SUSTAINABILITY
Packaging
Key Takeaways PCC Community Markets, New Seasons Market and Aldi U.S. are among the grocers striving to offer more eco-friendly packaging in their stores. Companies such as Evanesce and ProAmpac are upping the ante on sustainable packaging innovation. CPG giants like Kraft Heinz are introducing packaging solutions that are recyclable.
Capped With Toxics
The Journey to Eliminate Plastic Pollution IN AN AGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS, FOOD RE TAIL IS COMMIT TING TO REDUCE PACK AGING WASTE WHERE VER POSSIBLE. By Marian Zboraj bout 11 million metric tons of plastic are dumped each year in the ocean — an amount that’s projected to nearly triple by 2040 without urgent, large-scale action, according to research by The Pew Charitable Trusts and SystemIQ, a London-based sustainability consultancy. Certain U.S. states have even stepped up to ban single-use plastics to combat this issue. Efforts geared toward zero-waste solutions not only appease government regulations, but also consumer demand for environmentally conscious packaging. According to a survey of 661 consumers conducted last year by Madison, Wis.-based Pinpoint Software, maker of an expiration and product-dating solution, more than 57% of consumers say that plastic and packaging waste is the most important grocery store sustainability initiative.
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progressivegrocer.com
In addition to polluting the environment, plastic packaging can be dangerous to human health. “Capped With Toxics,” a new report by the Toxic Free Food Campaign, a national public-health coalition of nonprofit organizations, identified the type of plastic in bottle caps and found toxic chemicals called ortho-phthalates in more than onethird of the packaging for the 141 beverage brands tested. Specifically, the Toxic-Free Food Campaign collected 273 bottle caps from 141 brands sold in glass bottles at retail locations in 12 U.S. states; Washington D.C.; and Toronto. Prior research has linked ongoing exposure to phthalates during pregnancy and early childhood to reduced fertility and harm to brain development. According to the public-health coalition, phthalates have been shown to migrate from the plastic cap liners into food and beverages that are packed in glass. The chemicals may also leave on the rim of the bottle a residue that can be consumed. Of the beverages tested, the types that most frequently contained phthalates in the bottle cap liners were soda (52% of brands tested), kombucha (40%) and ready-to-drink coffee (38%). For certified-organic beverages, 41% of brands had toxic bottle caps. In good news, the “Capped With Toxics” report found that more than one-third of the brands tested had bottle cap liners that were phthalate-free and not made of PVC (vinyl), often called the “poison plastic” due to the toxic hazards created across its lifecycle. Several major brands have since switched to phthalate-free bottle caps, including Brew Dr Kombucha; Whole Foods Market (spar-
