Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited (CP Foods) emphasizes on the highest safety food production process, especially on food packaging that are made of “Food Grade” materials in an effort to prevent contamination.
The effort aims at reassuring consumers of food safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also strives to develop environmentally-friendly packages to reduce the amount of waste from consumption.
Kitti Wangwiwatsilp, Chairman of the CP Foods Sustainable Packaging Working Group, said, the company has continuously implemented the highest standard of safety measures in all stages of food production, including food packaging development processes.
CP Foods gives packaging safety the highest priority and apply technology to help develop plastic packaging in accordance with circular economy principles to ensure safety of both consumers and environment.
As a result, all CP Foods’ packages are made of “Food Grade” materials, capable of preventing contamination from external sources. These materials also help maintain the nutritional value of food and leave no residue when contacted with food.
At present, 99.9% of plastic packaging for food products in Thailand is reusable or recyclable or upcyclable or compostable.
“CP Foods is well aware that the choice of plastic packaging for food packaging is an important factor in building food security as well as reducing the amount of food waste. Therefore, we only choose plastic food packaging that has been certified for safety in accordance with international standards.” he said.
To make sure of the safety, packaging is tested at every stage of production before it can actually be launched to the market. Moreover, CP Foods has used automation to reduce human contact in packing process.
To minimize impact on environment, CP Foods places great emphasis on developing sustainable packaging design and management in accordance with circular economy principles. It is also looking for the best way to extend the shelf life of food, which helps to prevent food waste.
CP Foods also promotes packaging made from eco-friendly materials such as recycled paper to replace the use of plastic, such as the CP Selection Cage Free packages that are made from recycled paper.
For other egg packages that made of PET tray, there is about 60% of recycled plastic in the layer that does not come into direct contact with eggs.
Additionally, CP Foods is the first company in Thailand to use plant-based Polylactic Acid (PLA) trays, which is a bioplastic made from natural renewable resources in chilled raw chicken and pork products at CP Butcher. Also, mono-material plastic that are 100% recyclable is being used with CP Selection’s chilled pork and chilled chicken products and CP Egg Roll Omelettes.
During the outbreak of COVID-19, people had to stay home which resulted in an increase in plastic waste from food delivery. CP Foods has joined Thailand Responsible Business Network (TRBN)’s “Send Plastic Home” project and initiated a drop point for plastic waste collection and recycling.