From January 1, 2022, France will ban the sale of unprocessed fruits and vegetables packaged in plastic, as dictated by the French anti-waste law for a circular economy, which was published last February 11 in the official French gazette.
The measure seeks to reduce the consumption of plastics, although it will not apply to products with a volume greater than 1.5 kg, nor to those fruits and vegetables whose sale in bulk entails a risk of deterioration. The list of these products must be established by decree, whose publication is expected around the summer of 2020.
In addition, and also as of January 1, 2022, the use of stickers on fruit and vegetable units, which are mainly used to indicate the brand, will also be banned, unless said stickers have been manufactured with compostable materials or paper.
Sources from the French sector say that, although it is true that some forms of plastic packaging are expendable, there are others that play a clear role in the preservation of the product or in the presentation of higher quality products, which are appreciated by the consumer.
This prohibition will affect not only French producers, but all companies willing to market their fruits and vegetables in France, including Spanish companies. According to the official bulletin of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Spain exports fruits and vegetables worth more than € 3,000 M per year to France, which makes it the second largest destination for Spanish exports, only behind Germany.
Source: agrodigital.com