On August 1, 2024, scientists from the FitNESS 2.0 project published a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Chemical Education that outlines the project’s e-learning platform. The platform is an educational initiative to address the challenges of creating responsible food packaging that is both safe and sustainable. Funded by the European Commission through the ERASMUS+ program, the FitNESS platform aims to provide interdisciplinary training for students and professionals involved in food packaging.
Food packaging plays a crucial role in food safety and shelf life, but it also contributes to environmental pollution and food contamination with chemicals and microplastics (FPF reported also here).
Eleven European institutions contributed to the development of learning materials to address this complex topic, all of which are free and open-source.
The FitNESS platform offers a comprehensive approach to food packaging education by integrating knowledge from chemistry, materials science, food science, toxicology, sustainability, and packaging design. It includes both basic and advanced courses tailored for stakeholders new to the field, like students, as well as seasoned professionals, covering topics such as health risk assessments, eco-design, life cycle tools, and circular economy principles.
FitNESS 2.0 particularly focuses on addressing the shift toward a circular economy. It highlights the importance of the waste hierarchy and designing packaging that is reusable and recyclable. At the same time, the risks associated with recycled materials, such as chemical contamination, should be managed (FPF reported also here).
The Food Packaging Forum is an associate partner within FitNESS 2.0 and is actively contributing to the update of existing content and creation of new modules.
Reference
Vitrac O., et al. (2024). “FitNESS: An e-learning platform to design safe and responsible food packaging.” Journal of Chemical Education. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00137
Read More
FitNESS 2.0. “About the FitNESS Project.”
