Is your fridge too full? 5 practical, sustainable uses for shelf-stable food and beverages

(BPT) – Have you found your refrigerator so stuffed that you can hardly find what you’re looking for, until some food ends up going bad? One solution can help save space in your fridge, as well as money, while also helping to reduce food waste. With shelf-stable foods, you can stock up on products that will last a lot longer in your pantry — including plant-based beverages, soups, broth and even dairy milk — without taking up space in your fridge.If you’ve ever noticed Tetra Pak® cartons on the inner aisles of your grocery store, you may have wondered why these items aren’t refrigerated. Through aseptic food processing and packaging, food and beverages retain their color, texture, natural taste and nutritional value for long periods of time — without the need for any preservatives or refrigeration.You may end up shopping a lot more from these aisles once you learn how helpful, convenient — and sustainable — this packaging can be. Here are just some of their uses:1. Get ready for the holidaysMinimize those frantic last-minute trips to the grocery story during the busiest time of the year by stocking up your pantry without worrying about items expiring quickly or needing space in the refrigerator. This is especially handy when you’re hosting family and guests over the holiday season.2. Make road trips and other excursions easierWhen you’re on the go during a road trip, extended vacation or just running around doing errands, it’s great to know you can pack up plenty of milk, plant-based beverages and more for your family without worrying they’ll go bad, even if your cooler runs out of ice — or you don’t have room in the cooler.3. Be ready for anything by packing an emergency kitTo ensure you’re fully prepared for anything from a temporary power outage to a severe weather event or natural disaster in your area, experts recommend having an emergency kit that’s fully stocked with things like a first aid kit, flashlights, batteries, a weather radio — and enough non-perishable food and drinks for your family to last a few days. Shelf-stable foods and beverages are the perfect addition for any household emergency kit, to give you peace of mind.4. Help make lunches and snacks for busy familiesWhether your kids are going off to school, activities, field trips or playdates (or you’re heading off to work), you can stock their backpack or lunchbox (and your own bag) with shelf-stable beverages or milk without having to worry about whether they’ll get to a fridge — or end up staying in the bag for days.5. Feel good about the environmental impactDid you know that food waste accounts for 8% of all greenhouse gas emissions? Beyond helping to reduce food waste, you can also feel good knowing that throughout the packaging lifecycle, a Tetra Pak carton is an environmentally-sound choice. For example, on average, about 70% of a Tetra Pak carton by weight is Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®)-certified paperboard, a renewable material. Renewable plant-based materials are better for the environment because they can be replenished over time and enable a move away from fossil fuel–based materials.Speaking of plant-based materials, Tetra Pak even offers some polymers for caps and package coatings made from Bonsucro-certified sugarcane instead of fossil fuel-based sources.Food and beverage cartons are also recyclable and can be turned into paper products and green building material. You can check out details about carton recycling where you live at RecycleCartons.com.Learn more about Tetra Pak’s safe, convenient packaging solutions to help make your life easier at Tetrapakusa.com.