“We are in favor of getting rid of plastic,” defends the Interprofession of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Since Monday, the rules concerning plastic packaging of fruit and vegetables have been stricter but in practice, this is not systematically applied. The profession expects “a harmonized position” from the European Union, explained the president of Interfel on Thursday.

“We are in favor of phasing out plastic”, says Thursday January 4 on franceinfo Laurent Grandin, president of the Interprofession of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables (Interfel), while this type of packaging is far from having disappeared from the shelves, despite a change in regulations since the January 1st. From now on, all fruits and vegetables packaged in batches of less than 1.5 kg can no longer be sold wrapped in plastic.

If reality is more complex, according to Laurent Grandin, it is because the “decree” which introduces this change “is deemed illegal”. Indeed, the European Union has “declared in violation of the notification rules, since at present a regulation is under discussion to harmonize the position of all European countries” on this subject. Also, the profession expects “a harmonized position, so that on a single market [européen]we only have one rule”.

The boss of Interfel defends the sector’s action to reduce the use of plastic. “Half of our products are in other packaging,” he says.

“We already sell two-thirds of our products in bulk.”

Laurent Grandin, president of Interfel

at franceinfo

In passing, he rejects the criticisms of Zero Waste France on the number of exemptions to the decree in force since January 1. They “were driven by the realities of product fragility, with technical solutions that did not yet exist”he says.

“As it stands, the list of exemptions is far too long, it will not make it possible to achieve the objective of zero single-use plastics by 2040”, points out Manon Richert, communications manager of the environmental association, at the franceinfo microphone on Thursday January 4. She pleads for “cardboard packaging which is perhaps a little more environmentally friendly than plastic”.