report
2.4.6 Current Situation within the EU

Several EU projects have been funded to look at packaging.  For example, the SustainPack project (funded under FP6) looked at a number of drivers and market pulls for the fibre-based packaging industry, in particular sustainability and the impact that nanotechnology could have[i]; the GoodFood project (funded under FP6) looked at sensor technologies for food safety and quality assurance at different stages of the food production and supply chain[ii]; Natural Antimicrobials for Innovative Safe Packaging (NAFISPACK) is an FP7 funded project that will look at antimicrobials in packaging and the risk of their migration into food[iii]. 

As far as sustainability is concerned there is a long way to go.  A study published by UK-based market analysts Applied Market Information (AMI) in early 2008, claims that the market for bioplastics remains small, this is compounded by the fact that there appears to be inadequate facilities for recycling or composting.  According to AMI, "Less than one per cent of global polymers are currently classified as compostable bioplastics according to the European EN 13432 standard."[iv]