IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ags/uersfr/266012.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food Packaging

Author

Listed:
  • Testin, Robert F.
  • Vergano, Peter J.

Abstract

A 11 segments of the packaging industry, including food packaging, face environmental issues. For example, fast-food chains are under pressure to reduce the amount of solid waste they generate and Maine has banned fruit drinks in aseptic packages (juice boxes). Yet, packaging is integral to today's life style (see box, "A Country Without Food Packaging"). Nowhere would the loss of modern packaging be more quickly felt than in the food processing and distribution system. In underdeveloped countries where packaging is minimal or nonexistent, food losses of 30-50 percent are not uncommon. In the United States, packaged food losses are less than 3 percent, while fresh food losses are 10 to 15 percent. Reduced food losses lower food costs. Food packaging allows consumers to enjoy a variety of foods yeararound, not just during local harvest seasons. Also, food packaging can decrease rather than increase solid waste generation. These benefits of packaging come from a $70-billion-a-year industry, of which approximately 70 percent is used for food and beverages. On average, food packaging costs about 9 percent of the retail price of food products.

Suggested Citation

  • Testin, Robert F. & Vergano, Peter J., 1991. "Food Packaging," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 14(2), April.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersfr:266012
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.266012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/266012/files/FoodReview-022.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/266012/files/FoodReview-022.pdf?subformat=pdfa
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.266012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:uersfr:266012. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.