WASHINGTON – This week,
the food industry issued its first-ever analysis of food waste data collected
directly from food manufacturers, retailers and wholesalers. The report found
that food waste generated through manufacturing tends to be unused ingredients,
unfinished product, or trimmings, peels and other unavoidable food waste.
The large volume of food
and relatively few manufacturing sites create economies of scale that allow
manufacturers to recycle waste at a high rate. Conversely, food waste at the
retail level tends to consist of finished products more suitable for donation.
Numerous locations and diverse product offerings make food waste diversion a
significant logistical challenge for many retailers.
The analysis demonstrates
how the industry operating environments are recognizably different, but survey
respondents cited common barriers that prevented them from diverting more food
waste from landfill. Transportation constraints and liability concerns were the
most commonly cited barriers for food donation, while the most frequently
reported obstacle to food recycling was an insufficient number of recycling
options.
“This new data not only
helps us better understand how industry currently is managing food waste, it
gives us a benchmark against which we can measure our progress,” said Susan
Kujava, industry relations director at General Mills and co-chair of the Food
Waste Reduction Alliance (FWRA).
Food donation and
composting were retailers’ and wholesalers’ primary diversion methods
(representing 32% and 43% of diverted food, respectively). Retailers and
wholesalers donated 670 million pounds of safe food that would have otherwise
been disposed. The retail/wholesale sector diverted the majority (55.6%) of
food waste generated from landfills to higher uses.
“The findings uncovered …
are encouraging, but it’s clear we can and must do better when it comes to
reducing food waste,” said Michael Hewett, director of environmental and
sustainability programs for Publix Super Markets and co-chair of the FWRA.
“It’s important to find more ways to keep food and food waste out of landfills,
identify the challenges that prevent us from doing so, and develop responsible
policies to assist in these efforts.”
The study was conducted by
consulting firm BSR and commissioned by the FWRA, a cross-sector industry
initiative led by the Grocery Manufacturers Association, Food Marketing
Institute and National Restaurant Association.
Read more about managing
food waste in convenience stores in the upcoming July “Foodservice” issue of NACS Magazine.