**7. The correct and incorrect points: the increase in consumption and discarded packaging**

A consumer society symbolizes the twenty-first century. In recent years, the amount of domestic waste generated has increased dramatically and in an uncontrolled way.

Although the use of packaging protects food and prolongs its shelf life, it is also responsible for a substantial amount of household waste generated [35, 36]. Waste recycling is a matter of home education, and the less developed a country is, the less prevalent this habit is.

In addition, people often do not evaluate the type of packaging in which the food is stored at the time of purchase. This lack of perception and evaluation should be considered during the purchase process. In addition, it should also be the subject of discussions in the technical regulatory commissions. It is necessary to discuss the issue of the use of non-sustainable packaging in organic production. If specific rules are laid down for the use of biodegradable packaging, it is likely that farmers will initially need help. Educational guidance and subsidy policy actions helped producers in this transition.

In Brazilian regulations, certification criteria assess the management and production system. Ensuring traceability is a mandatory condition of control, describing the types of diseases and pests that attack the crop, as well as the measures to protect and combat them, is evaluated and authorized by the certifying body. It is also part of these requirements, the formalized labor and social issues, and within the laws. There are no requirements regarding the use of sustainable packaging, which is a counterpoint to the philosophy of environmental preservation [23]. Although the origins of organic food can be attributed in part to environmental concerns, there is no significant concern about the amount of household waste produced, particularly when it comes to packaging [37].

Commonly used materials such as non-biodegradable plastic packaging, Styrofoam, aluminum, and steel increase household trash on the globe and produce polluting, occasionally hazardous materials. That runs counter to one of the main

goals of organic farming, which is to save and preserve the environment. In addition to the package itself, the packaging-product system should be taken into account [35].

Based on this, Santos' research [5] specifically set out to look into the variables influencing customers' decision to buy organic goods in environmentally friendly packaging. The subjects of this study are residents of Portugal. The Theory of Planned Behavior was the basis for Santos's research, and it was expanded to include things like how consumers think they know and how they feel about the environment [5]. A questionnaire was the research tool, and 311 responses from various consumer profiles were obtained. Because of this, even though perceived environmental concern and knowledge account for 26% of the variance in attitudes of organic consumers toward sustainable packaging, their effects on purchase intent were minimal [5].

Santos' study emphasizes the significance of expanding our understanding of the correlation between preferences for organic foods and the selection of sustainable packaging. In the end, it raises questions about how, even though organic customers express environmental concerns and believe they are aware of environmental issues, more needs to be done to improve production systems as a whole and create a cleaner supply chain, particularly in relation to packaging [5].

Even if the scenario is less than ideal, advances in the food market, shifts in customer preferences, and a balance between food quality, protection, and environmental impact have all resulted in new packaging requirements over time.

It can also be noted that, over the last few years, the use of ecological materials such as biodegradable plastics, for example, has been expanding more and more. But it is still insignificant and the cost is high when compared to regular plastic.

Slowly, the industry's use of non-biodegradable plastic is becoming less prevalent. This fact generates a degree of environmental optimism. Innovation in the food industry predicts more significant use of bioplastics, smart packaging, and "green" packaging in the coming years [38]. Active packages (AI) are those that, for instance, warn about the condition of the food and whether it is still safe for consumption. Sustainable or green packaging (SOGP) or Intelligent or smart packaging (IOSP) decreases carbon emissions [39] .

Geueke et al. say that packaging should be looked at as a sustainable way to promote a circular economy because of how it affects the environment. This would help get rid of the "take-make-throw-away economy" of packaging, which is hurting many ecosystems [40].

The circular economy is a system that incorporates a production and consumption model that involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing, and recycling old materials and products for as long as possible, as stated by the European Parliament [41].

Therefore, extending the products' life cycle as much as possible is the goal.

In practice, the circular economy means cutting down on waste all along the manufacturing chain, even after the product has been used. As according to van Herpen et al. [42], "*Wherever practicable, a product's materials are preserved inside the economy when it reaches the end of its life*". These can be effectively used again and time again, adding to their value.

For the sake of the environment and ecosystems, the economic production model of the past, which involved taking, manufacturing, and discarding without giving anything back, must end. For this purpose, the circular economy is a crucial instrument for preventing and minimizing environmental harm caused by human activity [40, 41]. In this regard, organic production, whose pillars promote the preservation of biomes, and producer awareness, must consider the significance of employing

#### *The Importance of Packaging in Certified Organic Food: A Matter of Conscience DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107408*

sustainable packaging within the circular economy, including the use of clean production techniques, recycled materials, and renewable energy sources.

As explained by Santos et al. [5], there has been a considerable increase in the number of scholars studying the relationship between food and packaging. In the study "Sustainable Packaging for Supply Chain Management (SPSC)," activists talked about how the packaging is handled, protected, and kept safe.

However, these studies are more directed to the use of new materials whose objective is food conservation and safety, without much focus on the degradation of these materials in nature.

There are not many policies governing the interaction between products and packaging in the food and beverage industry. What is evident is that there is more concern about how food deteriorates in storage than about the amount of waste that will be produced with the disposal of its packaging.

From the industry's point of view, as it is a sector where innovation is increasingly present, the difficulty in adopting ecological packaging would not be as felt as in the case of small rural producers. Anyway, the reduction of domestic waste is a crucial issue for environmental preservation, and consequently, everyone should prioritize their choices. Changes are initially slow and laborious, but once awareness-raising actions are started, they become habits [36].

According to studies by LOHAS-Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability [43], the organic food and beverage market is expanding three to four times faster than that of non-organic products, according to studies by LOHAS. As a result, it has already aroused the interest of large manufacturers, who are looking for ways to increasingly exploit this market, preserving the brand's hegemony by attracting a specific audience, the organic niche [36].

As Joseph Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction says, which he highlights in this situation, markets are essentially a process of industrial mutation that continually revolutionizes the economic structure from within. Creative destruction refers to the continuous process of replacing obsolete production units with new ones as a result of product and process innovation [44] .

With innovations in the industry, the use of smart packaging, the development of new ecological materials allied to changes in the population's habits, and being increasingly ecologically conscious will bring the change that the planet so much needs.
