Food packaging materials contain many chemical substances that pose potential risks to human health and the environment.
Although extensively described in the scientific literature, the general public largely ignore this information and industry and recycling stakeholders fail to take it into account.
Yet food packaging plays a central role in the circular economy – reuse, recycling, composting, etc. – and the chemicals it contains can end up being transferred to the environment.
Food packaging is such a hot topic that the European Commission is currently working on revising its regulations to better protect the consumer.
Better regulation should be based on the already available scientific data, but to date it is still difficult to make this information accessible to those with influence.
The Food Packaging Forum (FPF) is a scientific communication organisation based in Zurich, Switzerland that has expertise on food packaging and food contact chemicals and offers to put these scientific facts into context for key stakeholders.
The Primat Foundation via a donation to the Food Packaging Forum supports:
- the production of 3 informative science videos on toxic materials in food packaging intended primarily for decision-makers and influencers (policy makers, politicians, philanthropists); multipliers (journalists from the major media, bloggers ); NGOs acting in the environmental sphere (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Zero Waste Europe, Greenpeace, foodwatch, GAIA, Ocean Care, Oceana, etc.).
- the awareness raising among stakeholders on the non-compatibility of toxic materials in packaging with the implementation of efficient and healthy recycling.
- NGOs working on the circular economy benefit from access to high quality, up-to-date scientific knowledge
- The search for solutions by industrial decision-makers is reinforced by the latest scientific evidence, and
- Consumer aspirations for sustainable lifestyles are underpinned by sound scientific information that enables critical thinking and the search for holistic solutions.
The Food Packaging Forum Foundation is a science communication organisation. The Food Packaging Forum provides independent and balanced information on issues related to food packaging and health. In doing so the Food Packaging Forum addresses all its stakeholders, including business decision makers, regulators, media and communication experts, scientists and consumers.