We know that food production has a significant impact on our environment, but it's even worse when the products are thrown away without any benefit at all..
Food waste is food that is thrown away even though it could have been eaten if it had been handled differently. At the consumer level, it can be leftover food that is not used before it is considered to be too old, and at the retail level it is goods with a short expiry date that are not sold.
Research on food waste
The SLU Future Food* research platform has published a policy brief with recommendations for reducing food waste.
"I have been researching food waste for many years, but it is only now that the area is getting the attention it needs to solve the problem," says Ingrid Strid, who wrote the recommendations with the help of her colleagues.
Among other things, it considers that it should be investigated whether best-before labels can be replaced by production dates only and/or educate people about the meaning of labels, food assessments and the consequences of food waste. They also want to challenge the fresh food standard and prioritize animal waste.
Best-before date
The 'Best before' label is considered misleading and a major contributor to food waste. It should therefore be investigated whether the label should be abolished completely and replaced with production dates for those foods where there is no risk of deteriorating food safety. At the same time, it is not the label itself that is at fault, but how it is interpreted. A public education campaign could be a way to increase the level of knowledge among consumers.
Prioritizing animal food waste
Production volumes of plant products are about five times larger than animal products, including those used as animal feed. However, animal products have a greater climate and environmental impact, which means that it is more effective to reduce waste of animal products.
Animal waste can and should also be reduced by reducing the consumption of animal products. Each kilogram of meat saved is a much greater gain than an equivalent kilogram of potatoes.
Challenging the fresh produce standard
If more food is distributed frozen, dried or otherwise preserved, it would very likely reduce waste. In this context, the fresh food norm needs to be challenged. It is hoped that consumers will learn to accept, for example, frozen food for those items where it makes environmental sense.
Reducing waste in shops
The Trade Council describes several measures to reduce food waste at the retail level. The proposed measures are based on a study, "Reduced food waste in grocery stores - measures and their effects on the economy and the environment", also led by researcher Ingrid Strid.
Vegetable fridge with doors
Fruits and vegetables have a longer shelf life if they are stored at a lower temperature than the rest of the store.
Preparation of food
Shops can use goods that would otherwise be thrown away as raw material for ready-made meals, which are then sold to customers.
Keeping things in order
Stores that have good control of their stock and their store keep waste down, as they are more likely to notice goods that are approaching their expiry date.
Exposure and price reduction
By displaying goods at risk of waste, shops can sell them before they go bad. Reducing the price is another way to sell items that are at risk of being thrown away.
Packaging and quantity discounts
Packaging should be appropriate and protect the product. It is also important not to be too generous with quantity discounts and large packaging as this risks shifting food waste to households instead.
Customer communication
Awareness raising measures are needed across the board, including communication with customers, to reduce waste in shops (and in households for that matter).
Read the full policy brief from SLU with the researchers' recommendations here.
*SLU Future Food is a research platform at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) that coordinates research and collaboration to develop an economically, ecologically and socially sustainable food system.
Deligate
At Deligate, we offer tools that make it difficult to make mistakes. With the help of our services, the store gets total control over all expiration dates. This gives them a much better chance of selling their products on time and avoiding unnecessary waste.
We offer three different solutions to help you where you need it most: Deligate shop, Deligate deli and MyPrint.
In the first month, our customers report that they have saved time, reduced their food waste and that customer complaints about "expired" products have decreased significantly.
