A sustainable future: the role of supermarket food waste
The research team Francesca Goodman-Smith MSc Candidate Assoc. Prof. Sheila Skeaff Human Nutrition Dr. Miranda Mirosa Food Science Disclosure We have no actual or potential conflicts that are likely to bias this research
Target SDG 12.3: By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses 1 Measure What gets measured gets managed Act Targeted waste reduction interventions 1 https://champions123.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/champions-123-sdg-target-123-2017-progress-report.pdf
Food waste throughout the supply chain (developed countries) Production 17-23% Postharvest, handling and storage Processing and packaging Distribution and retail 6-12% 5-9% 7-9% Consumer 52-61% Sourced from: http://www.wri.org/sites/default/files/reducing_food_loss_and_waste.pdf
Target Global perspective on the issue No food safe for human consumption will go to waste by end of 2017 (Tesco, UK) Measure WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) EU Fusions Tesco Act Inglorious Fruit and Vegetable Campaign (France) Laws to encourage food waste diversion(france and Italy)
Definition of food waste Food waste is any food, and inedible parts of food, removed from the food supply chain to be recovered or disposed - EU Fusions 1 https://www.eu-fusions.org/index.php/about-food-waste/280-food-waste-definition
Standard protocol Document 1 Document 2 http://flwprotocol.org/ https://www.eu-fusions.org/
Study aims To quantify retail food waste in New Zealand using standard definitions and protocol, and to understand the key motivators and barriers to food waste reduction in this sector. Target Measure Act
The study population - retailers Total Population Supermarkets (n=444) Study population Supermarkets (n=377) Progressive Enterprises Countdown (n= 184) Fresh Choice (n=27) Super Value (n=40) Foodstuffs New World (n=137) PAK n SAVE (n=56) Included Countdown New World PAK n SAVE Excluded Fresh Choice Super Value
Stores recruited (n=16) Auckland (n=4) Wellington (n=4) Christchurch (n=4) Dunedin (n=4)
Methodology Observational study design: 1. Onsite food waste audits (Quantitative) 2. Semi-structured interviews with key retail staff (Qualitative) 3. Analysis of existing retail food waste data (Quantitative)
Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), UK
Definitions Retail food waste: Food that prematurely exits the food supply chain (landfill, compost, protein reprocessing). Retail food diversion: Food that does not serve it s original purpose, to be sold to customers, but remains within the food supply chain (food donation and animal feed). [Both retail food waste and retail food diversion include the edible and associated inedible parts of food that is wasted or diverted]. Edible food waste and diversion: Wasted or diverted product that was intended to be sold. Inedible food waste and diversion: Wasted product that was not intended for human consumption (e.g. trimmings).
Results Food waste generated over a 24 hour period was weighed in each store. Of the 16 stores audited, complete data was obtained for 11 stores, our estimates are based on these 11 stores. Five stores were excluded due to: omissing data for landfill waste stream (n=1) ooffsite protein processing (n=4)
Results 1. Food waste and diversion destination 2. Food waste and diversion category 3. Semi-structured interviews with key supermarket staff
Percentage of total retail food waste and food diversion by destination (n=11) 1 Food donation 15% Compost 1% Protein reprocessing 15% Animal feed [PERCENTAGE] Landfill 23% 1 Estimates are based on total waste (edible food waste and associated inedible components)
Results 1. Food waste and diversion destination 2. Food waste and diversion category 3. Semi-structured interviews with key supermarket staff
Percentage of total retail food waste and food diversion by product category (n=11) 1 Dairy 6% Drinks (non-dairy) 2% Staple foods 4% All other food categories 2% Vegetables 27% Fruit 17% Meat and fish 19% Bakery 23% 1 Estimates are based on total waste (edible food waste and associated inedible components)
Distribution (weight) of food category to food waste or diversion destination (n=11) 1 Compost Protein reprocessing 100% Food donation 13% 23% 53% Landfill 21% 21% 23% Animal Pig farmer feed 30% 47% 22% 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 WEIGHT (KG) Fresh fruit Fresh Vegetables Meat and fish Bakery Dairy Staple foods Drinks (non-dairy) All other categories 1 Estimates are based on total waste (edible food waste and associated inedible components)
Most common food categories sent to landfill 1 Dairy Bakery Meat and fish 23% 21% 21% 1 Estimates are based on total waste (edible food waste and associated inedible components)
Comparisons to European retail sector (Food waste sent to landfill, protein preprocessing and compost) Mean for retail food waste in New Zealand 1 Mean retail food waste in EU28 2 Total food waste per annum 3 (t) 23,300 1,675,700 Food waste per capita 4 (kg/person/year) 5 9 (4-30) 5 1 Scaled using data from the present study, excluding food donation and food to animal feed 2 EU Fusions Estimates of European Food Waste Levels 3 Edible and inedible components of food included 4 Estimated using census data 5 Mean (range)
Comparisons to NZ household sector (Food waste sent to landfill only) Mean for retail food waste to landfill in New Zealand 1 Mean household food waste in New Zealand 2 Total food waste to landfill per annum (t) 14,000 122,500 Food waste to landfill per capita 3 (kg/person/year) 3 29 1 Scaled using data from the present study for landfill waste only 2 WasteMINZ National Food Waste Prevention Project 3 Estimated using census data
Results 1. Food waste and diversion destination 2. Food waste and diversion category 3. Semi-structured interviews with key supermarket staff
Word Cloud for Motivators
Top 4 motivators for further food waste reduction (n=16) Protect the environment Increase profitability Caring for community Frequency (n) 1 22 18 14 Illustrative quote Doing the right thing by the environment, that s a hugely important thing in terms of seeing what s going to happen moving forward. If you don t have any wasted product then it s not coming off your bottom line. I too am a citizen of this planet, I care, my team do care, we actually take a lot of pride in how much we divert. Doing the right thing 11 We are morally obliged to do the right thing. 1 Frequency that theme was articulated across the entire data set
Word Cloud for Barriers
Top 4 barriers to further food waste reduction (n=16) Theme Frequency (n) 1 Illustrative quote Training and educating people 30 People being on board and making sure that we are doing it for the right reasons, it s not just about making money, it s about our environment as well. Food safety 22 Obviously we don t want people hurt, but we could be a headline as well. Quality standards 18 Having the 100% quality factor. Diversion avenues and capacity 17 Willingness of people to actually take product off us. 1 Frequency that theme was articulated across the entire data set
Key take home messages 77% of total food that is not sold in supermarkets is diverted from landfill Of the 23% of waste that goes to landfill the major areas for reduction focus are bakery, meat and fish and dairy Almost 50% of all food that is not sold in supermarkets goes to feed animals Supermarket staff are motivated by financial and non-financial motivators for action One targeted intervention that could be implemented is a food waste specific training programme for supermarket employees
Next steps Target Measure Act Reduce the amount of food waste produced, and divert what is still produced away from landfill