Fisher® Introduces Earth-Friendly Packaging

John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. is launching Earth-Friendly packaging for its existing Fisher® line of two-pound food service snack and baking products, currently produced in metallic mylar film.

The packaging can be called Earth-Friendly because a portion of the package has been made using plant-based renewable resources, not oil. Plant-based renewable resources can include corn, cellulose and wood pulp.

Fisher is on target as most sustainable food packaging products today are made from alternative materials such as biopolymers from corn or sugar starch; non-free cellulose such as bamboo; or a combination such as potato starch and other ingredients, according to John R. Burke, president of the Foodservice and Packaging Institute. In an interview with myidaccess.com, Burke added, “these alternative materials have been made in response to customer desires for environmentally friendly products.

Fisher wants to be part of that solution. “The Fisher brand is helping to protect the Earth for future generations one nut at a time,” says John Garoni, Director of Food Service Sales with John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc., owner of the Fisher brand. “The new packaging is friendly to the food as well,” Garoni says, “as it does not affect the quality or freshness of the product because the packaging maintains the same barrier properties as standard mylar film. In addition, all products are nitrogen flushed to maintain freshness and shelf life.”

And that is just the start. Efforts at John B. Sanfilippo & Son, Inc. are underway to reduce their overall energy usage and to continue to research packaging materials and processing methods to help reduce emissions and waste. A resource conservation team has been established to execute these initiatives and to monitor its progress.

“While switching packaging for our Fisher products that are currently sold in a metallic mylar bag to the Earth-Friendly packaging is a start, this has to be accompanied by a general education of customers and consumers as to why we are proceeding this way. We know that consumers who are going out to restaurants that we supply product to are more aware of social, economic and while are learning about how they can help protect the earth.”