Your American cheese is about to look very different – here’s why

Reducing plastic in food packaging is good for the environment, but can also cause problems for consumers.

Last month, Costco customers were outraged after the traditional hard-shell plastic containers for their $4.99 fried chicken were swapped out for soft-shell bags.

Costco said it made the change to reduce plastic use by 75 percent. But it led to complaints that meat juices were leaking into carts, cars and refrigerators.

Currently, several states are passing new laws that will further reduce plastic packaging, changing the way Americans buy and store their everyday favorites.

American cheese that comes in packages where each slice is individually wrapped in plastic will be banned under the new rules.

Experts point out that reducing plastic in food packaging is not always well received by consumers.

“You can see experiments with it all over the landscape,” Sandra Goldmark, a sustainability expert at Columbia University’s Climate School, told The New York Times.

“Right now, a lot of the experiments aren’t working very well. We haven’t really cracked this nut yet.”

She said Costco’s fried chicken, which is sold in a bag instead of a hard plastic casing, is an example of a “less bad” change.

But the funny thing about less bad solutions is that they often disappoint everyone.

“It’s less plastic. There are fewer trucks on the road. But the chicken is still in a plastic bag and there’s chicken juice all over your car.”

A bill in New York State would reduce plastic packaging by 50 percent over the next 12 years, and if they can’t find greener packaging, manufacturers would have to pay a fine.

Four other states — California, Colorado, Oregon and Maine — have introduced similar laws to reduce packaging waste.

According to a leading environmental activist who is backing the bill in New York, one iconic American staple could be hit: individually wrapped slices of cheese.

“We need to do something about the plastic crisis,” Judith Enck, chair of the Beyond Plastics group, told the New York Post.

“There was a time in America when we didn’t put a piece of plastic between each slice of cheese. They can replace plastic with paper,” she said.

Food producers and supermarkets oppose such laws.

Nelson Eusebio, a representative for the National Association of Supermarkets, told the Post: “Thanks to this law, New Yorkers can now expect to remove unpackaged items — from cereal to cheese to hot dogs — from grocery store bins before they buy them and take them home.

Kraft Singles are the market leader for American sliced ​​cheese. But the product may need to be sold without each slice individually wrapped in plastic

American cheese – where each slice is individually wrapped in plastic – will be threatened by new laws

Costco customers complain that new soft plastic roast chicken bags cause grease to leak

‘There is no doubt that such a dramatic change in shopping behaviour will reduce the amount of packaging waste in our landfills, but it risks negating all the food preservation and health benefits we have gained from hygienic, airtight plastic packaging.’

He said it would lead to a huge increase in food waste, leading to higher grocery prices.

Food waste also has a negative impact on the environment.

CO2 is released during production and transportation, and when it ends up in landfill, emissions are created.