Unilever leads food waste reduction campaign

United Against Waste has the backing of WRAP, food waste campaigner and author Tristam Stuart, food writer and chef Chris Barber, Sodexo and Whitbread Group.

Unilever revealed 600k tonnes of food is wasted every year and 400k tonnes of that could be avoided. Of that, 65% is lost back of house and 30% on the plate following sales.

Findings of Unilever’s World Menu Report were released, including that 50% of consumers feel guilty about the volume of food wasted and there was confusion over where action to cut waste should start with 40% thinking it was the Government’s responsibility and 33% thinking the challenge lay with caterers.

“It is harder to convince operators of the need to reduce food waste on the plate because it has already been paid for,” added Stuart. However, with 84% of World Menu Report respondents “concerned” with the issue of food waste, it would be a positive move in the eyes of the consumer to reduce waste after purchase. Stuart urged consumers to liaise with suppliers to help predict what amounts would be needed to reduce waste.

WRAP is spearheading a voluntary agreement within the hospitality sector to be launched next spring. Head of retail programmes Andy Dawe confirmed that several major pub companies were in discussion for involvement.

The organisation’s Courtauld commitment plan 2, originally launched in 2005, now has the backing of 53 signatories including Molson Coors, Miller Brands and Heineken UK.

Whitbread Group has already achieved fully segregated food waste recycling at 411 sites since the first trials 18 months ago in partnership with Biogen and Veolia. It expects all sites to be on board by the end of 2011.

Meanwhile, Unilever has produced a waste reduction kit called Wise up on Waste that offers simple answers to caterers for monitoring and measuring food waste. It includes a manual waste audit that only takes around 15 minutes to complete daily.