At interpack, the latest concepts and technologies for fighting the loss and waste of food will be part of the fair. Scientific results, new materials and innovations in mechanical engineering will be presented through the SAVE FOOD Initiative, as the trade show takes a stand against food waste.
Members and partners of the SAVE FOOD Initiative demonstrate how food can be safely processed and packaged, how its shelf life can be extended and how any food waste that occurs nevertheless can be sustainably repurposed.
Globally, around 14% of all food, or about USD 400 billion, goes to waste on the way from harvesting to retail, according to FAO data (2019). At the same time, around 17% more is wasted at the retail and end consumer levels (UNEP, 2021). To reduce these numbers is the goal of the SAVE FOOD Initiative, which was founded in 2011 by Messe Düsseldorf, interpack and the World Food Organization FAO. The initiative brings together international organizations, food producers and packaging manufacturers.
The SAVE FOOD booth in the North Entrance Area offers information about the initiative. The SAVE FOOD Highlight Route, on the other hand, bundles innovations in this area and the ‘Product Safety’ theme day focuses on related results from studies as well as Best Practices.
SAVE FOOD Highlight Route
The SAVE FOOD Highlight Route offers visitors an overview of current projects and products by participating members. Some of the topics, for example, are how to minimize losses of food during the filling process, how to achieve a reliable product inspection and high-quality sealing, or how to avoid undesired contaminations. Also on display are highly sensitive detectors of foreign bodies for all critical control points of the production process, which serve to avoid call-backs and false ejections, as well as packaging solutions and machines which increase the shelf life of food. Among the participating exhibitors are IMA Industria Macchine Automatiche, Syntegon Technology, MULTIVAC, Ishida Europe, Theegarten-Pactec, Gerhard Schubert, FAWEMA, ULMA Packaging, Mettler-Toledo Garvens, ROTZINGER or Sealpac.
Product safety theme day
Product safety is a core function of packaging and one of the four Hot Topics at interpack. Information about current projects and innovations is available in the lecture forum “Spotlight Talks & Trends” in the North Entrance Area. On May 9, FAO will hold about projects to fight food loss and waste, and an overview of best practices in the packaging industry by the WPO (World Packaging Organization). Innovations will also be presented by Ishida Europe Limited, Pilz and Mettler-Toledo.
The SAVE FOOD Initiative was founded in 2011 by Messe Düsseldorf and interpack. After a hiatus due to COVID-19, interpack has been involved in new projects since 2022. The goal is to create public awareness and to develop counterstrategies and solutions with a focus on packaging industry innovations.
Photo: Messe Düsseldorf, Constanze Tillmann
