Think globally, act locally: a conversation with Nerida Kelton, WPO

"Food waste is an issue that needs more attention worldwide and is often underestimated in its complexity", explains Nerida Kelton, Board Member of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) for Australia and New Zealand.

The WPO is a federation of leading associations, packaging organisations and training institutions with 63 member countries and other partners around the world. As an international organisation, the WPO focuses on generally binding standards and promotes innovative packaging solutions to extend the shelf life of food and minimise spoilage. It is an active partner of the SAVE FOOD initiative, which was founded in 2011 by Messe Düsseldorf, interpack and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). The aim of this initiative is to reduce global food loss and waste.

Optimised packaging design, modern materials for organic waste cycles and comprehensive consumer education are just some of the issues that Kelton, as a committed specialist in sustainability who is active in the Save Food initiative, is concerned with. Her activities focus on high-quality materials and barrier technologies that protect food from external influences such as moisture, oxygen and light, which contributes significantly to extending shelf life. She also promotes resealable systems that keep opened products fresh for longer and store them safely. At the same time, their agenda includes user-friendly designs, such as easy-to-open closures or optimised dosing mechanisms that meet the needs of consumers and minimise product loss.

Innovative food packaging actively contributes to reducing food waste at all stages of the value chain, from production to the end consumer. "The discussions often focus too much on plastic and packaging waste. The functionality of packaging with the lowest possible environmental impact is taking a back seat", says Kelton. "The real challenge for packaging technology is to find a balance between functionality, economic aspects, consumer requirements and environmental criteria. Unsuitable packaging is a key cause of food waste and is responsible for negative environmental impacts."

According to Destatis, around 132 kilograms of food are currently wasted per capita per year in the European Union. "End consumers need more information in order to make better and more sustainable choices", Nerida Kelton says with confidence. "The entire industry and all partners involved must help consumers to better understand the true role of packaging. This relates to its aforementioned functionality and protecting the product throughout the entire supply chain right up to its use in the household."

The WPO initiatives' educational campaigns focus on packaging that contains clear and easy-to-understand information on best-before and use-by dates, thereby reducing uncertainty and promoting the sustainable use of food until the actual expiry date. Ideally, this information is supplemented by specific instructions on storage and preservation, for example by integrating QR codes or pictograms that provide additional application information.

"Packaging communicates important information that allows consumers to use the exactly right amount of food. This helps to avoid overconsumption and throwing away leftovers", says the packaging expert.

With its "SAVE FOOD Packaging" initiative, also in cooperation with the Düsseldorf interpack project SAVE FOOD, the WPO promotes innovative packaging solutions to improve the protection and shelf life of food. The WPO presents awards for this every year. Among other things, these honour advanced materials, intelligent technologies, for example to monitor the ripeness of fruit and pioneering solutions for keeping food fresher for longer.

Expert Nerida Kelton gives some examples of excellent ideas: "The Flexprep portion dispensing bag was one of the products honoured with the Australian Packaging Innovation Design Award. These bags were customised for the food sector and have recently been adopted at McDonald's Australia for their entire product range. This portion control is used in the the packaging, storage and dispensing of sauces and reduces waste compared to conventional rigid cans through exact portioning."

The pre-filled flexible bags are used together with a mechanical dosing gun to release precise amounts of sauces and seasonings. The desired portion size can be set via the dispenser. In addition, the portion dosing limits the supply of oxygen into the bag thanks to its excellent oxygen barrier properties, so that oxygen-related spoilage is minimised.

A convincing solution from Naked Rival was also honoured with an award. This company specialises in frozen lemon and lime cubes. These consist of 100 percent freshly squeezed juice without seeds, peel or preservatives and can be kept in the freezer for up to two years. "The founders' motivation was to save imperfect fruit", says Kelton. "The product reduces the amount of citrus waste sent to landfills because it is not marketable due to deviations in shape, size, colour, surface texture or slight differences in ripeness, for example."

As a board member of the WPO, Nerida Kelton travels the world to promote dialogue and advance feasible solutions. "We cover a wide range of topics. As no two countries are the same, it's ultimately about agreeing global regulations and standards that are then tailored to specific countries and implemented locally."

International networks help with the harmonisation and implementation of ambitious goals. Important partner organisations are the Save Food Org, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) and UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization). "I am delighted that we have been able to work more closely together for several years now and discuss topics relating to food packaging, design and sustainability with a view to reducing food waste. We have some exciting projects in the pipeline", reports Kelton. "Among other things, we want to expand the Save Food Org Award and integrate projects in Egypt, the Middle East and Africa."

Often it is the small steps that lead to big goals. That is why "Save Food Packaging" offers practical training and educational materials that lead to better packaging design and an optimised choice of materials and formats. The design criteria for safe food packaging are disseminated worldwide through workshops, industry trade fairs, sustainability events and training modules. The next project objective is to support companies in integrating the design principles into their processes.