The figures are staggering when broken down. An estimated 14 per cent of total food produced for human consumption is lost even before it reaches consumers. Add in food waste at the consumer level, and the figure climbs to close to 30 per cent.
In fact, the lack of effective refrigeration throughout the food supply chain contributes about 526 million tonnes of food going to waste every year. According to the United Nations, this is enough food to feed around one billion people in the world. This is at the same time that there are currently an estimated 850 million people in the world who don’t eat enough.
Estimates suggest that inefficiencies within the cold chain specifically contribute to about nine per cent of food spoilage in developed countries, while this number can be significantly higher in developing regions with less infrastructure.
Food loss isn’t just about losing the sustenance and nutrients the food supplies, there are also other losses. Seeds and water for growing are squandered (it’s estimated that about half the water used to produce food in the US alone goes to waste), as is fuel for transport, electricity for storage and labour.
Food waste is also a significant factor in climate change. As food goes to the landfill and rots, it produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This makes reducing food waste necessary to fighting climate change with it accounting for approximately 16 per cent of all greenhouse gases. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the production and transportation of food that is wasted accounts for 8.0 per cent of global greenhouse emissions.
Recent developments
In February this year, the European Parliament in Brussels hosted a round table event – Advancing Food Loss Technologies and Policies – organised in collaboration by Trane Technologies and sustainable development institute, Competere.
The focus of the event was food loss during transport and the waste that occurs along the global cold chain.
Discussions reiterated the fact that a big part of improving food loss is better cold chain management, ensuring that products are kept at suitable and uninterrupted temperature conditions all the way from harvest to plate.
The answers on how exactly to do that were a bit more elusive.
According to research collected by Competere, a significant portion of food loss can be attributed to production processes and failure to comply with sustainability and conservation standards. Looking at the fruit and vegetable sectors, for example, the research institute detected losses close to 50 per cent of total production.
“This is where supply chain industries – from harvesting, to transport, to final distribution – must take a step forward,” Competere said.
Trane Technologies, a global manufacturer specialising in temperature control systems for transportation, and the parent company to well-known refrigerated transport company, Thermo King, has long been at the forefront of sustainability commitments.
“It is shocking that almost the 30 per cent of food is lost or wasted, much of which happens during transport,” said the president of Trane Technologies’ Thermo King EMEA, Claudio Zanframundo. “Having an efficient and sustainable cold chain makes a big difference in reducing food waste and putting food on tables across the world. That’s why it’s vital that policy makers and industry leaders connect regularly so we can move the needle on this important issue.”
Trane Technologies is advancing its 2030 Sustainability Commitments, including the Gigaton Challenge – a pledge to reduce customer greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion metric tons. This reduction equates to two per cent of the world’s annual emissions – or, the annual emissions of Italy, France and the UK combined. The company has also pledged to be net-zero by 2050 and is the first in the industry to have near and long-term emission reduction targets.
Outcome
There are at least now new EU rules when it comes to food waste. In February members of the European Parliament (MEP) adopted proposals to better prevent and reduce waste across the European Union. This included higher 2030 targets to cut down on food waste with a revision to the Waste Framework Directive.
MEPs want to increase the binding waste reduction targets proposed by the Commission to at least 20 per cent in food processing and manufacturing (instead of 10 per cent) and to 40 per cent per capita in retail, restaurants, food services and households (instead of 30 per cent), in comparison to the annual average generated between 2020 and 2022. EU countries would need to ensure that these targets are achieved at national level by 31 December 2030.
MEPs also want the Commission to evaluate the possibility and make appropriate legislative proposals to introduce higher targets for 2035 (at least 30 per cent and 50 per cent respectively).
“We provide focused solutions to reduce food waste, such as promoting ‘ugly’ fruits and veggies, keeping an eye on unfair market practices, clarifying date labelling and donating unsold-but-consumable food,” said Polish MEP and Rapporteur for the committee, Anna Zalewska.
The full house is scheduled to vote on its position during the northern spring’s plenary session. The file will be followed up by the new Parliament after the European elections in June.
For some however, this simply isn’t enough.
“Today the Parliament acknowledged the need for more ambitious action on food waste, but the targets agreed fall short of addressing the magnitude of the challenge and honouring international commitments,” said the Policy Officer for Circular Economy & Waste at the European Environmental Bureau, Fynn Hauschke. “At the same time, the Parliament failed to meaningfully take on food losses and waste at primary production. The agreement is a missed opportunity to cut greenhouse gas emissions and improve food security and biodiversity.”
American action
Not just a focus in Europe, late last year the US announced a $10 million investment to launch USAID’s Food Loss and Waste Accelerator.
Through Feed the Future, the US government’s flagship food security initiative, the Accelerator will support partner country policies and collaborate with businesses to reduce food loss and waste to help ensure that more food can make it off the farm and into the homes of those who need it most.
With a focus on nutritious value chains and businesses led by women and youth, USAID’s Food Loss and Waste Accelerator will provide co-financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises through the Feed the Future Market Systems and Partnerships’ Food Loss and Waste Partnership Facility. This, the US Agency for International Development said, will enable businesses to invest in climate-smart practices such as sustainable cold chain, community composting, and business models that intentionally minimise production waste and post-harvest losses. Working with partner governments, the Accelerator will provide support for policies that address food loss and waste, including identification of points along commodity chains where food is being lost or wasted.
How technology helps
Cold chain technology is aimed at reducing consumer waste at the source by allowing growers and manufacturers to track the temperature of a product throughout its distribution journey.
The technology allows suppliers access to what was previously a major blind spot—the journey from farm to store inside a delivery truck—so they can spot temperature change trends and create solutions to help extend the life of their products.
To save on fuel, delivery drivers will often put their trucks into an economy mode, which raises or lowers the truck’s temperature during their trip. Those spikes and shocks can cause the products to deteriorate at an accelerated rate.
When this happens, those products might be rejected by the receiver and labelled as waste, decline quickly on the shelf or be thrown away shortly after purchase.
Global refrigeration company Carrier has come up with a solution through its Lynx Digital Ecosystem, developed in partnership with Amazon Web Services.
It leverages advanced data analytics, IoT and machine learning to optimise the cold chain, creating a system that is healthier, safer, sustainable and intelligent.
Lynx automates key processes and delivers real-time visibility and insights throughout the cargo’s journey, helping optimise cold chain operations, decrease energy use and enhance outcomes with reduced costs, delays, cargo loss and spoilage in transit.
The Lynx application will intelligently monitor connected refrigeration systems from anywhere in the world, providing vital information through a centralised data stream and improved visibility for asset owners, producers, drivers, fleet managers and retailers on the products being transported and the delivery modes transporting them.
Grassroots solutions
In 2022, Carrier began collaborating with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), to help advance cold chain development and training in West Africa.
WFP agreed to work with global corporations, including Carrier, to build a world-class Transport Training Centre in Accra, Ghana, aimed at enhancing transport and logistics capacities across the region.
Since January 2023, the Transport Training Centre has trained nearly 200 participants from WFP, the private sector and non-governmental organisations across West Africa.
“Collaborative efforts between the public and private sectors can drive transformational cold chain development and growth,” said Tim White, President, Refrigeration, Carrier. “We’re pleased to partner with WFP to make a meaningful difference across Africa, as the potential benefits of these collective efforts are far reaching and can positively impact the cold chain from farmers and manufacturers to consumers with wide-reaching benefits.”
Carrier supports and contributes to the project by providing equipment and tools and by developing training programs on best practices, operation and maintenance of transport refrigeration equipment.
