IRVINE, CA - As conversations around sustainability and regulation accelerate, the role of packaging in the fresh produce supply chain is coming under sharper focus. The following white paper was authored by Jeffrey Brandenburg (Qfresh Lab), Tracey Chow, Gail Delihant, Isa Glassen, and Melissa Koshlaychuk (Western Growers). Together, these experts bring extensive experience in packaging science, regulatory policy, and produce industry advocacy to examine how packaging impacts the entire fresh produce supply chain—from field to consumer countertop.

Packaging is the most visible touchpoint for consumers when it comes to fresh produce, as it is essential for food safety, maintaining shelf life and quality and communication. However, the majority of the “work” that packaging does throughout the supply chain is often overlooked. From production, harvesting, processing, transporting and arriving on the retail shelf, the right packaging is critical throughout the complex and often unseen journey from cultivation to consumer countertop.

“Over 90% of what packaging does, it does before the consumer sees it," said G.L. Robertson in Food Packaging: Principles and Practices.

Historically, the fresh produce industry is subject to several packaging regulations throughout North America to address priorities such as food contact safety, conveying consumer information, directions regarding material use and recyclability, and, more recently, environmental sustainability.

Across the United States, the regulatory environment surrounding packaging has mainly focused on the “end of life” view of sustainability: to reduce environmental impact through waste management, recyclability, compostability or biodegradability. This looks only at the disposal and processing of packaging material at the end point of the functional life of the packaging, rather than how packaging performs and mitigates environmental impacts throughout the entire life of the packaging, from harvest to countertop.

More recently, several states have enacted or are considering Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations that shift the responsibility of packaging waste management to producers. These policies aim to address growing concerns about plastic pollution and strained recycling systems. Under these proposals, the definition of “producer” varies by state or region but generally refers to the entity responsible for introducing packaged products into the marketplace. This can include brands, licensees, importers, distributors, growers, packers, or shippers. In California, for example, legislation often specifies that a producer is a person who manufactures a product using covered materials and who owns or is the licensee of the brand or trademark under which the product is sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state. However, “producer” does not include a person who produces, harvests, and packages an agricultural commodity on the site where it was grown or raised.

Addressing plastic pollution is a critical component for sustainability, and consumers are increasingly invested in advocating for regulations looking to ban plastic products. While some of these regulations go beyond just consumer-facing packaging - for example those targeting field plastics used in agriculture such as mulch films or irrigation tubing - the major focus of the conversations around EPR are on product packaging, which consumers are more likely to interface with on a day-to-day basis. As a result, fresh produce growers have increasingly invested in plastic packaging alternatives and increasing the recyclability, recycled content, and lightweighting of fresh produce packaging.

See the full piece here.