January 1, 2019
Companies
Food Distributor’s Program Moves Ugly Produce To Restaurants Rather Than Landfills
One of America’s largest fresh food distributors is showing chefs and restaurants that “imperfect” produce – fruits and vegetables that don’t meet aesthetics and size requirements – has real value. Baldor Specialty Foods’ Imperfect Produce program allows farmers sell these commodities to chefs, and directly to the public through community-supported agriculture (CSA) models. An estimated 24.7 percent of on-farm produce waste occurs because of disposal of imperfect produce.[Image Credit: © Baldor Specialty Foods]
Celebrity Chef Teaches Whirlpool Employees How To Cut Down On Food Waste
Joel Gamoran, a national chef with Sur La Table and the host of a cooking show called "Scraps," recently gave a cooking demonstration for employees at the global headquarters of Whirlpool Corp. Michigan. His mission was to show his audience how common household foods normally tossed in a garbage disposal can be used to create nutritious meals. He pointed out that Americans waste $319 billion worth of food every year while one out of eight people go to bed hungry. For his TV shows he partners with food waste champions around the U.S. to celebrate the local cuisine and create a delicious meal with food items many consider to be waste, like banana peels, shrimp shells, chicken bones, and carrot stems. The program is sponsored by Whirlpool’s KitchenAid brand, so he uses the brand's stand mixers, food processors, and blenders throughout his travels.[Image Credit: © Whirlpool Corporation]
Blockchain Technology Improves Walmart’s Food Safety, Reduces Food Loss
Walmart is using blockchain technology to help track and manage the chaotic and decentralized food supply system comprising producers, suppliers, and intermediaries such as processors that change constantly. Blockchain technology, like the food system, is based on a decentralized and distributed model that fits the modern food system perfectly. Each player in the network can update data, but also stops them from entering false data or making false changes. The speed with which blockchain enables companies to trace products and problems back to the source means improved food safety and less economic loss, and reduced food waste. It quickly and accurately identifies the source of a problem so that only impacted products are recalled or removed, rather than everything in the category.[Image Credit: © Tumisu from Pixabay]
Nonprofit Certifies Food Trucks For Green Disposal Practices
North Carolina-based nonprofit Don’t Waste Durham has developed a green food truck certification program to help vendors – who crank out hundreds to a thousand or so meals a day and mega volumes of wasted food and packaging – reduce their carbon footprint. Businesses are checked on use of reusable service ware or compostable materials, and serving on recyclable supplies when reusable and compostable are not options. Vendors learn of local foodservice suppliers, are hooked up with compost haulers and taught how to cut costs and waste. They get discounts for supplies, affordable pickup service and priority bookings at venues.[Image Credit: © Don't Waste Durham]
Start-Ups Targeting Food Waste Get $125M So Far In 2018
ReFED, a nonprofit organization devoted to solving food waste problems, has issued a report revealing that $125 million has been invested by the private sector in food waste start-ups since the beginning of 2018. Investment firms like Andreessen Horowitz, S2G Ventures, Cultivian Sandbox Ventures, and DBL Partners obviously see great potential in the fact that an estimated $218 billion of food is wasted annually. Apeel Sciences ($70 million) produces a natural second skin to extend the shelf life of produce; Food Maven and Full Harvest ($8.5 million each) create B2B marketplaces for excess or wonky food; Spoiler Alert helps businesses better manage unsold food; ReGrained makes a flour out of spent distiller grains; and Goodr offers an on-demand food rescue service. [Image Credit: © ReFED]
Report Covers Novel Food And Beverage Packaging Solutions That Cut Food Waste
A report by Chicago-based research company PreScouter covering food and beverage packaging innovations highlights nine shelf-life extension solutions that could go a long way toward reducing the 1.3 billion tons of food wasted globally each year. The solutions, in various stages of development, include the move toward more natural food- and plant-based additives and packaging. Other solutions feature superior coating materials, novel additives, and putting a new spin on older technologies. Six of the nine solutions have been approved for food use[Image Credit: © PreScouter]
Nashville Mayor Challenges Local Businesses To Cut Holiday Season Food Waste
The mayor of Nashville, Tenn., has partnered with local organizations to challenge restaurants, hotels, and event venues to slash food waste. According to Mayor David Brinley, as many as 100,000 Davidson County residents, including more than 25,000 children, are food-insecure. By responding to the challenge, businesses could have a “meaningful impact” on the lives of many of our residents during the holiday season. Businesses that participate are being asked to select and implement practices from a menu of options to prevent food waste, to donate food and recycle food scraps, and to report on their progress. Organizations joing in the challenge include the Nashville Food Waste Initiative, the Greater Nashville Hospitality Association, and Nashville Originals.[Image Credit: © Natural Resources Defense Council]
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