Alison Austin, Sainsbury’s head of brand policy and sustainability, has spoken out in favour of packaging on fresh fruit and vegetables.
In Packaging News this week, Austin admitted that the need for packaging on fresh produce is a tough message to relay to consumers, but said food waste and packaging are part of the same debate.
Customers, she said, want Sainsbury's to "help them do the right thing by the environment.
"Keeping fruit and vegetables in the fridge, in their original packaging, will give them a longer life and reduce waste," she said.
From October 1, Sainsbury's has removed free carrier bags from its checkouts, and launched a text reminder service to encourage the reuse of carrier bags. However, Austin said Sainsbury’s does not favour charging for bags."We need to get a behavioural change on this issue, but decisions on what to do have to be based on the science and evidence about plastic carrier bags," she said.
