More meaningful initiatives to tackle food waste urgently needed, flags new report

A new DNV survey into food waste highlights a major gap between awareness and taking robust action to tackle the crisis, which continues to considerably impact the F&B industry at the manufacturing, retail, and consumer levels. 

The survey — conducted across 375 companies in Europe, the Americas and Asia — reveals that although six out of ten (60%) of F&B firms recognize food loss and waste as a significant issue, less than a quarter (24%) consider it a high priority for the company’s corporate strategic agenda.

Simultaneously, 85% of F&B businesses report taking some form of action on the issue, but often, companies admit they are only at the beginning of anti food waste and loss initiatives because they are more focused on operational matters.

Only 44% have formalized systems in place to manage food loss and waste. However, only 40% report on it publicly.

For the survey, food loss and waste were defined as any food and/or associated inedible parts (excluding packaging material) removed from a company’s direct food supply chain, covering food like ingredients, additives, drinks, and pet food that is intended for humans and animals. 

“Food loss and waste represent both a sustainability challenge and a missed business opportunity. Our findings suggest that although companies acknowledge the scale of the issue, but many are still at the beginning of their journey toward more effective, system-wide, structured solutions,” says Barbara Frencia, CEO for business assurance in DNV. 

Reasons for food loss and waste

According to the UN Environment Programme, over one billion metric tons of food were wasted globally in 2022. Food loss and waste also contribute to nearly 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, according to the World Food Programme.

The reasons behind food loss and waste are complex. Companies cite multiple and diverse causes, from process inefficiencies and human error to shelf life limitations and overproduction. 

Despite this, 43% believe that more than 10% of unavoidable food loss and waste could be redirected for other uses. However, only 19% are currently doing so.

The survey highlights a “collective opportunity” for the industry to do more to tackle food loss and waste, stressing that it is both a sustainability issue and a financial concern for businesses.

Standards for minimizing food waste

According to the survey, less than a third of companies are aware of the upcoming ISO 20001 management system standard, which is designed to guide organizations in minimizing food loss and waste across the supply chain.

The standard is expected to be released in 2027 and will be the first ISO management system standard to address food loss and waste, helping organizations integrate reduction measures into their existing systems.

“There is a clear business case for taking decisive action on food loss and waste in order to reduce cost and contribute to feeding the planet at the same time. A structured approach, reliable data and best-practice standards are key for companies to turn their intentions into measurable impact,” says Frencia. 

According to the report, among the companies that have implemented key performance indicators, the primary focus areas are production efficiency (41%), quality and safety (39%), and food loss and waste reduction (33%). These focus areas reflect the main barriers companies report, which include a lack of awareness, insufficient education, and the challenge of balancing food safety requirements with waste reduction efforts.

“Most companies do something to reduce their food loss and waste (85%), which indicates a strong recognition of the issue and commitment to address it. Considering the amount of food being lost or wasted and the fact that the majority of respondents indicate that a significant share of this could be avoided, the current effectiveness of some of those actions taken to avoid, reduce, or repurpose food loss and waste can be questioned,” notes the report.

“There seems to be significant room to further advance actions to reduce food loss and waste in many companies.”

While more robust action is needed to limit food waste and loss in the food supply chain, many companies and organizations are putting anti-food loss initiatives at the heart of business planning. 

On “Stop Food Waste Day,” last month, Adam Adamek, director of Innovation at EIT Food, spoke to us about F&B companies who are coming up with innovative solutions as well as regulations surrounding food waste.

Also in April, Mary Joe Fernandez, global VP of sales and business development at Layn Natural Ingredients, detailed the company’s myriad of shelf life solutions that bolster demand for shorter ingredient lists and emerging technologies in the food preservation space set to transform the industry.

The EU is on track to set legally binding food waste reduction targets to be achieved by member states by 2030. The EU generates more than 59 million metric tons of food waste annually, representing an estimated loss of €132 billion (US$138 billion).