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The best meals start with the freshest ingredients, and when it comes to fruit and vegetable packaging, freshness and quality are very much a black or white result for grocery shoppers. The proper packaging solution can mean the difference between a customer putting your products in their cart or leaving you to wilt in the produce aisle. So, having reliable packaging for fruits and vegetables is essential to maximizing the producer’s profitability and brand reputation.
To find the best fruit and vegetable packaging solution for your product to maximize its shelf quality, we recommend considering these key factors.
Produce packaging typically has a high degree of transparency for shoppers to see package contents easily. Whether accomplished through a bag, container wrap, or top seal may depend on the type of product that you’re packaging. For example, are you bagging lettuce heads, mushrooms in an open-top box, or a resealable container of grapes? Customers expect to easily see the produce they’re buying to check for visible signs of freshness before deciding to buy. Maximizing visibility fosters a better shopper experience and can go a long way to building brand loyalty.
There may be enhanced requirements for fruit and vegetable packaging needed to meet safety and security expectations in some instances. For example, using a resealable lid film, like Sealutions™, gives customers the confidence they need in seeing your product and knowing that they can count on a sturdy reseal to extend the life of their purchase. And including tamper-proof features in your product packaging gives customers more peace of mind as they make their way through their shopping list.
Produce packaging has to work well for the type of produce it contains, not stifle or suffocate it. For example, whether a product is cut or whole can significantly affect its respiration (the O2 and CO2 generated while in the package). This means that fruit and vegetable packaging should be tailored to how the item breathes. Modified atmosphere packaging is designed to help products breathe and, in turn, maximize shelf quality so your customers can open up a sense of freshness and not the disappointment of foul odors and soggy goods instead. At Belmark, we offer in-house respiration testing capabilities so that our customers can have a comprehensive produce packaging solution under one roof.To learn more, ask a Belmark packaging expert about what’s involved in matching a film’s breathability to the produce respiration rate. The right packaging makes a world of difference, Belmark packaging keeps your produce truly fresh, increasing shelf life by up to 100% so you can reach more retailers and homes.
As consumers prioritize environmentally friendly packaging and sustainability in their purchasing behaviors, the popularity of recycled clamshells and minimal plastic packaging rises. It’s why Belmark has developed Mindful Solutions to help our customers meet their shopper expectations. For example, our tru-IMPACT® solution provides sustainable packaging solutions like eco-friendly pressure sensitive labels, flexible packaging, and folding cartons with options for responsibly sourced materials and post-consumer recycled (PCR) content. Belmark offers 75% PCR in its open top trays, which, at a million units per year, can prevent 60,000 pounds of virgin plastic from being used (that’s about 2.8 million water bottles worth of plastic). In addition, our eco-READY™ solution offers recyclable packaging options that clearly distinguish your brand as an environmental leader. Choosing a sustainable packaging solution like Sealutions™ can reduce your plastic footprint by about 35% just by switching from a clamshell to an open top tray with lidding film.
Gone are the days of corner fruit and vegetable markets with bushels of local produce to pick from. Today, shoppers are likely heading to their local grocer or big box store to shop for produce arriving from all corners of the globe (not just nearby farms). As a result, the supply chain needs secure, stable produce packaging to ensure that products can make it from farm to table, so to speak, without being crushed or suffocated before making it into a shopping cart.Belmark can help maximize your product’s shelf quality through pouches, roll stock, top seal, and lidding film which are all available with anti-fog coating.
Flimsy, clumsy packaging and peeling, or fading labels can instantly signal poor quality and raise concerns for potential buyers. Putting your best foot forward as a produce brand demands a packaging solution that not only stands up to handling, transport, and presentation but also conveys branding consistently and clearly.
How does your product get from its source to its packaging? Is your product being picked directly into production, or will it be sitting in staging for some time? Knowing how your product will be handled can help maximize production efficiencies. And a solid QA process like Belmark’s patented laser perforation verification technology is invaluable in ensuring 100% quality of perforation size and presence.
Knowing how your product will be transported can help determine the correct packaging type to ensure it survives the trip in good standing. When designing your fruit and vegetable packaging, you may need to consider variables like light, temperature, humidity, and pressure from air transport.
Thoughtful packaging design and printing offer a valuable opportunity to convey and reinforce your brand. Using bold colors, strategic messaging, and specialty finishes elevate a brand and convey differentiation from competitors. Quality trumps all when it comes to produce packaging, and there is no room for shortcuts in building a beloved brand.
Choosing the correct packaging type and material for fresh produce, whole and cut, is a critical decision that will influence quality, shelf life, and appeal. It is also vital in bringing and selling fresh produce from farms to consumers. Over types of packages are used for fresh produce in the USA. This number keeps increasing as new and more efficient packaging is introduced. In this article, you will find the standard packaging methods for fresh produce.
Figure 1: Main functions of fresh produce packaging, adapted from WUR. (Image credits: Wageningen University and Research)
Packaging is necessary for fresh produce to transport, store, and sell the perishable products in the supply chain. Packaging performs several purposes, as shown in Figure 1, and these are discussed below:
The effectiveness of packaging will depend on choosing the right type for the intended use.
Each packaging is made to perform specific functions, with advantages and disadvantages. Packaging is expensive, and given the numerous available options, it is essential to know their uses. Standardization is being introduced to reduce fresh produce packaging costs and increase reuse.
Wood pallets: Most fresh produce is transported with wood pallets, which have been used since the Second World War. There are no standard sizes, but the 40 x 48-inch pallet has become the unofficial standard. The pallets are covered with plastic netting to secure items, which can affect ventilation. So, low tensile glue is used to stabilize stacks of pallets.
Slipsheets: These are pallet-sized sheets with a lip on one or more sides made of a combination of materials, fiberboard, or plastic. These are easier to store and reuse and are less expensive than pallets.
Pallet Bins: Wooden pallet bins help transport fresh produce from fields to packing houses and can carry 12-50 bushels. The popular base dimensions are the same as pallets 48 x 40 inches, with variations in heights. The pallet bins are locally made, reusable, lasting five to 10 years.
Wire-Bound Crates: Wooden wire-bound crates are commonly used for fresh produce that needs hydrocooling, such as sweet corn, snap beans, etc. These large-scale packages are rigid, sturdy, and can be stacked. Various sizes, from half a bushel to pallet size, are available, with ample ventilation and cooling openings. The reuse rate is less, but it can be easily dissembled for remanufacture.
Wooden lugs and crates: Wooden crates were traditionally used for potatoes, stone fruits, and apples. Lugs are still used for grapes and other specialty items and are made to hold 15 to 25 pounds. The wooden crates and lugs are expensive and heavy and add weight, so alternative materials are used for long-distance transport of tropical fruits.
Wooden baskets: Wire-reinforced baskets and hampers of varying sizes were standard for vegetables and fruits. They are durable and easily stored. However, the cost and disposal problems have limited their use to only local markets.
Corrugated fiberboard: These are used for bulk transport of potatoes, melons, cabbage, citrus, etc., to processors and retailers. Usually called cardboard, these come in various sizes and styles, are low cost, and versatile. Their strength increases, and the grades are differentiated by weight and thickness. They are being made from recycled fibers. Labeling is easy for these packaging. The disadvantage is that low temperatures, moisture from fresh produce, and high humidity reduce their strength by 75% unless the containers are specially treated with either wax or plastic. However, waxed and plastic-coated cartons are challenging to recycle and landfill.
Pulp containers: These are made from recycled paper pulp and are a staple for small consumer packages. Pulp containers come in various sizes and shapes, and standard
sizes are relatively inexpensive. Pulp containers absorb moisture from fresh produce and can be helpful in the case of berries and small fruits. These packages are recyclable and biodegradable.
Paper and mesh bags: Paper bags are now used only as consumer packs for potatoes and onions. Mesh bags are low-cost, allow airflow, and are used for all fresh produce. These also allow for the display of the food to appeal to consumers. Large bags are challenging to palletize and can be damaged due to rough handling. Moreover, mesh bags do not protect from contamination and light.
Plastic bags: Polyethylene bags have become the predominantly used consumer packaging of whole and cut fresh produce. It is transparent, makes food inspection easy, allows labeling, and is cheap. Depending on thickness and grade, it can extend shelf-life and have varying degrees of air movement. It is helpful for MAP packages. However, the single-use plastic waste pollution it generates is a major environmental concern.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of vegetable packaging films. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
Shrink wrap: Individual fresh produce items can be packaged in plastic shrink wrap to prevent water loss, respiration, diseases, and mechanical damage. They are transparent, allow the display of products, are easy to label, and are used for apples, cucumbers, sweet corn, tropical fruits, etc. Plastic wraps are also single-use plastics that increase waste volumes.
Plastic rigid packages: One or two-piece boxes in various shapes and sizes are used for high-value items like mushrooms and berries, cut produce, prepared salads, etc. They are light, cheap, and easy to label but are made from polystyrene, which is difficult to recycle. Their negative environmental impact is a significant disadvantage.
These packages can transport, store, and protect fresh produce. New developments like MAP that alter the packaging’s atmosphere in combination with plastic packaging are increasingly used to maintain quality and extend shelf-life.
Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is a technique to extend the shelf-life of perishable fresh produce and other food by altering the proportions of atmospheric gases in a suitable packaging material to slow physiological processes, microbial activity, and dehydration.
Controls physiology: It aims to slow down physiological processes that ripen, spoil, or decay fresh produce. Fresh produce continues to respire and transpire after harvest. They use oxygen to break down sugars and produce carbon dioxide (CO2). The heat released in the process causes moisture loss or fruit transpiration that hastens ripening and senescence, reducing shelf-life. Moreover, water loss due to fruit transpiration that increases due to heat released by respiration is also reduced. Changing oxygen levels reduces respiration and its impacts on fruit quality in MAP.
Limits microbial activity: Growth and reproduction of microbes like bacteria and fungi that spoil fresh produce are slowed in an altered atmosphere. Many microbes cause diseases and food poisoning, which MAP can reduce.
Prevents dehydration: MAP acts as a barrier to light and forms a protective covering that maintains a relative humidity of around 95%. Fresh produce has evolved to limit postharvest transpiration through a thick skin and cuticle layer. Some, however, have thin skin and will need artificial protection from transpiration that leads to wilting, weight loss, texture, and freshness.
Table 1: Recommended gas mixtures for fresh produce MAP packaging, Ščetar & Kurek (). (Credits: Croatian Journal of Food Technology, Biotechnology
and Nutrition 5 (3-4), 69-86 ())
The various methods through which MAP is achieved are as follows:
The gases whose proportions are altered in MAP are oxygen, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen.
The ambient gas is removed and filled with an altered atmosphere. If the filled gases are in the targeted proportion, it is called passive MAP. Active MAP packages factor in the lower respiration rates, which continue to occur, to achieve the correct balance of O2 and CO2 in the parcel. The recommended gas proportions for MAP for various fresh produce are listed in Table 1.
Selecting packaging with the correct gas permeability properties to maintain or achieve the optimal air composition is necessary to keep the target gas mixture and prevent dehydration. Usually, plastic is used. However, these days, researchers are trying to find more environmentally friendly material that is easy to recycle and biodegrade. Many are designed to have unique properties like ethylene scavenging to reduce the ripening and decay of items.
The storage temperature of MPA packages is also crucial. MAP packages are usually stored and kept in cool temperatures of 2-4°C, except for some tropical fruits that can suffer cold injury and must be over 10°C.
The benefits of MAP are associated with having a suitable atmosphere. However, since precise conditions are required, some problems can occur.
MAP packaging without the correct gas mix or temperature can lead to fermentation or oxidation.
Both issues cause different types of discoloration. The decay causes odor, alters taste, and spoils products. Fixing these issues by checking at critical points in the supply chain is possible. To prevent packaging contamination, hygienic conditions are also necessary for all packaging, including MAP.
To maintain optimum MAP conditions, conducting regular checks of the following issues is essential:
Different devices are available for these checks, though seals and openings can also be controlled manually.
The analysis must be done with sealed packages to read MAP gas mixtures accurately. Felix Instruments offers many precision instruments that can be used to measure headspace atmosphere:
All the tools are easy to use and require no extra skills. The results are available in real-time and accurate and can be stored on a USB for data transfer. The small and portable tools are helpful for the supply chain, from packing houses to retailers, to check gas mixtures.
Contact us for more information about our precision gas analyzers.
Sources
Czerwiński, K., Rydzkowski, T., Wróblewska-Krepsztul, J., & Thakur, V. K. (). Towards Impact of Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) on Shelf-Life of Polymer-Film-Packed Food Products: Challenges and Sustainable Developments. Coatings, 11(12), . https://doi.org/10./coatings
Eagri.org. (n.d.). Chapter 9: Various methods of packaging- packaging materials and transport. Retrieved from http://eagri.org/eagri50/HORT381/pdf/lec09.pdf.
Ščetar, M., & Kurek, M. (). Trends in fruit and vegetable packaging–a review. Hrvatski časopis za prehrambenu tehnologiju, biotehnologiju i nutricionizam, 5(3-4), 69-86.
Wageningen University and Research. (n.d.). Packaging of fresh produce. Retrieved from
https://www.freshknowledge.eu/en/increase-your-knowledge/how-to-maintain-quality-of-fresh-produce/packaging-of-fresh-produce.htm#Overview_most_important_packag-anchor
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