Aldi follows Sainsbury's with controversial mince meat packaging switch

28 August 2023 , 09:09

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Aldi - like other supermarket chains - are working to reduce its plastic waste (Image: Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Aldi has followed other supermarket chains and has changed the packaging for its mince meat products - and customers will have the final say on whether it will stay.

The trial will see the discount supermarket chain's mince products swap its plastic tray and film packaging to vacuum and flow wrap packs in a bid to reduce plastic waste. Aldi says the new packaging removes the need for a paper lining and that no carbon dioxide is used in production.

The supermarket chain says the changes will help cut the amount of plastic packaging by up to 73% and will see the shelf life actually increase as it will keep the product "fresher for longer". The vacuum packaging trial is only being tested across select stores in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands and Worcestershire - the flow-wrap trial will be rolled out in the same areas in November. The Mirror has asked Aldi what products shoppers should expect to see the new packaging on and we will update this once we know more.

Aldi says the trials are taking place to see what packaging customers prefer and they will make a decision on whether to roll out the trial across further stores based on this.

The trial is only being tested in a select few Aldi stores (Aldi)

Luke Emery, Plastics and packaging director at Aldi, said: “At Aldi, we are constantly reviewing ways to become more environmentally friendly and reduce plastic where possible. These trials promise a range of environmental benefits without affecting quality and could lead to significant reductions in plastic, food miles and food waste if rolled out across all stores.”

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The move comes following Aldi’s switch to colourless milk caps across all of its 990 UK stores in a bid to further improve the recyclability of the bottles. Aldi says the rollout will mean a further 200 tonnes of High-Density Polythene (rHDPE) in the bottle tops can be reused to create new milk bottles.

Sainsbury's was the first supermarket to introduce vacuum packaging for the meat product in March to all of its 1,400 stores in a bid to reduce its plastic waste, however, the chain faced a lot of backlash. Customers said the packaging change made the meat turn to "mush" and one customer on social media described it as being the "nearest thing to baby food".

Nisa and Coop also later introduced vacuum packaging as one of their plastic waste-reducing tactics.

Tesco has also recently changed its mince meat packing - however, it has not followed other supermarkets. Instead of going to vacuum packs, it has instead opted for "pillow packs" instead. The chain's pillow packs are the opposite of vacuum packs as they are slightly inflated which will prevent the meat from being compressed. The trials are only in a handful of stores in the country and Tesco says if customers like the new packaging then it will roll it out to more lines across more stores.

Ruby Flanagan