It is estimated that 1/3 of all the food produced goes to waste globally. The food industry is more and more interested in tackling this issue as food waste means significant costs and causes serious environmental impacts. Paulig Foods division collaborated with the Swedish research foundation Chalmers Industriteknik to get an action plan on how to reduce food waste.
Reducing food waste is a strategic objective for Paulig Foods division. Since 2014, the division has reduced its food waste by 40%. Paulig Foods has a vision of creating zero food waste in its own operations.
- Food waste is one of the biggest environmental impact factors in the food industry today. As one-third of food produced is going to waste, we must do everything we can to reduce this, says Anders Jonebring, who is Head of R&D in Paulig Foods.
On his initiative, Paulig Foods collaborated with the Swedish research foundation Chalmers Industriteknik to get an action plan on how to reduce food waste.
- We wanted to get an “as is” analysis from an objective source and a starting point for improvement within food waste.
The study covered all Santa Maria operations from spice and tortilla production to warehouse and Supply chain and customers. In tortilla production, the most food waste is created in the end of the production line and in spice production in upscaling and packing.
Based on the research at Paulig Foods, a few key points were recognized.
- The study shows that we must consider waste in all aspects of our value chain. The actions to reduce waste must be spread to many people and across the chain so that we can achieve big improvements. It is also very important to set bold targets and focus on continuous improvement rather than big bangs, Jonebring says.
The division is now starting to organize to execute on the plan to reduce food waste as a part of the bigger Sustainability initiatives across the division.