Friends of Glass has launched a campaign to encourage consumers to ‘look beyond the label’ at the packaging role played by glass.
Independent research conducted with 8,000 consumers reveals that Europeans are more worried about health and food safety than environmental problems, international terrorism or public safety.
The findings unveil a growing concern amongst European consumers linked to the potential health risks of chemical compounds leaching into food from packaging.
Two thirds of consumers admit that they are worried about food contamination, as well as the risk of chemicals leaching from food packaging into its content.
Eight out of ten consumers surveyed believe these chemical interactions could be a risk to human health.
The findings also reveal that European consumers are most worried about plastic containers impacting the food/beverage content or ingredients out of all materials surveyed including metal, cartons, bag in box, plastics and glass.
Health concerns play a key role in consumer decision making. Among those who opt for glass, 61% trust it as the safest packaging for their health.
Glass is the packaging material which acts as a natural and impermeable barrier; it does not interact with food and drink products.
In the US, glass is the only widely-used packaging material considered ‘GRAS’ or “generally recognized as safe” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In 2011, when banning the use of BPA for plastic baby bottles, the EU recommended glass as a safe alternative for human health.
The EU Commission is strengthening legislation related to chemicals which leach out of food packaging.
