Designing safe products for a circular economy

Packaging plays a fundamental role in protecting food. It guarantees food safety and hygiene, helps prevent food waste and gives access to food by supporting easy and efficient delivery.

By designing packaging future-fit packaging, we aim to create opportunities to keep materials in use for longer and support resource efficiency. As part of that process, we remain clear that during product design choices, such as materials or the structure of the packaging, we never compromise on the safety and quality of products used for food contact. Food safety and quality are non-negotiable. Every decision, from material choice to final structure, is made with consumer health and trust at the forefront. 

Our ambitions related to circularity and product safety are  

  • Aiming to develop products ready to be recycled, composted or reused 
  • 100% of virgin fiber traced back to origin 
  • Maximizing the percentage of recycled or certified fiber 
  • All our products comply with Huhtamaki Global Food Contact Packaging Safety Policy 
  • Zero food contact compliance related claims reported 

Read more about our performance here and in our Annual Report.

When developing our products, we are guided by the following key principles: 

Material selection: As a company, we are material agnostic, and our choice of materials depends on multiple factors, including local regulations and available infrastructure. We strive to make the best possible choice in the selection of materials to ensure functional packaging ready to be recycled, composted or reused after use. We select materials based on science, sustainability, and local needs—always considering renewable and recycled sources. 

Product structure: We aim to ensure circularity is considered in the product design and structure, by designing high quality, durable packaging that is fit for purpose, without excessive use of packaging, and by optimizing the amount of materials and resources used in our products while ensuring technical recyclability. 

Product end-of-life: We are committed to increasing the recyclability of our products and enabling appropriate product end-of-life in accordance with local regulations and infrastructure. We use materials compatible with collection and recovery systems.