To achieve both the guarantee of adequate protection and the ease so that the product can be consumed anywhere, teams made up of chemists, nutritionists, chefs, computer scientists and engineers come together to design not only safe, practical packaging that facilitates cooking, but, in addition, they are recycled, recyclable or even compostable or reusable.
In addition, for consumers, it is essential that packaging is respectful of the environment, which is a challenge for the food industry and, especially, for manufacturers of ready meals, who are working to quickly adapt to these two new demands.
This is how trends ranging from ecodesign - a practice that seeks to reduce the environmental impact of products throughout their life cycle, from their design to their elimination - to the elimination of superfluous plastic or its substitution by other materials such as glass or cardboard, or even the use of containers that use plastic recovered from the seas and oceans, are increasingly triumphing among manufacturers and consumers.
“Many of the companies in the sector are ahead of the legislation in their commitment to the environment and, in particular, the proper management of plastic. In fact, the vast majority have already adopted measures such as redesign, weight reduction of the packaging or the use of recycled plastic to try to minimize the presence of this material in their formats, demonstrating their firm commitment to caring for the environment." Explain Alvaro Aguilar, general secretary of the Spanish Association of Manufacturers of Ready Meals (ASEFAPRE).
