November 12, 2021

One third of all food is lost or wasted. How can food manufacturers be a part of changing that?

The world’s farmers produce enough food to feed everyone on the planet. So why hasn’t world hunger been eliminated? A big reason is that a third of all food is lost or wasted. Food loss is mainly caused by inefficient production practices and food being grown but not properly preserved. Food waste, on the other hand, is largely driven by consumers and retailers as a result of short shelf life and unsustainable consumption practices.
 
Reducing and preventing food loss and waste is not easy – but it is increasingly important with the environmental challenges we are facing and the global population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050We need to look at entire food systems and work together to tackle every step of the value chain by supporting solutions that encourage sustainable production, processing, packaging, distribution, and consumption of food.
 

“We need to look at entire food systems and work together to tackle every step of the value chain.”


Setting food loss and waste reduction targets

A good place to start is to set concrete food loss and waste reduction targets, either specific or ones that go across the full value chain. The European Union, for example, wants to reduce food loss and waste by 50 percent by 2050. At Tetra Pak, we set targets to reduce water and energy use for every solution development we undertake, and it actually helps us achieve more than we thought was possible. Our OneStep technology, for example, has helped one of China's largest milk producers cut water use by 30 to 50 percent in five years and reduce energy consumption by almost 40 percent.


Improving factories and plants 

With the right food processing solution factories and plants can use the whole product when manufacturing products, and thereby upcycle production waste. For instance, when producing soy milk and tofu, a part of the puréed soybeans is usually discarded. Together with customers, we have developed a whole bean processing solution to capture this unwanted material and turn it into high-value ingredients. First, soya beans are ground to a soya base. After this, fibrous residue (okara) is separated from the soya base. This not only eliminates waste – the reuse of okara also means a creamier end product can be achieved.

“Together with customers, we have developed a whole bean processing solution to capture unwanted material and turn it into high-value ingredients.”

 

Improving storage and packaging  

Much food is lost at farm-level when crops become infested or during transportation. Simple measures such as transporting packaged food in crates instead of bags can help reduce the amount of food that is bruised or ruined, which means it is less likely to be discarded and wasted. At the other end of the value chain, food loss and waste can be reduced by prolonging the shelf life of products with processing solutions such as pasteurisation and UHT treatment combined with innovative packaging such as aseptic packages.

Engaging consumers 

More than three quarters of consumers (77%) now consider food waste a problem (Tetra Pak Index 2020, page 21), but much waste occurs at the hands of consumers. By informing and inspiring consumers about what they can do, about product quality and shelf life, more food can be saved. Consumer perception of products is also important. In some countries, for example, pasteurised milk is seen as more fresh than UHT (ultra-high temperature) treated milk. However, pasteurisation and UHT are simply different heat treatments that have different influence on product taste. UHT milk has a longer shelf life and a lower carbon footprint because it does not require a cold chain and will help retailers and consumers lower food waste.

“By informing and inspiring consumers about what they can do, about product quality and shelf life, more food can be saved.”

There is enough food for the whole world, but it is not always distributed effectively. We are trying to change that by being part of initiatives such as School Feeding Programmes all around the world. By working together across food systems, we can make sure that everyone, everywhere gets access to safe and nutritional food.
 
As a world leader in food processing and packaging, we are committed to play our part in transforming the world’s food systems together with customers, governments, partners, and non-governmental organisations. Only through effective coordination, a common vision, and an agreed plan can food loss and waste be properly reduced and prevented at national and local levels while working to increase sustainability and providing food for a growing population. 

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