09/07/09 Petaluma Poultry, the country’s first and largest organic free range chicken company, introduces new tray-less packaging for their popular all-natural Rocky The Range Chicken and Rosie Organic Chicken.

The new packaging eliminates the Styrofoam tray in favor of freezer-safe leak resistant plastic. Petaluma Poultry will be phasing in the new packaging starting with their most popular cut, boneless skinless chicken breasts, available at many Whole Foods locations in California beginning in early July and at other Natural Retailer locations where the brand is sold.

“Our tray-less packaging reduces our overall packaging volume by 73%,” said John Bogert, CMO of Coleman Natural Foods, parent company of Petaluma Poultry. “2.5 million tons of non-recyclable chemical compounds found in Styrofoam end up in landfills each year; removing styrofoam from our packaging results in 73% less volume of waste in the landfill and makes sense for our consumers, our retailers and the environment.”

With Petaluma Poultry’s tray-less packaging, 25% more items can fit into a shipping box, reducing the amount of cardboard – and fuel required for transport – for a smaller carbon footprint. “We have been practicing sustainable and environmentally sound farming practices for many years and are proud to introduce packaging that reflects our core principles as a company,” added Bogert. “We look forward to phasing in more environmentally conscious packaging across both our Petaluma Poultry and Coleman Natural brands over the months ahead.”

The new tray-less packaging can also be seen on the Coleman Organic brand in select Costco locations on the West Coast as well. This rollout began in mid June.