Innovation and partnership to improve global food access

THE ISSUE of food loss and waste remain a lingering problem impacting communities across the world. To address the situation, the food industry is expected to take more action on multiple fronts to enhance access to nutritious foods, reduce food waste, and support food security.

Of all the food intended for human consumption worldwide, approximately one-third¹ is wasted or lost from farm to fork. Yet, millions of people around the world go without food, particularly in countries which lack the means to preserve food. Food waste alone also generates approximately 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions². It is clear the world’s food system cannot continue to operate as it currently does. With global food demand set to increase 50-60% between 2019 and 2050³, how will we feed and reach more people nutritiously, all while reducing emissions?

Aseptic packaging as part of the solution

The use of aseptic packaging can help minimize food loss and waste as it enables the long-term storage of nutritious food without the need for preservatives or energy-intensive refrigeration during distribution and storage. As an example, the shelf-life of a product such as extended shelf-life milk stored in chilled conditions, is 30 days. For UHT milk stored in ambient conditions in an aseptic carton pack, it is six months. Aside from extending shelf life, aseptic packaging helps ensure food safety and supply in vulnerable regions that have no reliable cooling systems – by keeping the high quality of food for longer periods.

Aseptic packaging has played a vital role in the evolution of the food and beverage industry, including vast improvements to food security and safety. The aseptic process can be broadly defined as the filling of sterilized products into sterilized packaging – under sterile conditions. In this process, the food or beverage goes through rapid thermal treatment to ensure that all harmful bacteria are eliminated and the product is commercially sterile. The newly sterilized product is then immediately cooled to a temperature suitable for filling into sterilized packaging. The High Temperature Short Time (HTST) processing retains color, flavor, and nutrients in the product.

In this space, SIG is a leading expert in aseptic packaging and filling technology, with a unique portfolio of aseptic carton, bag-in-box, and spouted pouch. Together with its partners, the company is steering initiatives across the world to improve access to nutritious food. In 2024, SIG published the Climate and Health Toolkit for Food Businesses* in partnership with the Forum for the Future’s Climate and Health Coalition, providing resources to equip organizations to address the ongoing climate and health crises. Through a series of practical guidance, training modules and case studies, the toolkit aims to help retailers, food producers, and packaging companies play an active role in delivering integrated solutions to climate and health.

Opening up new product categories

SIG has set itself the task of being much more than a packaging company, alongside its core business focusing on sustainable, convenient, high-barrier packaging. It supports its customers from the F&B industry in bringing together all three components of a successful product concept – this includes the ingredients, packaging and processing, which completely open new opportunities for the industry.

“We have continued our groundbreaking partnership with a food tech company to provide an extended shelf life to probiotic beverage and food products,” said Norman Gierow, Director Global Customer Marketing & Positioning at SIG.

Probiotics have various health benefits, including enhanced immunity and improved gut health. However, the expansion of probiotics into markets around the world has been limited as they require refrigeration infrastructure that is not always available.

“Through our partnership, SIG has helped extend the access of healthy probiotics to new parts of the world, by enabling them to be stored at room temperature for extended periods of time, helping to ease the dual challenges of nutrition and access. This is paving the way for new products: In 2024, SIG and our food tech partner have worked with MilkyMist in India to launch the world’s first long-life probiotic buttermilk in aseptic carton packs,” Gierow added.

Cartons for Good

In 2024, to further combat food loss, food waste and malnutrition, SIG has continued working on its flagship Cartons for Good (CFG) initiative in Bangladesh and is now expanding to other countries. Through its CFG partners, SIG purchases surplus crop produced by local farmers that would otherwise go to waste and develops these into nutritious meals and hydration. These products are then packaged in SIG carton packs and distributed to those in need.

Sandra Hallaschka, Senior Communication Manager and co-project leader of Cartons for Good at SIG, disclosed: “Since the beginning of CFG in 2019 in Bangladesh, we have learned how essential shelf stable food is in times of crisis. When NGOs have faced challenges in distributing fresh food to people, our CFG initiative was able to support NGOs in supplying nutritious food that would last for up to 12 months without the need for refrigeration.”

Across 2024 in Bangladesh, CFG has delivered over 20,000 packs of food and prevented approximately six tons of vegetables from being wasted and lost, and when devastating floods hit the country, the CFG partnership showed its value in feeding victims of disasters, distributing more than 4,000 packs of khichuri (a Bengali dish) and vegetable mix to those affected.

Looking ahead to 2025

Reflecting on the achievements in improving food access and reducing food waste in 2024 also puts SIG in a strong position to drive impact in 2025.

“In Thailand, working with Ampol Foods as part of our CFG initiative, we are introducing a nutritious pudding that will be created from surplus fruits and packaged in SIG carton packs to provide access to nutrition to elderly populations and those who face problems swallowing and suffering from severe dental problems,” said Hallaschka.

SIG will also continue to engage with partners and organizations across the food system with its Climate and Health Toolkit, driving more impactful solutions and innovative products that seek to reduce emissions in the food system while providing nutritious food.

“We have learned several lessons expanding nutritious food access over the years. From working with local partners and using innovative technologies, we are committed to growing our impact. Our pledge to future generations is to create a regenerative food packaging system that helps eliminate food loss and waste, improve food availability and security, and ensure that nature can thrive. A critical component of this is the role SIG is playing in supporting access to nutritious food all over the globe. We look forward to supporting our customers, stakeholders and communities in 2025 to reach more, feed more and deliver impact along the way,” said Gierow.

References

* Climate and Health Toolkit for Food Businesses. https://www.sig.biz/de-de/news-insights/blog/climate-and-health-toolkit-for-food-businesses

^{1, 2} UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 Key Messages. https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/45275/Food-Waste-Index-2024-key messages.pdf?sequence=8&isAllowed=y

³Rethinking Global Food Demand for 2050.  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362572729_Rethinking_Global_Food_Demand_for_2050 About SIG