FOOD TESTING Cawthron delivers industry leading analytical testing, reliable results and market changing insight. • Method development & validation team • IANZ (ISO) accreditation • GMP certified for Nutraceuticals • Label claims • Food safety • Export certification Ph: +64 3 548 2839 www.cawthron.org.nz FT009 20 APRIL 2016 user-pays. Christchurch hosts the first chapter in New Zealand of Food Not Bombs, established globally in 1980 to recover food that would otherwise be thrown out and provide fresh hot vegan and vegetarian meals served outside in public spaces to anyone wanting them. The organisation runs film nights, markets and special events like Hiroshima Day, and uses discarded food to feed people. ALL of this is cold comfort to John, who estimates he dumpster-dives at least twice a month. And he’s not alone. Last year a group of 40 Whangarei youngsters spent four months eating exclusively from bins, all courtesy of Northland supermarkets, to reveal how the capitalist system has begun to eclipse ethical considerations…the fact that families are going hungry while each day thousands of dollars of food is thrown into the city’s skips. Regular hauls include bread rolls, apples, cheese, probiotic brie, organic milk, eggs, upmarket dressings and even craft beer. “I get this feeling of joy when I see I’m about to eat some amazing free food,” one diver says. “But there’s also a feeling of sadness that this food is completely disrespected and thrown in the trash.” On one New Zealand blog, a supermarket worker outlined how tricky donating leftover food can be. “I asked the boss why we threw away bread products at the end of the day, when there were places where needy people would appreciate them. He agreed with the sentiment, but the simple act of donating the unsold product at day’s end is very complicated. “Donating to a homeless shelter is difficult because if the store can’t sell it tomorrow, it’s either becauses it’s going to be gross or unsafe for consumption by the morning. The window between ‘people won’t buy this’ and ‘people can’t/won’t eat this’ can be fairly narrow and hard to judge. “Supermarkets are always looking for ways to reduce their wastage anyway, since it affects their margins. Today’s hot cooked chickens become tomorrow’s cold shredded chicken, and today’s loose muffins become tomorrow’s four-piece assorted muffin packs.” SO WHAT CAN WE DO? American-based Food Waste Reduction Alliance says food waste plagues the food technology industry from production to scraps. Factors include locations, type and amount of food disposed of, and the average distance from food recycling facilities. Recycling is attractive for manufacturers, but barriers remain: • Nearly three-quarters of food manufacturers say the limited availability of recycling facilities, transportation costs, strict internal requirements for food waste handling, liability concerns and regulatory requirements are major hurdles. • Even for the food donated, more than 60 per cent of manufacturers say problems such as lack of refrigeration, limited employee awareness and a lack of resources to accept donated food make donation difficult. • Globally, the food industry is working to reduce overall food waste through three primary avenues…cultivating relationships with food rescue organisations, working with policymakers to make food donation easier, and improving logistics by overcoming transportation and food shortage limitations. • The Alliance also says that food waste is not just a problem for manufacturers – it is also related to consumer and retailer behaviour, while food loss speaks to the diminishing level of edible food throughout the productions, harvest, post-harvest and processing stages of the supply chain. D U M P S T E R D I V I N G
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