JD and Sons and Tosca are Now Removing Foam from the Seafood Supply Chain

Atlanta, GA (June 16, 2021) – Tosca, the largest pooler of reusable plastic containers (RPCs) in North America, is now supplying RPCs to New York seafood supplier JD and Sons. This partnership enables JD and Sons to reduce their overall environmental impact by eliminating the use of EPS foam, or expanded polystyrene, in their seafood supply chain.  

JD and Sons has been in search of an innovative solution that will create a more sustainable supply chain without impacting the quality of their product or the efficiency of their supply chain. Tosca’s seafood RPC is one of few secondary packaging solutions that maintains the cold chain, allowing seafood to keep its high quality throughout shipping. By replacing EPS foam with a long-lasting, reusable solution, JD and Sons is reducing their environmental impact without sacrificing proper insulation or their bottom line.  This change has gone into effect in their salmon supply chain, replacing two foam box types with the Seafood 6419. Tosca RPCs are now shipping several salmon SKUs including whole Atlantic Salmon, 10 lb. Atlantic Salmon, Salmon Fillet D-trim, Atlantic Salmon Fillets and Atlantic Salmon 6oz. portions from JD and Sons into a major northeastern retailer. This represents a huge diversion of foam from landfills, including about 71,379 cubic feet of foam in just 2020. 

Ilias Diakomihalis, Owner and President of JD and Sons, is happy to see a more sustainable packaging solution in his supply chain. “Foam has been the industry standard for so long. It is exciting to finally be able to ship product in a container that is better for the environment while maintaining the quality of our products at a lower cost.” 

Foam is commonly used in seafood supply chains for its insulating properties. Unfortunately, foam is damaging to the environment, breaking down into microplastics at the end of its life. Foam is also difficult to dispose of, wasting land resources in landfills while being difficult and costly to recycle.[1] Tosca’s seafood RPCs are more sustainable than foam because they are reusable for hundreds of uses, and when they reach the end of their life, the food grade polypropylene they are made of is recycled to create new RPCs.   

Jon Kalin, Chief Commercial Officer at Tosca, is excited to see RPCs adopted in the seafood supply chain. “We have known about the environmental benefits of RPCs for a while, servicing perishable supply chains such as produce, meat, and eggs for many years. We are excited to offer another container solution to protect seafood, especially when it is replacing EPS foam in the seafood supply chain. This step that JD and Sons is taking to replace foam in their supply chain will dramatically improve their environmental impact, and we are proud to play a part in that process.» 

About Tosca 

Tosca (www.toscaltd.com) is a global leader in reusable packaging solutions and pooling for food supply chains. Our unique end-to-end pooling capabilities offer growers, suppliers, and retailers a smarter way to move their products from source to shelf. With reusable containers and pallets that preserve product quality and reduce shrink and labor cost, we help these customers build higher performing supply chains. 

Tosca’s recent acquisition of Polymer Logistics and Contraload now creates one stronger partner with expanded global reach and a more robust product portfolio of reusable asset including crates, pallets, bulk containers, dollies and more, capable of serving both upstream and downstream markets. 

For more information visit: www.toscaltd.com. 

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[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878029612005610