UK supermarket Tesco is to introduce new "pillow packs" in order to use 70% less plastic packaging on fresh meat.
Instead of the traditional tray or top wrap pack, shoppers will now see two lines of mince in the new packaging. Tesco is trialling the new packaging which uses 70% less plastic, on two lines: 500g Tesco Beef Lean Steak Mince 5% fat (£3.49) and Tesco Beef Mince 500g 20% fat (£2.49).
The move comes following Sainsbury's decision to use cardboard meat packaging at the start of July.
The supermarket said it intends to roll the packs out to more stores and across more lines, providing customer feedback is good.
Pillow packs are the opposite to vacuum packs. The slightly inflated "pillow" is designed to keep the mince in perfect condition and prevents it being compressed.
While the new packs still contain the same amount of mince as the old ones, the packaging is smaller in size, meaning, said Tesco, that fewer lorries are needed to transport them, and stores can fit more on shelves, increasing availability.
Dom Morrey, Tesco commercial director for Fresh, said: “As well as looking for great value when they shop, customers want to see less plastic packaging in their trolleys. Pillow packs are a win-win: they keep the mince in perfect condition while requiring much less plastic.
“Removing or reducing unnecessary plastic is an important way that Tesco can reduce its environmental impact. We're proud of what we have done so far but continue to look for ways to do more."
This story was originally published on a previous version of the Meat Management website and so there may be some missing images and formatting issues.
