Reducing food loss and waste

What if food was never lost or wasted?

With the right food processing and packaging solutions, we can help prevent food loss and waste. By increasing the efficiency of how the raw materials are handled and how the food is processed, more will be processed and packaged instead of being discarded. Through the right packaging solutions, we can ensure that food is safely packaged and increase shelf life so it can reach consumers in remote areas.

Technologies that improve shelf life and increase efficiencies

How to reduce food loss and waste

Even though they are often seen as one problem, food loss and food waste are two separate issues. Food loss is mainly caused by food not being efficiently grown, processed and preserved, whereas food waste is driven by the short shelf life of packaged food during distribution and retail stages as well as unsustainable consumption practices. 

More than three-quarters of consumers (77%) now see food waste as a concern – and limiting it is seen as one of the top three priorities for food manufacturers. Many manufacturers (and retailers) are aware of the importance of this issue and have already set food waste reduction targets⁴. The UN is also addressing food loss and waste through its Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production). The UN also introduced an annual International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, observed for the first time on 29 September 2020.

Increasing efficiencies to reduce food loss

Our solutions can play a role in giving more people access to safe food. Our packaging protects food without the need for preservatives, additives or refrigeration, helping make safe, nutritious and flavoursome products available to more of the world’s rapidly growing population, even in remote areas with no cold chain. And through system-wide collaboration with our customers and stakeholders, we commit to ensuring millions more people have access to safe food.

Minimising food loss is also at the heart of some of our collaborative work. With the Dairy Hub model, for instance, we have helped 54,000 smallholder farmers in 10 countries to expand their yield per cow by providing technical support and on-farm training. By linking them to customers, they get access to local dairy processors preventing food loss along the value chain. The benefits are significant for the whole community. While customers get access to an increased supply of locally produced milk, farmers enjoy higher incomes and better livelihoods.

The right packaging can reduce food waste

Our processing and packaging technologies extend the shelf life of packaged food, protecting the food so it can be transported and stored without refrigeration. The food can reach consumers in remote areas and can sit on the shelf without refrigeration for significantly longer than non-aseptic packages, helping to reduce the waste of packaged food. Together with our customers, we develop high-performance food processing solutions that minimise food loss and we create food packaging solutions that help consumers reduce food waste. 

Global food systems today account for more than one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions⁵. Our innovative technologies deliver low-waste processes and packaging that prolong the life of food and keep it from spoiling or perishing. This helps ensure food availability while helping to reduce food waste. 

Reducing food loss and waste has long been a part of our sustainability agenda. As we act to Move Food Forward, we will continue to work with customers, governments, stakeholders and NGOs to reduce food loss and waste along the food value chain.