Food Waste Reduction: How Can Technology Help? Andrew Parry Project Manager, WRAP

The main reasons for waste Food gone past use by or best before Tempted by special offers Food visibly gone bad or smells bad Made too much food Not eating food needing to be eaten first Spring clean Trying to buy more fresh food Buying too much Tempted by multi-packs Children / others don t like it 34% 30% 30% 27% 25% 24% 23% Order of concern: 1 Safety 2 Overbuying / offers 3 Overcooking

How can technology help? The main reasons for waste Food gone past use by or best before Tempted by special offers Food visibly gone bad or smells bad Made too much food Not eating food needing to be eaten first Spring clean Trying to buy more fresh food Buying too much Tempted by multi-packs Children / others don t like it 34% 30% 30% 27% 25% 24% 23% Order of concern: 1 Safety 2 Overbuying / offers 3 Overcooking Better planning More focused shopping Increased shelf-life Optimal storage Portion control Use of ingredients Use of leftovers

Examples of internet resources

Help consumers plan, shop & cook On-line list building and meal creation Meal / menu driven online shopping Meal suggestions / alternative menus delivered with on-line shop In-store shopping lists and navigation On-line, mobile phone, in-store High tech vs low tech

Avoidable waste Priority food categories: Fresh meat and fish \ ( 1.7bn \ 317Kt) chilled meat and fish products Fresh fruit and vegetables ( 1.6bn \ 1,211Kt) Chilled ready meals, including pizza ( 820m \ 160Kt) Bread and bakery products ( 777m \ 407Kt) Processed fruit and vegetables ( 671m \ 207Kt) Dairy (excluding milk) ( 456m \ 162Kt) Spreads, dressings and sauces ( 237m \ 84Kt) Source: Defra Family Food & Expenditure Survey (2006) and WRAP / Defra Analysis (2006)

Optimised Packaging - Format Portioning Re-seal \ Re-close

Atmospheric control Optimised Atmosphere Packaging Oxygen Moisture Ethylene Optimised MAP

Optimised Packaging - Materials Antimicrobial UV

Case Study - New sealing technology Integrity Seal jaws fitted to bagging line - 10% less material, - less energy - guaranteed hermetic seal - improved shelf-life -faster line speeds - easier openability - low capital expenditure = good ROI

Helping consumers in store

Food storage labelling \ tools Clear storage information

Helping consumers at home

Intelligent Indicators Ripeness Freshness \ Use-by

Consumer Research (hot off the press!): - Food Storage & Use how sliced meats are normally stored after opening 35 32.5 percentage of respondents 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 in original pack sealed 19.9 all eat en / not applicable 12.9 in original pack unsealed 11.9 wrapped in foil of film 10.3 tupperware or similar 9.4 food/freezer bag 2.2 not kept - thrown away 0.7 0.2 0.1 stored loose unsealed container (eg bowl) ot her

Consumer Research (hot off the press!): - Food Storage & Use time taken to eat sliced meats after opening percentage of respondents 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 21.6 2.1 9.1 not applicable same day 1 day after first use 30.1 2 days after first use 35.9 3 days after first use 1.2 doesn't all get eaten

Consumer Research (hot off the press!): - Food Packaging, Storage & Use relative importance of factors when buying sliced meats taste 1.1 shelf-life pack size 1.6 1.7 total cost 1.8 origin resealable brand cost per kilo organic 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 0 1 2 3 mean scores (1=very important, 2=somewhat important, 3=not important)

Ingredients Processing Packaging Point of Sale In Home

Identification of key technologies, intervention points & barriers to change Technical Logistical Financial Regulatory Consumer behaviour \ perception How can WRAP help?

The Benefits Environment Consumer Financial Convenience Health Quality Retailer \ Manufacturer Differentiation \ added value Increased sales CSR Supply chain \ logistics

Thank you!