We’re the first to admit it, the use of plastic packaging for our products is not ideal at all and it frustrates us a lot.
The reasons for it are that packing legumes in plastic before fermentation helps make the fermentation process more accurate (in terms of the oxygen levels, temperature, humidity etc.), which then makes it a more efficient and reliable way to produce tempeh. This reduces the chances of any tempeh getting wasted.
It is possible to produce tempeh without the use of plastic, but it is a lot harder and opens up the possibility of spoilage and an inconsistent quality of products. This being said, we are always working on improving our production process and have plans to implement better practices with less plastic involved in the near future.
Additionally, after being fermented, tempeh needs to be vacuum packed to halt the fermentation process continuing. Otherwise, it would keep interacting with the oxygen in the air, happily fermenting away until it eventually spoils (tempeh is very tricky business).
So, to extend tempeh’s shelf-life, reduce the likelihood of any spoilage and make it suitable for wider distribution, the use of plastic packaging is, unfortunately, currently necessary.