Sustainable Food Packaging Innovations is sponsored by California (administered through various initiatives). This funding initiative targets businesses working on sustainable food packaging solutions to develop and implement eco-friendly materials that minimize waste.

Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab - Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research Your browser does not support the video tag. FFAR » Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab This opportunity is now closed About the Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab Worldwide, emerging restrictions on single-use and plastic packaging will limit access to specialty crops in global markets.

Therefore, Clemson University and The Foundation for Fresh Produce (FFP) of the International Fresh Produce Association are partnering with the FFAR to implement the Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab of the Assisting Specialty Crop Exports program by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service.

FFAR is accepting applications, on behalf of Clemson University and FFP, for the Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab program to develop packaging and packaging alternatives for specialty crops compliant with emerging packaging regulations in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan and other key markets.

We seek novel sustainable packaging or packaging alternatives that can replace single-use packaging and single-use plastic packaging that offer at least some of the same functions economically.

The Sustainable Packaging Innovation Lab consists of three distinct tracks: Track 1 (Applied R&D) seeks proposals with solutions for specialty crop exports that are still at the laboratory stage but show high promise to be implemented in pilot-scale manufacturing with minimal further effort. Track 2 (Technology Accelerator) seeks proposals that scale innovations in sustainable packaging for the fresh produce industry.

Track 3 (Scale-up and pilot) seeks proposals that run pilot-scale manufacturing projects to commercialize a packaging solution for specialty crop exports. For inquiries related to: Tracks 1 and 3, please contact Dr. James Sternberg at sternbe@g. clemson.

edu Track 2, please contact Vonnie Estes at vestes@freshproduce. com Full track requirements are detailed in the RFA. Frequently Asked Questions What are the program priorities and requirements?

All research activities must be structured to answer, directly or indirectly, at least two of the following questions before, during and after the development and dissemination of research and development or commercialization outputs: How does the activity advance the goals of maintaining or increasing U.S. exports of specialty crops?

How does the activity enable U.S. exporters to comply with emerging regulatory requirements (see Footnote 1 in RFA) for packaging and labeling? How does the activity support the development of packaging materials that are alternatives to single-use plastic packaging? How does the activity support the development of reusable packaging systems for the export of specialty crops?

How does the activity support the export of specialty crops that will be sold at retail without packaging? How does the activity reduce food loss and waste of exported fresh produce? How does the activity promote the implementation of novel sustainable packaging at a commercial scale for exports of specialty crops?

Who is eligible to apply? Clemson University and FFP welcome applications from institutions of higher education, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, government-affiliated researchers, and domestic and international organizations. Applications from international entities are invited as long as there is a clearly described collaboration with US-based researchers, packaging companies or exporters of specialty crops.

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support. What is the funding availability? Funding will be provided for up to twenty (20) awards of between $50,000 and $250,000 each.

The performance period for awards will be 12 months. In addition to funding, awardees will have access to collaboration and networking opportunities, fresh produce industry and consumer insights, life cycle analyses and legal reviews of emergent packaging regulations. Are matching funds required?

No matching funds are required. Only submissions received by the deadline through FFAR’s Grant Management System will be accepted and considered eligible for evaluation. To be fair to all applicants, FFAR will not grant extensions to applicants who miss the deadlines posted in the Key Dates section.

Who can I contact for more information? For questions related to the online submission system, please contact FFAR’s Grants Management team at grants@foundationfar. org .

For questions about the Sustainable Packaging Innovative Lab, please contact FFAR’s Scientific Program Director, Constance Gewa , at cgewa@foundationfar. org . FFAR strives to respond to inquiries within two business days, but our response time depends on the volume of questions received and the complexity of the questions asked.

Please note that we do not monitor mailboxes on evenings, weekends or federal holidays.