EU packaging rule changes will require seafood industry to rethink packaging.
New EU packaging rules could force seafood producers to redesign packaging systems over the next decade, according to a researcher at the Norwegian food research institute Nofima.
Writing in an opinion piece published by seafood industry publication IntraFish.no, senior researcher Anlaug Ådland Hansen said the EU’s EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will require a comprehensive review of packaging solutions used in seafood exports.
The regulation, which comes into force in August 2026, requires all packaging to be designed for recycling by 2030 and recyclable in practice by 2035.
For seafood exporters, this presents particular challenges because packaging must withstand frozen storage, long-distance transport and mechanical stress while maintaining food safety and product quality.
“The packaging must keep oxygen out, protect against leakage and mechanical stress, and at the same time ensure the storage capacity each individual product needs, without compromising quality and food safety,” Hansen wrote.
She noted that packaging solutions must also fit into existing recycling systems in destination markets in order to comply with the new regulation.
Norway is the world’s second-largest seafood exporter, with a large share of exports destined for EU markets.
Hansen added that seafood companies are already working with packaging manufacturers and research institutions on recyclable plastics, fibre-based packaging and monomaterial solutions.