Berried treasure packs punch

A DERWENT Valleyey berry grower is showing its ts punnets pack more than just a punch of f juicy goodness as this year’s raspberry season kicks into gear.

Westerway Raspberry Farm is beginning a move away from plastic packaging to a more e eco-friendly alternative in a bid to be more environmentally ally conscious.

Westerway Raspberrypberry Farm grower Richard Clark discovered Biopak’s compostable packaging while buying food from a restaurant in Sydney.

He said changing the company containers to biodegradable sugarcane pulp packs was a big step forward in improving the farm’s environmental responsibility.

“When I first bought food in this new cardboard-like packaging we’re rolling out, I thought no way will this work to hold the curry I was eating at the time. Nor would it be a good storage means for our very juicy raspberries,” Mr Clark said.

“But I wanted to test it out. After keeping curry in the container refrigerated overnight, I then emptied it and filled it with water and left it for five days.

“I was amazed at how well it held its shape and didn’t lose any liquid. We’re very pleased to repackage our products with such a reliable yet environmentally friendly material.”

Mr Clark said the move to a compostable alternative, in which the company has packaged 30,000 raspberry punnets this year, aligns with the business’ perception of consumer demand.