Caspian Caviar and Plastic Use

The issue of plastic usage and its disposal is all the rage at the moment, and quite right too. While the Blue Planet provided a loud wake up call to our politicians and the general public, you only have to take a short drive at this time of year to see the problem much closer to home. Our hedgerows, now denuded of vegetation, play host to a variety of plastic litter.

So what are we doing about it at Caspian Caviar? In truth, we have never been very keen on the stuff and have sought to reduce our use of plastic packaging, but it does serve a purpose in the food industry so we cannot totally eliminate it. The majority of our product packaging is tin, cardboard and glass. However, plastic is required to be used for vacuum packed products such as smoked salmon and fresh foie gras.

We have tried to reduce our usage in our despatch packaging. We have dropped our use of plastic pockets for despatch labels and now use sticky labels instead. We have moved away from polystyrene insulated packaging and now use high-tec low volume tinfoil based packaging to keep our products cool. It is more expensive but we like it and so do our customers as it is not so bulky.

We do still use plastic ice packs but we have to as they are waterproof. While we use raffia “fill” where we can, we do still use plastic fill where necessary due to moisture. We have tried plant based fill but it is not satisfactory. The material is similar to a Wotsit but without the cheese flavouring. When exposed to moisture, it goes to mush. Not ideal!

Here at Caspian Caviar, we might not be perfect, but we do try. We will seek to continue to make improvements should suitable packaging become available.