The role of packaging in fighting food waste: A systematised review of consumer perceptions of packaging

Food packaging is often viewed as having a negative impact on the environment. However, packaging can protect food, prolong shelf life, and reduce environmental impact by reducing food waste. Throughout the existing literature it is evident that consumer knowledge and levels of awareness, interest, and appreciation of these functions of packaging are major factors in their refusal or acceptance of emerging packaging technologies, whether those technologies are specifically directed at reducing food waste or not. The complex relationship consumers have with food packaging creates a barrier to food saving practices. This paper presents a systematised literature review of the existing scholarly and industry discussion of consumer food waste in households, packaging technologies to reduce food waste, and consumer perceptions of packaging. It maps the shifting theoretical approaches to food waste, showing a move in the literature away from food waste being treated as a food-related issue and towards seeing food waste as a waste-related, sustainability, production, and environmental issue. The paper finds that there is very little research that examines consumers’ perceptions of food packaging. In particular, there is little research on the role of consumers’ perceptions in reducing food waste. Mapping the ways different types of consumers perceive this role and linking this with a life cycle assessment of the overall environmental impact of food waste in different food categories could help the development of focused strategies for packaging design to reduce food waste in households. This review shows that technologies directly addressing the reasons for household food waste are under researched, and more research is needed to explicitly explore consumer perceptions, understandings, and acceptance of these packaging technologies. •Food packaging is seen to have a negative impact on the environment despite the fact that it decreases food waste.•There is little focus on actual consumer behaviour/lived experience, and an overreliance on study of attitudes and awareness.•There is little research into the impact of design on potential consumer behaviours.•Technological solutions to reducing food waste through packaging are available but consumer research is still nascent.