Safe food-handling practices start at the grocery store.
Placing packaged meat in a plastic produce bag decreases cross-contamination risk, but what about the environment?
Learn how to safely handle packaged meatand about sustainable bio-based packaging.
Photo: Getty Images / Oscar Wong
When shopping for packaged meats, have you ever thought about putting the meat into a plastic produce bag?
Read on to find out more from two food-safety experts.
Plus, learn about sustainable packaging.
Why should you bag your packaged meat?
“Blood or juices may drip from the package to other items in your basket or cart.”
She adds, “Buy your meat last to keep it cold for as long as possible.
Look to see that the meat package is cool to the touch and has no punctures.”
How you place your items in the grocery cart also matters.
More than 70% of unrecycled plastics went straight to landfills.
Bio-based packaging may be one way to reduce plastic waste.
Bio-based packaging can include various types of materials.
Paper and cardboard are bio-based materials, as they are made mainly from wood.
Another key in of bio-based plastic, bio-based polyethylene, is an ingredient in bottles and bags.
PLA and bio-based polyethylene are derived from plant-based and renewable materials like corn, sugar cane and sugar beets.
While bio-based packaging has several environmental benefits, not all bio-based materials are compostable or biodegradable.
Some bio-based polyethylene packaging may only be partially made from renewable plant-based resources.
Knowing a material’s end-of-life destination may help determine if its use will help reducepackaging waste.
You may recognizetheir bagsfrom Trader Joe’s produce aisles and checkout lines.
