Asda follows Sainsbury’s with vacuum-pack mince packaging to save plastic

Asda has announced it will introduce vacuum-pack mince packaging to save plastic.

The supermarket said on Friday it is replacing the traditional plastic trays across its Just Essentials beef mince range with a lighter plastic film alternative.

It follows Sainsbury’s which was forced to defend its new mince packaging that it introduced early last year after shoppers criticised it as “disgusting”, “vile” and “too compressed”.

In August, Tesco announced it would be trialling a switch to “pillow packs” for its mince products, eschewing the controversial vacuum packs.

Asda said the new packaging, which is available in stores and online, contains 60% less plastic than previous versions and can be recycled through collection points in 250 of its largest stores.

The supermarket said it will help remove 67.6 tonnes of plastic from its supply chain annually.

The vacuum-pack method of packaging removes the oxygen which typically causes a product to eventually spoil meaning the product has a longer shelf life than before, it added.

The supermarket aims to make packaging of all its own-label products recyclable by 2025 with its latest sustainability report saying it had reached 93%.

Jon Wells, sustainable packaging manager at Asda, said: “We’re always looking at new ways that we can make positive changes which will benefit both our customers and the planet, and we believe that this is one of those changes.

“Not only does this improve shelf life and provide greater convenience for our customers, it also removes tonnes of non-recyclable plastic from our supply chain, reducing our carbon footprint.”