Michael Johnson, chief executive of the BPIF, has written to Ben Bradshaw MP, Minister of State at the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, telling him the Government should recognize the role played by packaging in protecting and promoting products and not label the entire sector negatively.
The letter follows the minister’s appeal to consumers to discard “unnecessary” packaging at supermarket checkouts in an effort to force a reduction in the amount of packaging used. Michael Johnson responded by outlining the vital role played by packaging in protecting products on the journey to the supermarket shelf, noting that damage to groceries, particularly high end goods, “makes them unattractive to buyers and renders useless the efforts made to create and transport the product to the supermarket”.
He also noted that new packaging technology contributed to the value of the product itself, citing the example of treated packages that improve the quality of food when microwaved.
He commented: “This represents the sort of innovative R&D that is essential to the UK remaining internationally competitive. Denigrating it also contributes to the migration of the packaging industry overseas, where its environmental impact cannot be held to account by the UK Government.”
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