Food Waste

An innovative SME in the UK is developing protein-rich powders from surplus fruit and vegetables, in a bid to bring provenance to the supplements market whilst providing a food waste solution.

FareShare is the UK’s longest running food redistribution charity fighting hunger and food waste across the nation. With the help of 1,500 volunteers, FareShare is able to redistribute good food that would otherwise go to waste to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups that support vulnerable people in over 320 towns and cities. To date, the organisation has donated almost 25,000 tonnes of food to charities providing the equivalent of 57.3 million meals to vulnerable people.

There’s a better end for used food than taking up space in landfills and contributing to global warming.  ​Beneficial bacteria flourished in citrus growing systems treated with fermented waste by-products. UC Riverside scientists have discovered fermented food waste can boost bacteria that increase crop growth,…

When one thinks of the agricultural industry, plastic waste is not the first thing that comes to mind. But the reality is that plastics play key roles in the farming and greenhouse business, leaving behind much waste every year. As an example, just in the United States, the agricultural plastics…

"The U.S. spends $218 billion a year growing, processing, and transporting food that's never eaten. Here, locally, we know that about 40% of the food that's grown or produced is not eaten."

Fresh produce packaging innovators, StePac Ltd. are gaining growing interest in the retail sector for their functional standing pouches. The attractive, high-performance resealable bags are crafted with the company’s proprietary Xgo™ advanced modified atmosphere/modified humidity (MA/MH) technology.…

Today, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced that Enterra Feed Corporation (Enterra) received $6 million under the AgriInnovate Program to help increase the production of sustainable, nutritious products to feed animals while helping to keep food out of landfills.

Growers in Victoria's Lindenow Valley have had to dump $150,000 worth of celery crops. They were simply unable to harvest the vegetables due to a drastic shortage of seasonal workers. The crops have to be picked within a short timeframe to meet supermarket certification, but COVID-19 travel bans have led…

As the population continues to grow and the effects of climate change, global warming, pollution and other factors impact humanity’s ability to grow and provide enough food for itself, the concern that the world could run out of food is increasing.. The COVID-19 pandemic has put more focus on how fragile the food supply chain is and how easy it is to disrupt the process of feeding the world. For years, it has been mostly a topic of discussion. But with so many disruptions, it is now an issue that needs to be acted on. Social groups, civic associations, government bodies and food manufacturers have taken notice of the problem and are attempting to get their hands around the issues. One of the key points in this discussion revolves around the amount of food and food sources that will be needed in the future. It always starts with the same question: “Will there be enough food?” Most people immediately say no. But is that 100% true? This is where the debate between food insecurity and food waste begins.

In a recent study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOUN), it was discovered that approximately 1.6 billion tons of food per year are either lost or wasted globally, resulting in annual losses of US$1.2 trillion. However, food wastage worldwide could be reduced by 20% by…

In Europe, around 30% of all fruit and vegetables are discarded each year just because of their appearance. The team behind Portugal’s FLAW4LIFE project has successfully worked with farmers, consumers, volunteers, and students to cut this waste by 2 600 tonnes. This compares to the annual amount of…

Valstar has launched a video series on its sustainability efforts. Every month, the company shares a new video featuring one of their employees sitting down with a specialist to discuss a new sustainability topic. This month that topic is food waste, and the latest video is now available for viewing!…

Every year in India, it has been estimated about Rs 92,000 crores worth, over 67 million tonnes of food is wasted. In other words, this amount is adequate to feed all of Bihar for a year.

The floods that have ravaged Tabasco this year have strongly impacted the state's banana production. The president of the National Council of the Banana Product System, Adrian Prats Leal, stated that the floods had affected more than 4,500 hectares, 4,000 hectares of which had total losses, which led to…

TELUS, a Canadian communication and information technology company, has expanded into agriculture and food. In addition to telecommunications, the company is also Canada’s largest healthcare IT provider under the name TELUS Health. “We’ve always had a sense of social purpose. With food and beverage…

A National Lost Crop Register enabling horticulture growers around Australia to anonymously record crops that have gone to waste because of a lack of seasonal labour. The National Farmers' Federation Horticulture Council says more than 30 growers have already reported crop losses, worth more than $22…

Dairy Farmers of America helped launch the Farm Powered Strategic Alliance, a coalition of companies hoping to turn food waste into renewable energy and fertilizer.

Full Harvest(R), the business-to-business online marketplace for surplus and imperfect produce, co-announced with Danone North America the launch of Two Good ‘Good Save’ yogurt made with Full Harvest Verified Rescued™ Meyer Lemons. The product line is setting the standard for the emerging rescued foods…

Potato farmers have accused supermarkets of causing food waste by increasing quality requirements of potatoes to 'unattainable levels'. Thomas McKeown of Irish Farmers Association (IFA) has called on all retailers to recognise the work of potato farmers and to consider the economic sustainability of the…

Food waste in America is a big problem with an estimated 30 - 40 percent of our groceries getting tossed out, costing retailers $57 billion each year. To address this issue, X launched a food waste moonshot in search of a smarter food distribution sy...

The organic cycling science leader Re-Nuble closed a $1.1 million seed round. Re-Nuble's core technology upcycles organic compounds from unrecoverable vegetative food waste, generating water-soluble, organic hydroponic nutrients for soilless farms. The invested seed round monies will expand their team,…

A Swedish start-up has developed food labelling technology that offers real-time monitoring of food quality to help reduce waste and alert consumers of spoiled food.

Spar, leading international food retailer with over 13,000 stores worldwide, has today announced a global partnership to tackle food waste with the rapidly growing social impact company Too Good To Go. With a total of 13 overlapping markets, in which 9,000 Spar stores operate, both parties are keen to work together to offer shoppers an innovative digital solution to reduce food waste in participating stores across Europe.

Lytone Enterprise, Inc., New Taipei City, Taiwan, has developed a series of products to extend shelf life of fresh produce that are easy to use, effortless, and highly versatile. The main items include several food-grade products, mostly patent-protected. Lytone is also one of the leading suppliers of…

Australians are well underway to throw out $10.3 billion worth of foodstuffs this year. This waste has been alarming for many years now, but this year, it has been accelerated by the Coronavirus crisis. Each household is expected to throw out $1,043 worth of food in 2020; 12.7 per cent of the food they…

The Upcycled Food Association has published its first ever draft certification standard. It is also in the process of developing a food label for certified products, the UFAâs COO revealed.

Farmers from Granada have destroyed thousands of kilos of cucumbers in Motril because cucumber prices have fallen so much that they are being sold below production costs. The producers' goal is to help regulate cucumber prices.   Source: abc.es

Does your business model prevent or divert food waste in Canada? Apply to Impact Canada's Food Waste Reduction Challenge by January 18th and get the chance to win cash prizes ranging from $100,000 - $1,500,000. Learn more here: bit.ly/2UPjo5M

Today, while speaking at the Arrell Food Summit, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, launched the first two streams of the Government of Canada’s Food Waste Reduction Challenge, part of the Food Policy for Canada.

Spilt Milk

One elusive white whale in the fight against climate change has been carbon capture: tech that could scrub carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, but hasn’t yet been developed at scale.

The trick is finding the right material that can bind to carbon atoms released into the air. Now, scientists from Clarkson University say they’ve found the best one yet — waste milk.

The unpleasant-sounding research, which was published in the journal Advanced Sustainable Systems, could help us control carbon emissions — and prevent the food waste that contributes to them.

Green Carbon

Currently, dairy farms throw away 50 million gallons of perfectly-good surplus milk every year, according to a Clarkson press release on the study. Instead of pouring it down the drain, the scientists found milk to be a cheap source of activated carbons — the porous material that sticks to carbon — which are more environmentally friendly than other sources being explored.