact SunFed to find out why their green beans, grown and delivered from a distance in Mexico, are all perfect upon arrival but those grown by another supplier, nearby in Florida, have a significant amount of waste, over 10%. It came out that 5-Brothers, a superb, experienced grower from Homestead, Florida, was utilizing “green” wire-bound timber containers while SunFed was employing modified atmosphere packaging. The 5-Brothers were smart enough to apply the modified atmospheric packaging themselves after learning from that, which led to higher freshness standards, lower claim rates, and much higher consumer satisfaction and sustainability levels.