Refrigeration as a measure to combat food waste
Internationally, food waste is an enormous problem. According to the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, that phenomenon is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. If we think of this as a country, it would be in third place for its emissions, behind only the United States and China.
In order to deal with the current worrying situation, we need well-planned initiatives, guidelines and measures. Among these, refrigeration certainly plays a vital role, especially in relation to the optimisation of the cold chain, a crucial aspect in the storage and transport of food.
The Australian strategy against food waste
In an interesting article published on the Refrigeration Industry website (accessible here), the problem of food waste is considered through an overview of the situation in Australia. That nation throws away a total of around 7.3 million tonnes of food per year, which equates to 300 kg per person.
In 2017, the federal government published the National Food Waste Strategy, to provide a support framework for collective action aimed at reducing food waste. This measure, in accordance with the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of the UN SDGs, is designed to halve the amount of food waste generated by the Australian population by 2030.
This strategy, consolidated in 2020 with a detailed roadmap, setting out in detail the phases required to reach the pre-established target, includes certain key points of the programme, such as:
- The commissioning of a study to tackle the issues behind the generation of food waste;
- The analysis and summary of data relating to the feasibility of the project;
- The definition of actions and investments required to achieve the objective.
By following these guidelines, it will be possible to plan all the initiatives to be introduced and the relative cost of implementation with greater awareness. In the specific case of Australia for example, research has suggested that, in order to reduce food waste by 52% by 2030, projects costing a total of around 2 billion dollars will be required.
Investment in refrigeration is the key
Measures to tackle food waste include consumer campaigns, a more stream-lined production, the resale or donation of excess food, but, above all, investment in the cold chain which delivers the product ‘from farm to fork’.
Refrigeration systems then, acquire even greater importance in food storage, as they have the job of preserving its organoleptic qualities during the entire supply chain. This is why companies dealing in frozen foods should invest in:
- Increasing the amount of refrigerated space available;
- Technologies for data acquisition;
- And intelligent refrigeration monitoring systems.
These factors alone however, are not sufficient to make a difference. The AFCCC (Australian Food Cold Chain Council), recommends that quality control systems be installed throughout the process, in order to provide sufficient monitoring of the produce. Companies who work with the cold chain must be aware of the enormous responsibility they have towards their end customers.
According to the AFCCC, the food product cold chain should be considered as a second level or a combination of the entire range of resources used by companies to transport adequately stored food from the production site and distribute it to the consumer. Only when these process are incorporated into the quality control systems will the chances of limiting food waste rise considerably.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
