Packaging contains, protects and identifies fresh produce.
Packaging serves three distinct purposes: to contain, protect and identify the produce.
Contain Primary and secondary packaging should contain the produce in manageable units for handling and distribution. Primary packaging involves enclosing produce in materials like film wraps and bags to create a single consumer unit. This can mean an individual cauliflower stalk wrapped in film, or smaller items, like strawberries, to be grouped and enclosed in clam shells. These individual units are then packed into larger secondary packaging, such as bliss boxes, trays and pallets.
Protect Safety and quality issues are concerns for everyone in the fresh-produce supply chain. Providing tamper-free security and maximizing shelf life is the main job of primary packaging. Produce containers should protect the produce from infestation, help slow the loss of water from the produce, keep out heat with absorbent materials, and reduce over-ripening with specialty liners that maintain a favorable mix of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Secondary packaging should further protect produce from damage during transportation and provide ventilation to promote airflow and allow for fumigation, if necessary.
Identify Packaging identification is important in both primary and secondary packaging. Providing information to retailers and consumers can be as simple as a labeling the package with country of origin, volume, and type of fresh produce. The Food and Drug Administration requires the use of regulatory marks to identify when food additives are used on fresh produce, such as wax coatings added during processing.
Packaging can also help market the produce and provide a way for the items to stand out in the produce department. Point-of-sale packaging can include photos of the produce, recipes, nutritional information and full-color graphic designs.