France introduced a ban on plastic packaging of plant products

From July 1, 2023, the provisions of the new decree came into force, prohibiting the sale in France of unprocessed fruits and vegetables in plastic packaging. This new decree was published in the Journal Officiel on June 21, six months after the first bill was repealed by the Conseil d'Etat (Council of State), reports Fruit-inform. The French law to combat waste and promote the closed-loop economy (Agec) bans in principle the retail sale of fresh fruit and vegetables in plastic from 1 January 2022, except when they are packaged in batches of more than 1.5 kg. The previous decree of October 8, 2021 was canceled on December 9, 2022 by the French Council of State. The initial version envisaged a gradual reduction of the list of almost all fruits and vegetables that can be sold in plastic packaging. The decision has led to active opposition from both manufacturers and sellers, who do not want to expose themselves to huge losses due to product spoilage, which would be expected to ...