Sainsbury’s is swapping its conventional plastic tray packaging for a new vacuum-packed alternative across its entire fresh lamb mince range, in a move expected to save 26 tons of plastic annually. 

The new packaging will result in a minimum 65% reduction in plastic per product, the grocer announces. Additionally, it is equipped with new QR codes on the packaging to provide advice on how to cook the mince.

Customers are able to purchase lamb mince in the revamped packaging both in-store and online. The new packaging contains the same amount of lamb mince.

The vacuum packing process removes all oxygen that typically causes a product to spoil more quickly, increasing the life of the current product and also allowing the product to last better in the freezer.

“We know customers want us to reduce plastic packaging and that’s why we’re committed to making bold changes which benefit the environment as well as helping customers to reduce plastic waste at home,” Richard Crampton, director of Fresh Food at Sainsbury’s.

“once again, we’re the first major supermarket to switch to vacuum packed packaging on a popular product that our customers buy week in, week out. This change more than halves the plastic used in our lamb mince range.”

The new packaging will be recyclable in-store at supermarkets, including Sainsbury’s flexible plastic recycling collection points available in all of its supermarkets.

Halving own-brand plastic by 2025

The move is the latest in a string of changes made by the retailer in a bid to halve its use of own-brand plastic packaging by 2025. Sainsbury’s was the first UK supermarket to vacuum pack all its beef mince.

Sainsbury’s previously announced the move from plastic packaging to cardboard for all its own-brand mushrooms, saving over 775 tons of plastic a year, in its “biggest plastic packaging move so far.”

A recent new study unveiled the top supermarket packaging irritations for British consumers, with excessive plastic use and non-recyclable materials flagged as a “significant stressor.” The research, commissioned by DS Smith, highlights growing consumer frustration with the environmental impact of supermarket packaging at large.

In other grocery news, French tech firm VusionGroup is in discussions with major UK and Ireland grocery retailers to roll out electronic shelf labels, known as SESimagotag, in more than a thousand stores. This new digital platform allows shoppers to access a range of e-services, such as product ratings, customer reviews and nutritional information, by scanning a QR code or barcode while shopping.