Packaging’s New Vanishing Act: Reducing PFAS & Food Waste with Claire Sand

Welcome to Pulp Nonfiction: The Paper and Packaging Podcast!

Meet our guest Claire Sand, the CEO of Packaging Technology and Research. Claire presents some encouraging solutions to two of our world’s most pressing problems: PFAS, the so-called “forever chemicals,” and food waste.

This enlightening episode offers some fresh perspectives on how some new packaging coatings are being designed to help minimize PFAS in the food and beverage space, why significant food waste reduction is indeed possible thanks to newly developed packaging technologies as well as some simple consumer behavioral changes, how cellulose is experiencing a resurgence in both food and packaging circles, and much more!

Claire Sand is a Global Packaging Leader with over 35 years of food science and packaging experience. Her mission is to enable a more sustainable food system by advancing science and value chain innovations that increase food shelf life and decrease food waste. She manages cross-functional teams, implements innovative solutions, creates compelling business and technology strategies and business cases, and creates implementation roadmaps for the packaging and food industries.

Dr. Sand is the owner and founder of Packaging Technology and Research, LLC, as well as Gazelle Mobile Packaging Inc. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Michigan State University and CalPoly, and a monthly contributor to Packaging Digest. She is an IFT Fellow, the Riester-Davis-Brody Lifetime Achievement in Food Packaging Award recipient, a member of numerous Editorial Boards, the author of the Packaging Value Chain, and the cochair of pacfoodwaste.

Dr. Sand received her doctorate in Food Science and Nutrition from the University of Minnesota, as well as a master's and bachelor's degrees in packaging from Michigan State University.

This podcast is brought to you by Sustana Fiber, a leading producer of FSC®-certified sustainable recycled fibers. At our facilities in De Pere, Wisconsin in the United States and Lévis, Quebec in Canada, we use automated proprietary processes to transform recovered paper into high-quality recycled fiber for use in printing papers, tissue grades and formed molded fiber packaging. We also produce EnviroLife®, a sustainable recycled fiber compliant with FDA standards for food service packaging. Learn more about how our products and manufacturing practices support the circular economy at www.sustanafiber.com.

Greg Johnson, Host Sustana Fiber’s Director of New Business Development, Greg has held various sales and marketing leadership roles with organizations including DS Smith, Johnson Paper, and Whiting. Greg enjoys helping companies improve their packaging and has extensive experience introducing sustainable paper and packaging products to brands such as Starbucks, Quaker Oats, and Target. Recognized by Graphic Design USA, the Chicago Tribune, and the Print Services & Distribution Association for numerous creative commercialization projects, Greg believes strongly in the positive impact that recyclable packaging along with responsible recycling can make in meeting consumer’s environmental expectations.

Dr. Marta Pazos, Co-Host A passionate sustainability advocate while working at Coca-Cola, Estee Lauder, Procter & Gamble, and the United States Department of Defense, Marta holds a PhD in Polymer Science. With her refreshing and unpretentious sense of style, Marta explains even the most complex scientific subjects in an easy-to-understand, educational, yet fun way. As a scientist, Marta has been able to develop and qualify many innovations in product formulations, materials, and decorations for consumer products and their packaging. A native of Spain, she has lived in seven countries with very different cultures and idiosyncrasies. “I realize that as humans, no matter who we are and where we come from, we tend to have as much as we can afford, and that excessive consumerism has created a strain on our planet Earth. Waiting for the next generation, the big corporations or government decisions to reverse climate change and end pollution will be our demise. We are all in this together and need to do our own part.”