Sustainable Food Packaging Development: Material Selection, Product Compatibility and Scale-Up (2026)

Key Takeaways

• Recycled content is now mandatory and rising. Rigid plastic packaging must contain 30% recycled plastic in 2025-26, rising to 60% by 2028-29; flexible packaging rises from 10% to 20% and multi-layered from 5% to 10% (Corpseed summary of EPR guidelines).
• The brand owner carries the liability. EPR liability rests with the brand owner named on the product and cannot be passed to the packaging supplier by contract (Gravita).
• Food contact makes recycled content harder. The 2026 amendment lets the 2025-26 recycled content shortfall be carried forward for three years, relief aimed at food-contact packaging where FSSAI restrictions limit recycled material (Green Sutra).
• Compostable and biodegradable claims need certification. Since a March 2024 amendment, biodegradable plastic packaging is a separate category with its own BIS marking and mandatory CPCB certification (same source); compostable plastics follow IS 17088 (Anantam IAS).
• Barrier decides shelf life, so test before you switch. In a DRDO study, the same freeze dried fruit powder lasted 62 days in aluminium laminate but 44 days in metallised polyester under accelerated storage (DRDO, 2017). A greener pack that spoils food faster is not sustainable.