Source: freepik.com
Hygiene: When that what’s taken for granted becomes valuable again
Thomas Reiner | 17.04.2020
Many things are taken for granted – until they are suddenly needed. Hygiene was one of them. We never gave a thought to how safe our food is from a hygienic point of view. The SARS-CoV-2 virus breaks down this certainty.
Until recently, “unpacked” was considered trendy. That is history. After all, who wants to attack and put to mouth what previously passed through numerous unknown hands? In past centuries, hygienic deficiencies have led to mass deaths. It is one of the blessings of the modern age that it has put an end to this. Packaging has played a decisive role in this.
The Corona pandemic clearly shows us that the battle for hygiene is an ongoing one. Consumer awareness is awakening and retailers are responding. For example, the bakery chain “Vie de France” is once again wrapping its products individually in packaging instead of taking them off the shelves with tongs.
In addition to product protection, which preserves food and reduces losses, and the supply of an urban society based on the division of labour, which cultivates and consumes in a decentralised manner, hygiene is one of the three major benefits of packaging.
The current pandemic makes us painfully aware that without packaging we are defenceless against the world of viruses, bacteria and microorganisms. Let us hope that this lesson remains in our minds and triggers changes. Because without packaging, the hygienic crisis would be a permanent normality.
