Consumers are waking up to the environmental implications of wasteful food packaging and are willing to cut back where possible, according to a poll conducted by the Nielsen Company.

The online survey included 48 nations and showed that 40 per cent of the individuals polled have high concerns relating to the amount of waste generated by food packaging. This is a nine per cent increase from the 31 per cent of concerned respondents polled in May 2007.

"Concern for packaging waste increased more than any other environmental concern," Nielsen said of the replies by 25,000 people. The survey also probed attitudes to climate change, water shortages, air and water pollution and use of pesticides.

"While eco-friendly packaging might not be the top priority for shoppers today, it's certainly a growing priority the food industry cannot ignore," said Patrick Dodd, president of the Nielsen Company, Europe.

About half of the respondents said they would be willing to sacrifice "convenience packaging" which includes resealable containers, however only 30 per cent would give up packaging altogether if it meant the risk of coming into contact with other shoppers or foregoing cooking instructions.

I myself never really paid close attention to food packaging until recently though now I find I am much more cognizant of it than I ever was in the past. For instance, I purchased a package of shrimp a few days ago and couldn't help but be dismayed by the outer layer of cardboard and not one, but two layers of plastic (one a hard plastic shell) that I had to make my way through before I finally got to the product underneath. I'm no shellfish expert, but I'm pretty sure that my shrimp are not so delicate they required protection equal to that of Fort Knox

» Reuters Environment