Eco-friendly food producers have taken a bite out of throwaway packaging - by making it edible. The new additive-free wrap for cucumbers, made of rapeseed and oat oil, has been launched by food-tech firm Saveggy. And it says the innovation could cut plastic waste while preserving quality and shelf life.

It is hoped the substance, being trialled in Swedish supermarkets, will help cut the more than 3,000 thousands of tonnes of cucumber wraps Saveggy says go to landfills across the EU each year. With its first industrial machine in place, the company plans broader launches across Sweden and Europe.

Saveggy was founded in 2020 by Vahid Sohrabpour and Arash Fayyazi, who developed the coating with Aarhus University, Lund University, EIT Food, and retailers, packers and consumers. It has raised £2.2million from investors and the one-month pilot is taking place in Swedish retailers ICA and Odlarna.se. Kerstin Lindvall, sustainability director at ICA, said: "This innovation makes it possible for us to remove plastic from cucumbers without compromising quality."

Martin Löfstedt, from Odlarna.se, added: "Sustainability and quality are at our core, and this collaboration takes our commitment further by introducing plastic-free cucumbers." Mr Fayyazi said: "Cucumbers highlight the challenge: food waste on one side, plastic-wrapped shelves on the other.

"Our goal is to reduce food waste and plastic pollution together - with respect for nature, people, and the resources that make our food." The EU plans to phase out single-use plastics for fruit and vegetables by 2030.

Single-use plastic and expanded polystyrene containers have been banned in England since October 2023. Scotland and Wales have introduced similar bans.