| 1. |
- Verghese, Karli, et al.
(författare)
-
Districts, Lifestyles and Avoiding Food Waste : Prepared for Banyule City Council. Version 6.0
- 2014
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Food waste occurs at all stages of the food supply chain and in developed countries around 40% of all food intended for human consumption is estimated to end up as waste. Food waste is a significant concern for local government (Councils), as it comprises up to 50% of municipal waste bins. In Australia it is estimated that households throw out 2.7 million tonnes of food into landfill. Food waste occurs through everyday practices of buying, cooking and storing. To reduce food waste, it has been suggested that these everyday practices may need to be shifted. Therefore understanding food waste is less about what is being put in the bin, and more about the upstream practices that are being performed that generate the waste. The study investigated practices relating to the purchase, storage, preparation and disposal of food, over one week, in twenty-four households within three key districts in Banyule City Council (Ivanhoe, West Heidelberg and Greensborough) in order to gain insights to develop targeted programs to strategically reduce food waste across municipalities. Households were recruited through Banyule City Council via a range of mediums (i.e., newspaper, the waste education networks and social media) and participated through a mix of face to face interviews and completion of a household food and food waste diary and data collection kit over one week in 2013.The distributed paper-based data collection kit consisted of a household food and food waste diary with 6 key exercises including: how they shop for food; auditing of food in the kitchen, pantry and fridge; what is cooked and what is not eaten through day 2-6; follow up audit of uneaten food on day 7; reflection; and changes they will make. The project’s success can be measured in a) the development of a food and food waste diary questionnaire and research kit; b) the engagement of 24 households; c) the level of detail in completed diaries; and d) the interest from other municipalities in the study’s findings at a post-project workshop. Data was collected under fresh fruit and vegetables, processed fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, pre-prepared meals, take away meals and home grown food. Similar insights and trends from this study have also been observed as per studies in other advanced economies regarding food categories wasted (vegetables, fruit, prepared meals and breads and cereals); and reasons for food waste (‘forgot about item it looks or smells spoiled’, ‘it’s now out of date’, ‘didn’t get around to eating and its spoilt’, ‘didn’t eat left overs’). The ‘hands-on’ approach (the actual observation of waste and recording) had a positive impact upon many of the households. Providing residents with the ability to observe; record and report their daily activities, practices and actions around food planning, procurement, storage, cooking and eating may be beneficial (e.g., in accessible ways such as online, web-application (app), hard copy). There appeared little to no difference between socioeconomic groups thus suggesting that there is little evidence for communicating in different ways. Planning of meals is crucial to reducing food waste. Education programs should emphasize this including not falling into the trap of purchasing store specials or buying extra when it is not needed.
|
|
| 2. |
- Verghese, Karli, et al.
(författare)
-
Packaging's Role in Minimizing Food Loss and Waste Across the Supply Chain
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Packaging technology & science. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 0894-3214 .- 1099-1522. ; 28:7, s. 603-620
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper presents the results of Australian research that explored the role of packaging in minimizing food waste in the supply chain. The economic, social and environmental costs of food waste have been well documented elsewhere. This research contributes to the debate by identifying opportunities to reduce or recover food loss and waste through improved packaging. In the fresh produce sector, e.g. waste can be reduced through the use of packaging that improves product protection, ventilation and temperature control. Other opportunities include improved design of distribution packaging to reduce damage in transport and handling; design of primary packaging to reduce waste in the home, e.g. through appropriate portion sizes and by reducing confusion over date labels; and the use of retail-ready packaging that minimizes handling and improves stock rotation in stores. An important conclusion of the study is that packaging can have a significant impact on reducing food waste in the food supply chain; and in some cases, a focus on reducing food waste will require more rather than less packaging. Packaging developers must therefore consider the product and its packaging as a complete system to optimize sustainability. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
|
|
| 3. |
- Verghese, Karli, et al.
(författare)
-
The role of packaging in minimising food waste in the supply chain of the future : Prepared for: CHEP Australia
- 2013
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Food security is an emerging challenge for policy makers and companies in the food supply chain. The global population is expected to grow to 9 billion and demand for food by 77% by 2050. Over the same period food production will be under threat from climate change, competing land uses, erosion and diminishing supplies of clean water. One of the solutions to this dilemma is increased efficiency and waste reduction in the food supply chain.This report focuses on packaging opportunities that may help to reduce or recover food waste. Packaging has a vital role to play in containing and protecting food as it moves through the supply chain to the consumer. It already reduces food waste in transport and storage, and innovations in packaging materials, design and labelling provide new opportunities to improve efficiencies. Product protection needs to be the primary goal for packaging sustainability, and sometimes this requires trade-offs between packaging and food waste.The report draws on an international literature review and interviews with representatives from 15 organisations in the Australian food and packaging supply chain. It considers food waste along the entire food supply chain, but with a particular emphasis on food waste that occurs prior to consumption, i.e. during agriculture production, post-harvest handling and storage of raw materials, and in the commercial and industrial (C&I) sector consisting of food manufacturing, wholesale trade, food retail and distribution and food services. Food rescue through charities is also a focus of the report.Over 4.2 million tonnes of food waste is disposed to landfill in Australia each year. Around 1.5 million tonnes of this is from the commercial and industrial sector (the focus of this report), costing around $10.5 billion in waste disposal charges and lost product. The largest single contributor in the commercial and industrial sector is food service activities (e.g., cafes, restaurants, fast food outlets), which generate 661,000 tonnes of food waste per year, followed by food manufacturing (312,000 tonnes) and food retail (179,000 tonnes). Most waste in food manufacturing is unavoidable, and almost 90% is already recovered as animal feed, compost or energy.The reasons for food loss and waste at each stage of the supply chain include:Agricultural production: damage from pests and disease; unpredictable weather conditions; not meeting quality specificationsPost-harvest handling and storage: not meeting specifications for quality and/or appearance; pest damage; spillage and degradationProcessing and packaging: trimmings and other food preparation waste; production line start up; batch mistakes; inadequate remaining shelf lifeDistribution (wholesale and retail): damage in transit/storage due to packaging failures; product spoilage; fresh produce not meeting specifications or damaged during handling; inadequate remaining shelf life due to poor stock rotation or low salesFood service: trimmings and other food preparation waste; poor inventory management (e.g. over-ordering); improper food handling; confusion over use-by and best-before dates; plate leftoversAt home: trimmings and other food preparation waste; food spoilage; preparing too much food; past use-by or best-before dates; plate leftovers.A number of opportunities to reduce food waste through packaging improvements were identified, including:1) Distribution packaging that provides better protection and shelf life for fresh produce as it moves from the farm to the processor, wholesaler or retailer. This may require the development of tailored solutions for individual products.2) Distribution packaging that supports recovery of surplus and unsaleable fresh produce from farms and redirects it to food rescue organisations.3) Improved design of secondary packaging to ensure that it is fit-for-purpose, i.e. that it adequately protects food products as they move through the supply chain. Packaging developers need to understand the distribution process and where and why waste occurs.4) A continuing shift to pre-packed and processed foods to extend the shelf life of food products and reduce waste in distribution and at the point of consumption (the home or food services provider). The packaging itself also needs to be recoverable to minimise overall environmental impacts.5) Adoption of new packaging materials and technologies, such as modified atmosphere packaging and oxygen scavengers, to extend the shelf life of food6) Education of manufacturers, retailers and consumers about the meaning of use-by and best- before date marks on primary packaging to ensure that these are used appropriately. Confusion about date marking results in food being thrown away when it is still safe to eat7) Product and packaging development to cater for changing consumption patterns and smaller households. Single and smaller serve products will reduce waste by meeting the needs of single and two person households.8) Collaboration between manufacturers and retailers to improve the industry’s understanding of food waste in the supply chain. Greater attention to be given to where and why this occurs, tracking over time, will reduce the costs and environmental impacts of waste.9) More synchronised supply chains that use intelligent packaging and data sharing to reduce excess or out-of-date stock.10) Increased use of retail ready packaging to reduce double handling and damage and improve stock turnover, while ensuring that it is designed for effective product protection and recoverability (reuse or recycling) at end of life.The implementation of these initiatives could be supported by further research and communication activities to highlight the critical links and trade-offs between packaging, product protection and food waste. Study recommendations include:Detailed analysis of food waste using direct observations and sampling at key aggregation points, such as post-harvest grading, sorting and packing. The reasons for waste would be documented and analysed to identify opportunities for improvement.Collaborative research into the potential for packaging systems to be improved to reduce food waste in specific food supply chains. Agricultural products and processed food items could be selected based on their contribution to the economy, unit sales value, environmental impact, or waste volumes in the supply chain.Analysis of food waste in different food service premises (e.g., hotel, café, restaurant, take away) to identify opportunities for packaging innovation and increased food recovery.Life cycle assessment of primary packaging formats (e.g., modified atmosphere packaging) that extend shelf life to better understand the trade-offs between packaging use and food waste generation.Life cycle assessment of packaging formats (e.g., single serves, bulk packaging) to understand their impact on product protection and food waste.Education and communication to raise awareness and educate stakeholders in the food and packaging supply chain on opportunities to further reduce food waste through packaging innovation.Education and communication to improve consumer understanding of the role that packaging can play in keeping a product safe and fresh.
|
|
| 4. |
- Wikström, Fredrik, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
-
Packaging Strategies That Save Food : A Research Agenda for 2030
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Industrial Ecology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1088-1980 .- 1530-9290. ; 23:3, s. 532-540
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Summary Thoroughly considering and optimizing packaging systems can avoid food loss and waste. We suggest a number of issues that must be explored and review the associated challenges. Five main issues were recognized through the extensive experience of the authors and engagement of multiple stakeholders. The issues promoted are classified as follows: (1) identify and obtain specific data of packaging functions that influence food waste; (2) understand the total environmental burden of product/package by considering the trade‐off between product protection and preservation and environmental footprint; (3) develop understanding of how these functions should be treated in environmental footprint evaluations; (4) improve packaging design processes to also consider reducing food waste; and (5) analyze stakeholder incentives to reduce food loss and waste. Packaging measures that save food will be important to fulfill the United Nations Sustainable Development goal to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Wikström, Fredrik, 1964-, et al.
(författare)
-
The influence of packaging attributes on consumer behaviour in food-packaging life cycle assessment studies - a neglected topic
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier. - 0959-6526 .- 1879-1786. ; 73, s. 100-108
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The role of packaging systems to reduce food waste is rarely modelled in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. This means that a packaging system format with a lower environmental impact that causes high food waste, may appear to be a better alternative than a packaging system with a higher environmental impact that reduces food waste. This can be contradictory to the purpose of using LCA to reduce overall environmental impacts, because food generally has a higher environmental impact than the packaging system. This paper highlights packaging attributes that may influence food waste, and demonstrates via six packaging scenarios how the environmental impact for the functional unit of “eaten food” can be calculated when food waste is included. The results show that the function of “avoiding food waste” is a critical packaging issue. The connection between packaging design and food waste should be acknowledged and valued by relevant stakeholders such as: food producers, manufacturers, brand owners, retailers and consumers, and also in packaging regulations. To fully explore the potential for packaging systems to reduce their overall environmental impact, food waste should be included.
|
|
| 7. |
- Williams, Helén, et al.
(författare)
-
The greenhouse gas profile of a “Hungry Planet”; quantifying the impacts of the weekly food purchases including associated packaging and food waste of three families
- 2014
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) have estimated that 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted across the supply chain, while food security emerges as one of the leading challenges facing a growing global population. Life cycle assessment (LCA) can illustrate the environmental implications of food production, consumption and waste. In 2005, Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio presented a photographic study in “Hungry Planet – What the World Eats” documenting what thirty families across twenty-four countries ate during the course of one week. The weekly food purchasing inventories of three of these families have been combined with LCA data to report the greenhouse gas intensity of these food purchases. The greenhouse gas emission profile including those of 128 varieties of fresh food, along with data on packaging material production and household food waste, have been used in the calculations. The paper will present the findings illustrating the contribution each component has: food, packaging and food waste; and will also discuss the implications for food packaging design.
|
|
