Packaging is increasingly being viewed as part of the infrastructure needed to strengthen food security, particularly as climate events, geopolitical tensions and supply-chain disruption increase pressure on how food is stored and distributed.

Aseptic cartons can play a specific role in this system by protecting food from light, oxygen and microorganisms while enabling certain products to remain shelf stable for extended periods without continuous refrigeration.

This capability can help move milk, beverages and other suitable foods into markets where cold-chain infrastructure is limited, while reducing the risk of food losses during storage and distribution.

The broader challenge is ensuring that improvements in food access are accompanied by effective collection and recycling systems once packaging reaches the end of its first use.

Food Loss Remains High as Hunger Persists

Between 638 million and 720 million people faced hunger in 2024, while more than one-third of food produced globally is estimated to be lost or wasted.

The figures illustrate a fundamental problem within the global food system: producing food does not guarantee that it will reach consumers in usable condition.

Losses can occur during harvesting, processing, transportation, retail and household consumption.

Packaging cannot address all of these causes, but it can reduce exposure to conditions that accelerate deterioration and contamination.

For appropriate food and beverage applications, aseptic processing and packaging can provide shelf lives of up to a year without preservatives or refrigerated distribution, depending on the product and packaging system.

This can be particularly relevant in hotter climates, rural communities and regions where reliable refrigeration is unavailable or expensive.

Shelf-Stable Packaging Extends Distribution Reach

Cold chains require continuous energy, refrigeration equipment and transportation infrastructure.

When those systems are unavailable or interrupted, perishable food becomes more vulnerable to spoilage.

Shelf-stable packaging provides another distribution option.

Aseptically packaged products can be transported to remote communities, smaller retailers and other locations without requiring refrigeration throughout the supply chain before opening.

The same characteristics can support conventional supermarkets and online grocery distribution in developed markets.

School feeding programs provide another example of the role packaging can play in food distribution.

According to figures cited by the carton packaging industry, customers using carton systems deliver milk and other foods to more than 66 million schoolchildren across 49 countries each year.

Packaging Infrastructure Can Connect Farmers With Markets

The impact can also extend upstream into agricultural supply chains.

Processing and packaging infrastructure can provide small agricultural producers with access to formal markets that might otherwise be difficult to reach with perishable products.

Dairy Hub programs in Kenya, Colombia and the Dominican Republic, for example, have reportedly connected almost 84,500 smallholder farmers with formalized markets.

The relationship between agricultural production, processing and packaging is important because improving food security requires more than increasing farm output.

Food also needs to be collected, processed, protected and transported before it reaches consumers.

Where these links are weak, additional agricultural production can still be lost before consumption.

Carton Development Focuses on Renewable Materials

Food access is only one side of the packaging discussion.

The environmental impact of producing and disposing of the package also needs to be considered.

Cartons typically contain a high proportion of paperboard, supplemented by polymer layers and, depending on the application, aluminum or other barrier structures required to protect the contents.

Life-cycle assessments in different markets have found that cartons can compare favorably with some alternative packaging systems in certain applications, although results depend on factors including package design, manufacturing, transportation, recycling rates and the assumptions used in each assessment.

Increasing the proportion of renewable material is one area of ongoing development.

New paper-based barrier technologies can raise renewable content in some carton structures to approximately 90%, while reducing dependence on conventional fossil-based barrier materials.

Responsible sourcing of the paperboard is another consideration, with certification systems such as FSC used to provide chain-of-custody and forest management assurances.

Recyclability Depends on Collection Infrastructure

Designing a package to be recyclable does not guarantee that it will actually be recycled.

Consumers need access to collection systems, packaging must be correctly sorted, recycling facilities need suitable processing technology, and markets must exist for the recovered materials.

This is particularly relevant for beverage cartons because they combine multiple materials to provide the barrier performance needed for food protection.

After collection and processing, recovered paper fibers can be used as raw material for new paper products.

The polymer and aluminum fraction can also be recovered together in some recycling systems as polyAl, which can be processed into products including pallets, crates and construction materials.

The availability and scale of these recycling routes, however, vary considerably between markets.

Packaging Regulation Shifts Toward System Performance

Packaging regulation is increasingly moving beyond questions about whether an individual package can theoretically be recycled.

Policymakers are also focusing on collection rates, actual recycling performance, recycled content, producer responsibility and packaging reduction.

This creates a broader challenge for carton producers, food companies, municipalities and recyclers.

Packaging still needs sufficient barrier performance to protect the food and prevent product waste, but the system must also recover the packaging effectively after consumption.

Improving this performance requires coordination across the value chain rather than relying on material substitution alone.

Producers can design packaging for recycling, but collection operators, sorting facilities, recyclers and policymakers determine whether those designs translate into recovered material at scale.

Food Security Changes the Packaging Discussion

Viewing packaging as part of food-system infrastructure creates a different way of assessing its environmental role.

Using less packaging remains important, but minimizing packaging without considering food protection can produce unintended consequences if more food becomes damaged or spoiled.

The relevant question is therefore not simply how much material a package contains.

It is whether the complete packaging system uses resources efficiently while delivering the protection, shelf life, distribution reach and end-of-life performance required for its application.

For aseptic cartons, the ability to distribute shelf-stable food without continuous refrigeration provides a clear functional role, particularly where cold-chain infrastructure is constrained.

The industry’s next challenge is ensuring that this food-security contribution develops alongside stronger collection and recycling infrastructure.

Packaging’s environmental performance ultimately depends on both sides of that equation: protecting the product effectively during its useful life and recovering as much value as possible from the package afterward.

Source: industry commentary and cited food-security, packaging and recycling data.

Last Updated on 31/08/2026 by Jota Machinery