Packaging has a fundamental role in ensuring safe delivery of goods throughout supply chains to the end consumer in good condition. It also has great potential to contribute to sustainable development. This paper explores and provides insights on Swedish consumer perceptions and knowledge of environmental aspects of food packaging and elaborates on how these can contribute to or counteract environmentally sustainable development. A study based on a consumer survey carried out in Sweden is presented. A review of recent packaging research emphasizes the protective function of packaging as its most important contribution to the environmental dimension of sustainable development. Contrary to this, consumers almost exclusively refer to the packaging material when it comes to their perceptions of the environmental impact of packaging. Paper‐based packaging is strongly understood by the surveyed consumers to be environmentally advantageous, whereas plastic and metal are not. This study further indicates that a majority of the Swedish consumers surveyed are aware of their shortcomings in judging the environmental status of food packaging, indicating a need for guidance; otherwise, consumer choices can unintendedly counteract environmentally sustainable intentions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Packaging has great potential to contribute to sustainable development through its functions. Previous research has indicated a need for increased knowledge among consumers, suppliers, authorities and media of how packaging functions and features influence sustainable development. Previous research also shows the need for a common terminology of packaging functions and features in order to facilitate and improve communication and understanding in development and decision processes.This conceptual paper sets out to identify, collect, analyse and systemize packaging functions and features and evaluate them based on their indirect contributions to sustainable development. The systemized functions and features are expressed in generic terminology. Three clusters of packaging functions were identified from the literature: protect, facilitate handling and communicate. Nineteen packaging features were also identified. They were grouped under the three functions and elaborated based on their indirect contributions to the environmental, social and economic dimensions of sustainable development. Fourteen potential positive indirect effects were identified including decreased product waste, reduced risk for human health hazards, increased handling and transport efficiency. Decreased product waste was generated by 13 of the features and was thus the most frequently appearing. Reducing waste is thereby indicated to be a manifold matter, but also one of great potential.The proposed terminology can contribute to an increased understanding of how packaging can actually contribute to sustainable development. In a theoretical context, this paper attempts to complement earlier work in sustainable packaging development by its emphasis on the indirect contributions of packaging to sustainable development.

Companies in the food industry are driven to improve their traceability for several reasons. The primary reasons are food safety and quality. Another is the response to the increased interest among consumers in imperceptible product attributes such as organic, fair trade, dolphin-safe and non genetically modified (non-GMO). Such attributes are hard to distinguish and thus require generally enhanced traceability in order to verify their existence. This has led to an emergent area in which actors engage in gaining and maintaining traceability and communicating it to the consumers. This paper describes the relations between the actors in a supply chain (SC) in the field of organic food systems. It examines the objectives each actor has for gaining and maintaining traceability throughout the SC. The focus on organic relates to the challenge for the companies to ensure this imperceptible product attribute throughout the entire food system. A single case study was conducted in an organic food system providing organic ice cream products. The data collection included semi-structured interviews, observations, a review of internal documents and a survey among the participating companies. The findings illustrate and elaborate on the objectives companies have for engaging in traceability. The objectives identified are divided into three categories: food safety and quality, managing the SC and internal resources and communication with consumers. The survey confirms the results from the interviews that all actors want to engage in traceability. They prioritize the objectives differently, however. The study highlights the value of close relations between the actors when addressing consumer concerns regarding product and process characteristics, such as the imperceptible organic attribute.