Are you like me when wandering through the grocery store? Do you pause, stare and wonder how will they ever sell all of this produce before it spoils? What do they do with all of the stuff that does not sell?
Well, if you are like me then Congratulations!! it seems like the United Nations has taken notice and created a Call to Action by adopting a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and so has the Foundation FSSC which launched FSSC 22000 Scheme Version 6.0. last year to encourage all stakeholders along the Supply Chain from Growers to Retailers to focus on reducing Food Lost and Waste.
Also exciting is that most major retailers are on board now requiring their suppliers to be complaint to the certification if they wish to provide them with product. Great for the bigger suppliers but perhaps a challenge for the smaller entities.
Let me be clear I am fully aware that some organizations claim a clear conscious by diverting food to food banks, but you would also be surprised by how much is actually diverted and designated as "Pig Feed"! This is not an appropriate answer, we need to get more qualified food into stomachs directly before being diverted.
In some cases, organizations do not even recognize the waste they generate. We visited a water bottling company that spilled a lot of water onto the floor in their divertor room, this was considered by them as part of the process, while in our eyes they were throwing away precious gold.
With a huge credit to the Foundation FSSC. I am not going to quote all of the details but share some of the highlights. If you wish more information or detail, contact me or if you need help developing your plan, we can help you with that also. You can also visit the FSSC.com for more information about this topic and many others.
So let us get started ...
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 12.3 calls for halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains (including postharvest losses) by 2030.
According to the Champions 12.3 Progress Report on SDG 12.3 approximately 8% of all food produced in the world is lost at the farm level; 14% is lost between the farm gate and the retail sector, e.g., manufacturers and producers; and 17% is wasted at the retail, food service and household levels of the food supply chain. This results in significant impacts on human livelihoods and well-being, the global economy and the environment. Over the past few years, events such as war and Covid-19 pandemic have exacerbated food loss and waste by continually disrupting the human food supply chain.
ISO has assembled a working group for the purpose of standardization of food loss and waste, providing a framework for food organizations throughout the food chain, to work actively and effectively with measuring and reduction of food loss and waste.
Reducing food loss and waste therefore, can save money for farmers, companies and households; feed more people by wasting less and reduce the burden on water, land and the climate.
FCS 22000 Version 6.0 SCHEME REQUIREMENTS (All categories)
Have a documented policy and objectives detailing the organization's strategy to reduce food loss and waste within their organization and the related supply chain.
Have controls in place to manage products donated to not-for-profit organizations, employees and other organizations, and ensure that these products are safe to consume.
Manage surplus products or by-products intended as animal feed/food to prevent contamination to these products.
These processes shall comply with applicable legislation, be kept up to date and not have a negative impact on food safety.
Important to Understand:
FOOD LOSS | occurs before the food reaches the consumer as a result of issues in the supply chain (production, processing, storage, and distribution phases)
FOOD WASTE | refers to food that is fit for consumption but consciously discarded at the retail or consumption levels.
GUIDANCE (for all organizations)
TARGET | Quantify the food loss and waste currently generated by the organization and the supply chain they have control over in order to establish a baseline/ base year quantity.
PREVENTION PLAN | A plan including the organization's food loss and waste objectives including which streams you plan to focus your attention towards.
OBJECTIVES | The plan needs to include both Short-Term (annual, quarterly) and Long-Term (5 or 10 years) objectives.
DEFINE ACTIONS | to be taken to reduce food loss and waste per type, including responsibilities for implementing these actions, resources required, time frames for completion.
MEASURE | Define monitoring procedures to measure food loss and waste against the baseline/year at defined regular intervals and to determine the causes of the food loss and waste.
ACT | Where it has been identified that the target has not been met, the organization needs to investigate and determine the causes for the target not being met and then implement suitable corrective actions.
FSSC 22000 Version 6.0 just makes sense to me, and I hope that all of the stakeholders within food supply chain engage. Inflation is not a controllable when it impacts our food pricing but waste reduction within the supply chain sure is.
Plus I like the 50% target, let us hope this translates into our food pricing.