By Lindsey Partos

Boosting its sustainability credentials, John B Sanfilippo & Son announced the launch of 'earth-friendly' packaging for the company's Fisher brand of snacks and baking products.

 

Currently packaged in metallic, mylar film - polyester film or plastic sheet made from the resin Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) – the company said that it has switched 'a portion of the package' from oil to plant-based renewable resources for its 'two-pound' snacks.

 

“The Fisher brand is helping to protect the Earth for future generations one nut at a time,” said John Garoni, director of food service sales at John B. Sanfilippo & Son, a processor, packager, and distributor of shelled and in-shell nuts and extruded snacks.

 

In response to growing environmental concerns, consumers are showing increasing interest in packaging that is not destined for the landfill. And in step with this growing movement towards green materials for packaging with sustainability credentials, food firms are gradually adopting new, sustainable materials for their packaging applications.

 

The US firm claims the new packaging "is friendly to the food as well”.

 

"It does not affect the quality or freshness of the product because the packaging maintains the same barrier properties as standard mylar film. In addition, all products are nitrogen flushed to maintain freshness and shelf life,” commented Garoni.

 

And in a bid to expand sustainability efforts, the Illinois-based company added that efforts are currently underway to reduce their overall energy usage and to continue to research packaging materials and processing methods "to help reduce emissions and waste".

 

The company has also set up a "resource conservation team" to execute the firm's green initiatives and to monitor its progress.

 

Green plastics

 

Green plastics, also known as bioplastics, are usually fabricated from 100 per cent renewable sources, such as plant-based ethanol and vegetable oil.

 

Setting out to have the same specifications of petrochemical plastics, plastics made from renewable sources purportedly have a net positive carbon footprint. By contrast, the production of plastics derived from petroleum emits the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.

 

It is suggested that recyclable green plastics generally perform better than biodegradable alternatives in sustainability analyses.

 

Biodegradable green plastics are less durable, cannot be easily disposed of because of the need to separate them from conventional recyclable material, and emit the powerful greenhouse gas methane when decomposing in landfills.

 

On the other hand, green plastics effectively store the CO2 absorbed during photosynthesis for extended periods of time as it is recycled and used in different ways. At the end of their useful life, green plastics can be burned to recover their energy content.

 

One key obstacle to growth in the bioplastics market, estimated by trade group European Bioplastics as making up 0.20 per cent of the total plastic market in the EU, is what to with them once their useful life is over and whether they end up being landfilled, incinerated or composted.