Food waste, once considered a niche environmental concern, has exploded to become a major issue facing everyone from grower-shippers to retailers to consumers themselves. And for good reason.
USDA says that in the U.S. alone, more than one-third of all available food goes uneaten through loss or waste.
The produce industry has taken up the challenge to shrink that number, and that includes a couple of Packer 25 honorees who have adopted innovative technology, processes and materials to slash food waste from farm to table.
“Food waste isn’t an abstract industry statistic or an empty phrase; it’s the measurable gap between what a grower harvests and what ultimately reaches our tables,” says Gordon Robertson, general manager, North America, for Fresh Inset Solutions. The Polish company with U.S. operations in Memphis, Tenn., provides technologies for extending the freshness of fruit and vegetables after harvest.
“Closing that gap is one of the most important things we can do to improve efficiency, profitability and sustainability across the produce industry,” he says.
Robertson says he has seen a meaningful shift over the years in how retailers and suppliers think about packaging.
“Traditionally, packaging was viewed primarily as a logistics and branding tool, something designed to move product efficiently from point A to point B while protecting its appearance,” he says.
But packaging today is expected to do more than that, including actively protect freshness, quality, extend marketable shelf life and provide greater flexibility throughout the supply chain, he says.
Retailers aren’t just asking suppliers for a load of produce anymore. They also want the shelf life to support meaningful merchandising tactics, Robertson says.
One way Fresh Inset Solutions has responded to that challenge is with Vidre+, which Robertson says incorporates freshness protection into formats as simple as a sticker or label and, increasingly, into active packaging materials themselves.
“We are developing functional films and cardboard solutions designed to integrate with packaging formats already in use, from clamshells to shipping boxes,” he says.
Another Perspective
Erik Brown views the topic of food waste from a couple of perspectives: 35 years in various produce-related positions at Whole Foods Market and currently as vice president, business development, produce division for JOH, a Billerica, Mass.-based food broker.
“If you’re mitigating food waste, you’re maximizing profits across the entire industry — the supplier, the distributor, the freight, the warehousing, the retailer — and that helps drive down losses, which helps increase profits and reduces retail prices,” he says.
Brown says he supports the International Fresh Produce Association’s Supply Chain of the Future initiative “to make sure we’re looking at all the different avenues to find where there are opportunities to maximize efficiencies across the board.”
Fresh fruits and vegetables are likely the biggest source of food waste, Brown says, “because produce is probably the most perishable component to the grocery business.”
He sees technology as an important tool in controlling food waste, whether it’s used to forecast volume at grower level, track sales at retail or monitor conditions during transit.
“Ideally, if we could marry up volume and demand to what’s being grown or projected to grow, that would help mitigate the oversupply and undersupply, which is necessary to support the industry,” he says. “That’s extremely critical.”
More to Come from Fresh Inset Solutions
Robertson says there’s even more to come at Fresh Inset Solutions.
“Looking ahead, we’re focused on moving freshness technology further into MaTri System development for growers, as well as into the packaging itself,” Robertson says.
That includes having Vidre+ incorporated directly into films and cardboard and produced at industrial scale with packaging manufacturing partners.
The role of retailers in driving innovation throughout the supply chain is increasing, Robertson says. And that makes sense from a business perspective.
“Shrink represents a significant controllable cost in produce, and every product marked down or removed from the shelf early represents lost revenue as well as a missed opportunity to satisfy the consumer,” he says. “Reducing food waste therefore isn’t simply a sustainability objective; it’s also an efficiency and profitability opportunity.”
Packaging Enhances Scanning
Brown points out that packaging today, besides protecting product and enhancing shelf life, offers opportunities to ensure that items are being scanned effectively at retail.
Today’s scanning technology plays an important role in helping businesses track product more effectively and efficiently while identifying opportunities to reduce shrink, boost sales and optimize other key performance factors to “maximize the velocity of produce,” he says.
As recently as 10 or 15 years ago, before packaging was where it is today, there were a lot of “unfortunate challenges” at retail from a scanning standpoint that could result in unknown shrink, Brown says.
Today’s technology can monitor trends, forecast retail sales and provide insights that help businesses understand volume fluctuations and support long-term supply chain planning, he says.
Technology also is a key component in transporting fresh produce — specifically in maintaining and monitoring temperature and humidity.
“There are a lot of opportunities to help maximize and mitigate issues coming from the West Coast going to the East,” Brown says. “Determining the right timing, the right routes and the right loading periods are super helpful to maximize freight efficiency for the freshest product.”
