UK frozen food retailer Iceland Foods has ditched vacuum packaging for its beef and pork mince range in favour of a return to traditional plastics trays.
The U-turn comes after some shoppers complained on social media about the vacuum packaging, which rolled out in more than 1,000 UK stores last August, following a 12-week trial in 50 stores.
At the time, Iceland said the move would save approximately 35 tonnes of plastics per year, increase product shelf-life by almost 50 per cent and halve the amount of plastics used.
The decision followed similar packaging tray switches by Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and Sainsbury’s, which became the first supermarket chain to vacuum pack all beef mince in 2023.
However, a post issued on Iceland’s official X channel this week showed a picture of a Lean Beef Steak Mince packet accompanied by the text: “You asked, we delivered. The classic mince packaging is back!”
One user credited the retailer for listening to customers and described the previous vacuum packaging had made the meat “look like mush” and was “horrid to cook with”.
Another user said: “Thank you. That previous packaging made the product look unappealing and horrible. The classic OG packaging is the way.”
However, a third argued that vacuum packaging was better.
Iceland has been contacted for comment.
