tesco and marks & spencer are dedicated to reducing food waste and packaging, through both the industrywide courtauld commitment and companyled programs. it takes many tactics to lower those waste figures, and the newest being trialed by the retailers are strips which are made by it&39s fresh that suck up the gas that makes fruit ripen and get decayed. the strips have a mixture of clay and minerals that remove ethylene, which is a gas released by ripening fruit that accelerates the process of ripening, from inside the packaging. over the coming months, marks & spencer are planning to include the strips to packaging for various fresh berries. these strips are proposed to keep the fruit fresh for up to two additional days, as per the report given by businessgreen. a prior test of the strips resulted in only 4 percent of food being wasted. in other words, it means that the strips have the potential to save around 800,000strawberries a week. tesco, in the meantime, will use the strips in avocado and tomato packaging, projecting they can help save 350,000 packs of avocados and 1.6 million packs of tomatoes annually. along with helping retailers dump less food, using the strips can also keep foods fresher in consumers&rsquo homes longer, minimizing waste on their end, as well. it&39s fresh says that the strips do not get in the way of the recyclability of plastics as for when the packaging does get tossed. packaging and food waste are the chief targets of the courtauld commitment, which is a voluntary agreement by u.k. stores, manufacturers and brands. now over six years old, the commitment&39s latest goals concentrated on carbon emissions related to packaging, supply chain waste and food waste in people&39s homes. along with strategy like reducing the amount of material in packaging, retailers have endorsed other modifications like putting tomatoes in cartons instead of cans, and switching milk from bottle to bags. as a part of its companywide plan a program, marks & spencer has documented few of the many changes it has accepted, from selling pizza without a box to using plastic as an alternative of glass wine bottles. source of information httpwww.greenbiz.comnews20120210ukretailerstestdrivegreenerfruitpackagingcu…
