Packaging Innovation Helps Save Strawberry Waste
By Richard Romano on January 11th, 2012
Here’s s story that would make Captain Queeg happy. British supermarket chain Marks and Spencer has developed a new type of packaging for strawberries that staves off rotting for an additional two days—which, says Business Green, “‘showed a minimum wastage saving of four per cent’, which in effect means that 40,000 punnets a week could be saved during the peak summer season, equating to roughly 800,000 strawberries.”
[Punnet: A Britishism for a small plastic basket used to hold fruit. Not to be confused with a pundit, which is an individual at whom one often wants to throw fruit.]
How does it work?
A small strip inserted into punnets of strawberries uses a patented mixture of high-tech minerals and clay to remove ethylene, a hormone that causes fruit to ripen and turn mouldy.
The 8cm by 4.5cm strip insert is manufactured by British firm It’s Fresh, and does not adversely affect the packaging’s recyclability.
One Response to “Packaging Innovation Helps Save Strawberry Waste”
By Lynn Parkes on Jan 11, 2012 | Reply
What will be the benefit to the consumer?
2 days doesnt sound too much, will the savings seen through the supply chain be pass onto the consumer?