Research Institute Innventia is partnering with various organizations in Sweden to develop packaging systems that reduce food wastage.
The institute has formed a consortium with materials and packaging producers, food producers, the convenience goods trade, authorities, institutions and universities, recycling companies and Stockholm Consumer Cooperative Society, to undertake the project.
The 'Packaging systems for reduced food wastage' project will develop new packaging solutions to avoid food wastage, throughout the value chain from food producer to consumer.
Innventia is the coordinator of the project that inlcudes Karlstad University, BillerudKorsns, Electrolux, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, Stockholm Consumer Cooperative Society, Ragn-Sells and SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden, among others.
Swedish government agency Vinnova is funding the two-year project with SEK 4.7m, with the participating companies matching this funding.
As an introductory phase, a workshop was conducted last year for the participants.
In the second stage of the Vinnova's Challenge-Driven Innovation program, the participants will identify the areas of wastage in the value chain and determine the potential for improvement.
Innventia said that ethnographical consumer studies will be carried out to know how food is dealt with at home, and will highlight opportunities for packaging improvements.
Three food producers will create three different prototypes of packaging. The knowledge gained from the prototypes will be shared with all the participants.
Project manager Kristina Wickholm said: "Producing prototypes gives companies physical examples that they can show.
"General knowledge is not enough to generate innovation. Our ambition is to develop real packaging solutions and to demonstrate the actual significance of the packaging when it comes to preventing wastage from occurring."
According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, around a million tonnes of food is wasted each year in Sweden, with households accounting for the majority of this.
Image: The participants will create different prototypes of packaging. Photo: courtesy of Innventia.
