The European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) 2025/40, just published on the Official Journal, which bans plastic packaging of fruits and vegetables under 1.5 kg, thus unjustifiably penalizes not only packaging manufacturers but the entire fruit and vegetable supply chain.
To promote a rational implementation of the Regulation, based on data and not on ideological stances, ProFood – Association of Fresh Food Packaging Manufacturers and Freshfel Europe (European Fresh Produce Association) are organizing a round table on February 6, 2025 at Fruit Logistica from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., hub 27 room Beta 5 with the explanatory title:
PPWR Implementation = less sustainability and less internal market? The voice of fresh produce supply chain
The conference will be attended by representatives of European and Canadian fruit and vegetable producer associations and will be an opportunity to discuss how to deal with the upcoming secondary legislative steps of the PPWR, starting with the numerous delegated acts being drafted to avoid likely negative impacts on the entire supply chain.
To support the demands of the fruit and vegetable supply chain, a study conducted by the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (DISAFA) of the University of Turin and commissioned by Pro Food will also be presented at the event, in which the environmental impact throughout the life cycle of strawberries, table grapes, nectarines and cherry tomatoes packaged in carton and rPET packaging was compared. The results, perhaps unexpectedly, show that the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of products packaged in the rPET punets is lower than that of products packaged in cardboard punnets, partly because of the lower food waste that occurs with the recycled plastic pack.
CPMA
The environmental and also economic sustainability risks for the fruit and vegetable supply chain brought about by unpondered regulatory proposals do not only concern the European Union. In this regard, the Canadian experience with CPMA (Canadian Produce Marketing Association) will be discussed, thanks to whose action the North American country’s government backed down. In addition, speeches are also scheduled from some representatives of European fruit and vegetable production, such as Massimiliano Del Core of Ortofrutta Italia and Luc Vanoirbeek, chairman of the F&V Working Group of COPA-COGECA.
The roundtable will therefore be an appeal to policy makers and technicians in the European Commission to take into account the specificities of the fruit and vegetable sector when defining the delegated acts of the PPWR. There is a need to strike a balance founded on objective grounds between reducing the environmental impact of packaging and the need to ensure the quality, safety and availability of fruit and vegetables for consumers.
Program
- Profood: Roberto Zanichelli (Communication Committee)
- Freshfel: Joanna Nathanson (Head of Sustainability and External Relations)
- Ortofrutta Italia: Massimiliano Del Core (Vice-President)
- Copa-Cogeca: Luc Vanoirbeek (Fruit and Vegetable working group Chair)
- CPMA: Daniel Duguay (Sustainability Specialist)
Facilitator: Thomas Drahorad, President NCX Drahorad
