USDA Awards Grant to Establish Sustainable Packaging Labs

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded Clemson University and the Foundation for Fresh Produce (which was founded by the International Fresh Produce Association) each $5 million to establish sustainable packaging innovation labs. These grants are part of $25 million being awarded by USDA to support a total of eight projects under the new Assisting Specialty Crop Exports (ASCE) initiative, which was launched in January 2024. The initiative focuses on projects to address non-tariff trade barriers that hinder U.S. exports of specialty crops.

The research conducted by the ASCE sustainable packaging innovation labs will help address one of the top concerns from the U.S. specialty crop industry, namely, that packaging and labeling requirements in export markets are changing, and exporters don’t yet have the sustainable packaging options to meet those new rules.

Other grants under the initiative relate to pesticide usage and developing reference sheets for 60 specialty crops in key export markets. More information on the recent grants to support the ASCE initiative can be found here.