Sainsbury’s vacuum-pack format for beef mince raises concerns on incineration

UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has replaced the traditional plastic tray used in its beef mince range with a vacuum-packed format that will require 55 percent less plastic and save approximately 450 tons of plastic a year.

The new packaging will remove all oxygen in its beef mince, leading to a longer shelf life.

The packaging will contain the same amount of beef mince, but use fewer materials and be lighter in weight, supporting Sainsbury’s goal of halving plastic packaging use by 2025.

According to Claire Hughes, director of product and innovation at Sainsbury’s, the vacuum packaging will not impact the quantity or quality of their beef mince range.

However, Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, raised concerns that the new vacuum packs will instead be thrown into general waste and end up being incinerated. She noted that the old, rigid plastic packaging would at least have gone into recycling.

Sutherland added that big brands need to wean themselves off single-use materials altogether, and offer products in reusable packaging instead.

Sainsbury's beef mince in the revamped packaging are now available in-store and online.