The United Nations (UN) estimates a third of all food produced is wasted despite the appalling fact that as many as 829 million people worldwide go to bed hungry each night, so a combined effort by both the public and private sector could have a significant impact in solving this preventable crisis.
As such, the Dublin, Ireland-headquartered ingredient specialist has designed a Food Waste Estimator, which allows participants to quantify and understand the financial and environmental impact of reducing food waste both in the food chain and at home.
We need to act
The Estimator provides info on the number of additional people that could be fed, as well as the amount of carbon dioxide and water that would be saved by making a few, simple changes.
It also incorporates Too Good to Go – the world’s largest food saving app for consumers – and enables food manufacturers to determine the impact they can have by using shelf life extension tech.
In fact, research has shown that around 50% of food waste can be prevented with shelf-life extension technologies.
Of course, these savings would meaningfully reduce world hunger.
“We all need to act and as an industry we must take immediate action in eradicating food waste within the food system through new technology and innovating together,” said Bert de Vegt, global VO for Food Protection & Preservation at Kerry.
Bread saving tech
As a market leader in clean label preservation, Kerry believes shelf life protection and extension is the most actionable method in managing food waste both in the home and throughout the supply chains. As such, it has pioneered breakthroughs in bakery – one of the highest food waste categories – through fermentation, vinegar-based ingredients, plant extract and enzymes, among others.
