Agriculture and Plastic Packaging

Agriculture is the process of producing food and related products by the cultivation of plants and the raising of livestock. Farming, forestry and fishery are all agricultural processes. The Department of Agriculture in the UK places a great deal of emphasis on food safety and quality. The quality of a food product is not only determined by where and how it was grown, but also the process of transporting the product from the picking field to the supermarket shelf. This involves the use of plastic packaging.

All over Europe, agriculture has the same basic characteristics. Fruit and vegetable production starts in a field or greenhouse, where produce is grown and harvested manually or mechanically. After harvesting, the produce is sorted according to size, colour and quality and then stored, packed and dispatched. At this stage, fresh produce goes to end-consumers via wholesalers and supermarket chains. That is, unless it is destined for processing as baby food, preserves, fruit juice, cooked food products etc. A plastic packaging solution, whether it be a box, crate or pallet, will nearly always be used to store and transport fruit, vegetables, meat and poultry.

Handling fruits and vegetables and other food products requires logistics solutions that speed up processes, reduce costs and processes and yet meet high demands for hygiene and ergonomically correct handling. Plastic packaging has smooth sides and rounded corners, making it easy to clean. Product residue cannot become trapped inside plastic containers, ensuring the highest standards of hygiene at all times.

Our COMBO bag-in-box IBC is made from 100% polypropylene. Polypropylene is food contact approved, making it ideal for the storage and transportation of food products. Our Big Box plastic packaging system is designed for use with bulk products, and has smooth sides so is easy to clean, reducing the amount of dirt transferred from the picking fields to the central processing plant. The skids are also replaceable, resulting in a longer operational life.

Plastic is safe to handle and can be easily branded or marked for quick identification of products. Plastic packaging plays a big part in the agricultural industry, to ensure a safe, simple and efficient logistics process.

Packaging & logistics

Schoeller Arca Systems solutions