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Roadmap to Sustainable Fresh Produce Packaging: Aligning Functionality, Policy, and Market Demands
Roadmap to Sustainable Fresh Produce Packaging
Aligning Functionality, Policy, and Market Demands
The Packaging Gauntlet
The fresh produce industry is at a critical inflection point, confronting a series of complex and often contradictory packaging related challenges. This includes the fragmented and rapidly evolving "regulatory gauntlet" of local and national policies, conflicting mandates from buyers and retailers, to the persistent performance gap between widely used commercial packaging and their alternatives.
By placing functionality at the heart of the strategy, the fresh produce industry can move beyond fragmented, single-issue debates and toward integrated solutions that deliver genuine environmental, economic, and social benefits.
Shared Commitment
Sustainable fresh produce packaging cannot be effectively progress in isolation. Functional Sustainability offers a unifying framework, and success will require coordinated action among all stakeholders and the full supply chain. Only through shared commitment to sustainable outcomes, science-based decision-making, and collaborative innovation can we reduce waste and emissions, and pave the way for a cohesive, industry-wide shift to more functional, economical, and environmentally conscious packaging.
The Roadmap
The purpose of this roadmap is to identify and champion opportunities for the fresh produce industry; to pave the way for a cohesive, industry-wide shift to more functional, economical, and environmentally conscious packaging. Current incongruent regulatory and divergent market requirements pose a significant risk to fresh produce supply chains in that many nontraditional fresh produce packaging alternatives do not consistently meet technical functionality needs and are not reliably accessible to the fresh produce industry.
This roadmap was developed by the Sustainable Produce Packaging Alignment (SPPA) consortium, a diverse industry group committed to advancing scientifically sound, achievable, and sustainable fresh produce packaging guidelines for the fresh produce industry and retail partners throughout North America.
About SPPA
This roadmap was developed by the Sustainable Produce Packaging Alignment (SPPA) consortium, a diverse industry group formed to address the need to align on scientifically sound, achievable, and sustainable fresh produce packaging guidelines for the fresh produce industry and retail partners in North America. Technical guidance was provided by via SPPA technical working groups, comprised of fresh produce industry stakeholders directly involved in packaging development and fresh produce industry adoption. The technical groups represent the interests of each commodity group.
Featuring Karen Ross
Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture
KAREN ROSS was appointed Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture on January 9, 2019, by Governor Gavin Newsom.
In re-appointing Secretary Ross, Governor Newsom cited her unmatched leadership experience in agricultural issues nationally, internationally and in California, in areas including environmental stewardship, climate change adaptation and trade.
Secretary Ross was initially appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. in 2011.
Upcoming Events
Explore all upcoming events here.
Explore GreenLink®: Core Features and Live Demo Webinar
Date: August 27, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM PT
Location: Virtual
Management Strategies for Food Safety
Date: September 12, 2024
Time: 10:00 AM PT
Location: Salinas, CA.
Sampling and Testing Integrity Workshop
Date: September 17, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM PT
Location: Salinas, CA
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Copyright © 2025
Jason Resnick joined Western Growers in 2003 and now serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. His responsibilities include overseeing the organization’s legal department, trade practices department, H-2A Services division, and corporate governance as Western Growers’ corporate secretary. Jason provides advice and counsel on various legal, business and policy matters. Jason has primary staff liaison responsibility over the Western Growers Board of Directors, and the WG Executive and Labor Committees.
Click here for Jason Resnick's full biography.