Fighting food waste with frozen food packaging

Freezer-to-Microwave TV Dinners: In the early days of frozen TV dinners, meals could take an hour to heat in the oven. But with the advent of the microwave oven, frozen food makers began packaging frozen meals on trays made with plastics that could stand up to both cold and heat. Dinners now can go from freezer to microwave and be prepared in minutes, requiring less preparation time and energy. And a growing number of U.S. communities collect these trays for recycling, resulting in less valuable materials in landfills.

Airtight Freezer Foods: Under-protected food stored in the freezer absorbs nasty odors and flavors and then dries out, resulting in "freezer burn" and wasted food. Factory sealed plastic bags and containers help preserve the flavor, texture and nutrients of food by locking out air. So consumers can enjoy nutritious fruits and vegetables year round, buy wild caught salmon from Alaska and find all sorts of prepared meals that were unavailable only a few years ago-packaged in thin, lightweight plastics.

Plastic Steamer Bags: Many frozen food makers now sell a large variety of side and main dishes in lightweight plastic pouches designed for heating in the microwave. Consumers simply place the frozen package in the microwave, and moisture steams the food inside plastic pouch-in one simple step, with less cleanup and little waste. Consumers themselves also can buy similarly designed plastic zipper bags to easily and quickly steam their own meals in the microwave.

"Active" Packaging: Sometimes called "intelligent" or "smart" packaging, active packaging helps protect both fresh and frozen food by doing more than simply containing it. For example, antimicrobials can be incorporated into the plastics used in packaging-this can help mitigate thegrowth ofharmful microorganisms, which helps preserve food quality and results in less spoilage and waste.

Recycled Plastic Packaging: Thanks to new recycling technologies, some frozen food makers are using recycled plastics in their packaging. One major frozen food maker uses plastics from recycled plastic bottles in frozen meal trays for several of its food brands; the company says this diverts an estimated 8 million plastic bottles from landfills annually. And of course these plastic trays are lightweight, which reduces fuel consumption in transport.

Do-it-Yourself Frozen Foods: Today's consumers can place homemade meals, store-bought foods and leftovers in zipper bags and purge much of the air before freezing (pre-wrapping foods in plastic stretch wrap also helps). To take this concept even further, home vacuum sealers remove nearly all air from the plastic bag prior to sealing, which better protects food to reduce waste. Home vacuum sealing with plastics has grown considerably in recent years-it's particularly popular with warehouse store shoppers and game hunters.