Sustainability

Micvac’s system was recognised and awarded with the SACCNY-Deloitte Green Award 2018. During the Sustainology Summit, every year the SACCNY-Deloitte Green Award is presented to a Swedish company that offers a breakthrough “green” solution or technology. The key is that the winning company demonstrates a vision to drive sustainability in the food chain and has developed a product or service that has a strong likelihood to revolutionise the food industry on a global level.

“In recognition of Micvac’s food packaging method, Micvac has created a great contribution to decreasing the amount of synthetic preservatives being used in ready meals, as well as prolonging their shelf life, leading to a healthier and more sustainable environment.”

It is well known that food waste is a major environmental problem throughout the food chain. There are several reasons why we discard food, but packaging is a crucial factor. One solution is to ensure that the food packaging prolongs the shelf life in store and in the consumer’s home but reducing food waste is also about reviewing production methods.

At the producer
With our method the food is cooked and pasteurised in the packaging. Portion by portion. The food is usually packed raw, with few pre-cooking steps. Consequently, there is far less risk of excess food waste, as there is no need to prepare large batches.

In the store
Meals made with the Micvac method have a shelf life of approximately 40-60 days. With that much time to sell the product, stores can reduce food waste to a minimum.

At home
The consumer buys a fresh ready meal because it’s convenient and tastes good. A Micvac-made portion with its unique keeping qualities lasts a long time in the fridge. The consumer has many days to eat the product, and a portion-cooked meal is less likely to be thrown away.

The Micvac method creates a natural vacuum that makes all use of synthetic preservatives superfluous and also preserves vitamins far better than competing techniques. Research shows that with traditional packaging, the amount of vitamin C in a boiled potato rapidly deteriorates during storage. Micvacs vacuum solution keeps the nutrition values high week after week.

The package used at Micvac is in many ways superior to other meal solutions. A Micvac portion has a minimum of plastic per kilo of food thanks to the vacuum and cooking process. The Micvac tray is designed to use just the right amount of packaging for the contents, which means no unnecessary air is transported. Furthermore, the trays are fully recyclable and the plastic gets used in the production of new products.

Food packaging causes approximately 0,7% of the carbon footprint of a European consumer. On average the carbon footprint of the packaged product (production, distribution) is about 30 times higher than the carbon footprint of packaging itself.  In other words, in most packaged food products, the environmental impact of the packaging pales in comparison with the impact of the food content. Therefore, the main environmental effect of the package is to reduce food waste by preserving the food in the best way possible.

Source: Denkstatt (2020) “Food Packaging Sustainability”

The Micvac method is very resource efficient. Significantly little water and energy is used when producing food the Micvac way thanks to the continuous, short process. Furthermore, the Micvac tray is designed to use just the right amount of packaging for the content, which means no unnecessary air is transported.

Micvac promotes sustainable development by using methods and practices that minimise any negative environmental impact from manufacturing, distribution and consumption of our products and processes.

• Drive knowledge and awareness of environmental issues and continuously evaluate the aspects of our work and offering on the environment.
• Meet all laws and regulations and cooperate with authorities and organisations in order to strive towards the environmental goals set by the society.
• Constantly reduce the environmental impact of our products and processes.
• Show our commitment to environmental issues to influence our suppliers’ environmental work.
• Minimise negative impact on the environment by coordinating, streamlining and choosing the best possible means of transport.