In the last years, there have been a lot of arguments about the topic of sustainable packaging. There have been several rumors about the packaging industry not giving value on the importance of sustainable packaging. Even after the development of automatic food packaging machines, a lot of food industry manufacturers are still having problems with following the guidelines on achieving sustainability. Sustainable packaging by definition is the development and utilization of packaging resulting to enhanced sustainability. It is a development to further protect the environment by considering major factors such as materials used, logistics efficiency, waste reduction, and recyclability.
Many developments in the packaging industry such as the automation of several packaging machines like poultry, pork, and meat packaging machines have served a great impact in waste reduction. Through automatic food packaging machines, manufacturers would be able to operate an accurate and reliable management in generating food packaging products. Automatic meat packaging machines eliminate too much man power and thus decrease errors because the mechanism is being maneuvered by certain software that has already been loaded on the machine. Flexibility in tasks could also be achieved from automatic packaging machines because it can be programmed to do multiple tasks and therefore delimits the use of too many materials or separate equipments. This means that less energy will be used. In addition to the automation of most food packaging machines, established system like the modified atmosphere packaging system prolongs the shelf life of the product. This kind of system contributes to the sustainability of packaging because it uses natural gases in preserving the food. Modified atmosphere packaging doesn’t use harmful chemicals that can be a threat to the environment when disposed. The three atmosphere gases that are mostly used for MAP are Nitrogen, Oxygen, and Carbon Dioxide. These gases are being modified inside the package to generate a balance atmosphere for the food to regulate its natural characteristics and also prevent the growth of aerobic and non-aerobic micro organisms causing spoilage. The utilization of modified atmosphere packaging on meat packaging machines and other food packaging machines could generate a positive effect to the environment because there is minimal pollution and increased waste reduction.
The development of automatic packaging machines and packaging systems like MAP provides enormous help to manufacturers, customers, and to the environment which promote sustainable packaging. It may seem a small matter for now but as new technology develops in the upcoming years, issues of sustainable packaging uncertainty would surely diminish.
