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Walmart is changing the date labeling scheme on its food products to avoid consumer confusion over safe-to-eat dates. That confusion has led Americans to toss $29 billion worth of edible food into the trash every year. Walmart’s fix is to require suppliers of its own label Great Value products to use the same standardized date – “best if used by” – for non-perishable foods. The change began last year, and the company says 70 percent of its private label suppliers have already complied. The rest have until next month to comply. The Food Marketing Institute says most date labels aren’t meant to indicate safety, only when manufacturers believe products will go beyond peak quality.
"Can Walmart's food labels make a dent in America's $29bn food waste problem?", The Guardian, June 26, 2016
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Australia’s Wimmera Development Association is looking for investors in a project to build a processing plant in Victoria that would convert pulse grain waste into protein powder. Besides creating jobs and providing a market for farmers’ leftover grain husk, the plant would help reduce food waste. The project received some funding from the state to look into the potential of such a plant, but is now seeking investors to carry the project forward. The powder made from pulse grain waste is 85 percent protein and could be used to make breakfast cereal, muesli bars, health foods, consumable protein powders and ready-made meals, according to project promoters.
"Pulse Protein Powder Plant: Wimmera Development Association Seeks Investors", Stock And Land, June 27, 2016
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The British government has awarded $291,000 to food scientists at the University of Huddersfield to work with a blackcurrant juice maker to come up with a way to turn the leftover pomace into food. Scientists believe the pomace – pulp, seeds, and stems – can be turned into an edible substance that can enrich the polyphenol and fiber content of bread, muffins, biscuits and breakfast foods. The Huddersfield scientists are working with British company Lucozade Ribena Suntory, maker of the Ribena blackcurrant drink brand. The company normally discards the pomace after making the juice.
"University of Huddersfield Take on Government Project to Turn Blackcurrant Pomace Into Food", The Huddersfield Daily Examiner, June 29, 2016
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A start-up based in Colorado has combined five “eco-sustainability” technologies that preserve, dehydrate and mill “almost any raw food” to create healthful food powders. Its first product is a powder made from orange peels left over from juice production in Mexico. The powder can be sprinkled on salads, blended into smoothies, baked into recipes, etc. NewfoodZ has now launched an Indiegogo funding campaign to raise $1.5 million over 45 days to expand the business to Alaska. There it hopes to apply the technology to Native American salmon processing waste. Upcoming projects will target apples, sweet potatoes and carrots.
"NewfoodZ Launches Indiegogo Campaign to Reduce Industrial Food Waste", News release, NewfoodZ, July 13, 2016
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Unilever and International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. launched Vetiver Together, a partnership with leading nongovernment organizations to improve the livelihoods of smallholder vetiver farmers in Haiti. Also, the program aims to improve food security, increase yields, and diversify farmers’ income in a sustainable way. At the same time, the campaign seeks to help empower women and promote protection of the environment. Haiti produces some of the world’s best vetiver, the source of oil commonly used in various fragrances Unilever uses in brands, including Axe and Impulse.
"IFF and Unilever Launch Partnership to Improve the Lives of Vetiver Farming Communities in Haiti", Business Wire, July 14, 2016
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A number of technological innovations designed to reduce food waste are making their way to the marketplace. Intelligent food labeling, smartphone apps, intelligent refrigerators, etc., could transform the way consumers shop for food and prevent edible food from ending up in the trash. Samsung’s Family Hubrefrigerator, to be unveiled in the U.K. this fall at a price of nearly $6,000, will feature three cameras, Amazon’s voice-responsive AI assistant, and a WIFI connection to the Internet. The cameras allow shoppers to check what’s in the fridge while in the grocery store. Other innovations include: stick-on “leftover labels” that change color – green means still edible, red means it’s time to toss; and a free app, Olio, which connects people locally with others who have leftover food to give away.
"Tech Innovations That Could Reduce Food Waste", The Guardian, July 14, 2016
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Tom's of Maine launched its “Green Your School Fund” campaign to promote school projects that aim to protect the environment. As part of the initiative, the company partnered with DonorsChoose.org to give $1 million to classrooms across the US to encourage students to support sustainability efforts. According to the company, more than 250 school projects from 40 states were submitted. Members of the panel of judges include celebrity Kevin Jonas, The Huffington Post enterprise editor and senior reporter Kate Sheppard, and TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. Cash prizes await the winning projects, including $25,000 for the project that will receive the most votes.
"Tom's of Maine "Green Your School Fund" Invites Public to Make a Difference for Communities and the Planet by Voting for Favorite Classroom Projects", PR Newswire, July 14, 2016
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A British online health food, beverage and supplement retailer hopes to raise $130,000 through crowdfunding to expand its program of selling out-of-date products at steep discounts. Vitalife’s “Love Health Hate Waste” initiative, launched a year ago, has kept nearly a million dollars’ worth of foods, drinks and supplements from ending up in landfills. The company said it was throwing away products that had reached their best-used-before date but were still “perfectly fit for consumption and legal to sell.” The company sells the products at discounts as high as 90 percent off retail. Under the program, which is expected to turn an $800,000 profit this year, “we are making healthy food and drink accessible to everyone,” a spokesman said.
"Vitalife in Crowdfunding Bid for Love Health Hate Waste", The Grocer, July 15, 2016
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All cocoa used by Tesco in its in-house chocolate products in the U.K., as well as all cocoa used in other Tesco foods, will be certified by 2018 by the Rainforest Alliance as responsibly and sustainably sourced, the company announced. Certification by the Alliance supports cocoa-growing communities, helps increase farmer income, safeguards soils and conserves wildlife. Other Tesco food products that will contain only certified cocoa include biscuits, cakes, desserts and cereals. Tesco cooperates with several sustainability programs: the Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, Cocoa Horizons and Fairtrade.
"Tesco to Source Rainforest Alliance Certified™ Cocoa For All of Its Own Label Chocolate in the UK", News release, Tesco, July 15, 2016
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The Huffington Post, whose website is sponsoring a “Reclaim” project to help consumers cut food waste in the home, has compiled a list of nine inexpensive products that preserve the freshness of herbs, fruits and vegetables in the fridge. Sheets of Fresh Paper ($9.99), for example, line the crisper drawer or the mixed greens salad box, to keep produce fresh two to four times longer. They are made from edible organic spices. The Mastrad Keep Sack ($10.28) is a cotton bag that keeps up to four pounds of onions out of sunlight, preventing sprouting. Other products keep cheese moist, fight harmful pathogens, preserve fresh herbs, soak up ethylene gas that ripens fruits too quickly, prevent garlic sprouting by keeping them in the dark, etc.
"9 Clever Products That’ll Help Prevent Your Produce From Rotting", The Huffington Post, July 15, 2016
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The charitable arm of a venture fund focused on “impact investment” is conducting a search for fundable projects that address America’s food waste crisis. The Closed Loop Foundation says there are a lot of innovative solutions to food waste that lack capital to get off the ground. Proposals for funding can be submitted on the foundation’s website by individuals or groups with food waste ideas until August 12. Grants and loans will range from $25,000 to $50,000. The Fund typically awards no-interest loans to cities and municipalities and low-interest loans to businesses. The Closed Loop Fund is a social impact fund investing $100 million to support recycling of products and packaging. It is primarily sponsored by the Walmart Foundation.
"Have A Bright Idea To Reduce Food Waste? This Group Wants To Fund It.", The Huffington Post, July 15, 2016
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A presentation at a recent food science meeting outlined how “intelligent packaging” of food will help reduce food waste. Michigan State University adjunct professor Claire Sand said innovative packaging equipped with a variety of sensors will communicate shelf life, freshness and quality to consumers. Some, such as time-temperature indicators, are already in use on seafood and other food packages. New degradation sensors that detect spoilage can measure product decay and change color to warn consumers. “We’re very close to being able to do this for a multitude of foods,” Sand told the Institute of Food Technologists symposium.
"New Sensors on Packages Can Detect Spoiled Foods", News release, Institute of Food Technologists, July 19, 2016
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has called on its suppliers to remove eight harmful chemicals, including formaldehyde and triclosan, from their products. Developed in partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund, the list is part of the retailer's efforts to remove toxic chemicals from household goods. Also, the release of the list of chemicals follows the retailer's announcement in 2013 of its plan to ask suppliers to cut the levels of some substances in personal-care, cleaning, and beauty products, as well as encourage them to find alternatives.
"Wal-Mart Asks Its Suppliers to Stop Using Eight Chemicals", Bloomberg, July 20, 2016
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