The potential of food preservation to reduce food waste

Abstract

While we state it seems unthinkable to throw away nearly a third of the food we produce, we still continue to overlook that we are all very much part of this problem because we all consume meals. The amount of food wasted clearly has an impact on our view of what we think a sustainable meal is and our research suggests food waste is a universal function that can help us determine the sustainability of diets. Achieving sustainability in food systems depends on the utilisation of both culinary skills and knowledge of how foods make meals. These are overlooked by the current food waste debate that is concerned with communicating the problem with food waste rather than solutions to it. We aim to change this oversight with the research presented here that demonstrates the need to consider the role of food preservation to reduce food waste and the requirement for new marketing terms associated with sustainability actions that can be used to stimulate changes in consumption behaviours. We have chosen frozen food to demonstrate this because our research has shown that the use of frozen foods results in 47 % less household food waste than fresh food categories. This has created a step-change in how we view food consumption and has stimulated consumer movements that act across different products and supply chains to enable the consumption of the sustainable meal.

The impact of food preservation on food waste

“…There are several emerging methods for achieving these interventions including digital applications that aim to reduce food waste and social media communications by creating consumer interest movements. It is important that food waste reduction initiatives integrate with these communication methods that consumers use ( Martindale, 2017 ).…”

“…It is essential that these initiatives now act to reduce the food that consumers purchase but do not eat ( Mena et al , 2011 ). Furthermore, FAO reported Food Balance statistics show supply chain losses for food groups such as meat, fruit and vegetables to be below 5 per cent of production or domestic supply quantities ( Martindale, 2017 ). While these food losses remain incredibly important it is reported by national agencies and government departments that consumers’ food waste regularly reaches 20 per cent or more of food purchased ( Defra, 2017 ).…”

“…This is a principle that has remained largely unconsidered even though the production of food waste increases greenhouse gas emissions or the carbon footprint of food consumption ( Garnett, 2013 ; O’Rourke, 2014 ). It is crucial to consider food waste reduction as an outcome of using preserved foods because research carried out previously demonstrated it can help us to define the sustainability of meals that consumers prepare ( Martindale, 2017 ).…”

“…Localisation and the value of it to the food system are not within the scope of this current study even though it is important to consider food preservation has enabled the supply of foods that are out of season to consumers. Indeed, this was why preservation of fruits and vegetables using pickling and osmotic preserving emerged traditionally ( Martindale, 2017 ).…”

Framing food security and food loss statistics for incisive supply chain improvement and knowledge transfer between Kenyan, Indian and United Kingdom food manufacturers

“…It is the measurement of nutritional value and the risk of food being wasted that provide resonant consumer communications because food that is not fully utilised will result in any resources used to manufacture it being lost. It is this insight on the utilisation of foods by consumers that is the core principle here and it conveniently connects the sustainability attributes of nutritional improvement and waste reduction, which are universally desirable impacts across supply chains (Martindale, 2017b).…”