Research

Regulating the role of Unfair Trading Practices in food waste generation

This policy brief outlines the relevance of Unfair Trading Practices to understanding addressing food waste in the supply chain and makes recommendations on mitigating Unfair Trading Practices for a fairer and less wasteful supply chain.

You can read the report by clicking here.

No use crying over spilled milk? How inaccurate date labels are driving milk waste and harming the environment

How much of this discarded milk was still safe to drink? Anecdotally we all know that milk kept in a fridge generally remains good to drink for several days after its ‘Use By’ date. But we at Feedback wanted to know if anecdote was backed by science. We commissioned laboratory testing at the University of Chester NOW Food Lab to see how long milk really keeps. The food scientists found that milk from the four UK supermarkets with the largest market share (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons), kept at the recommended temperature for a household fridge (4° Celsius – the WRAP recommendation is below 5° Celsius) and unopened until tested, remained safe to drink seven days after their ‘Use By’ dates.

Agriculture’s Future: Delivering Net Zero Emissions

Planetary Health inquiry

The concept of ‘planetary health’ is particularly useful in regard to the food system, a sector across which human health and the health of our planet and the ecosystems it maintains most closely overlap. In 2016 the UK food system contributed approximately 10% of our yearly Greenhouse Gas emissions, and globally our food system drives deforestation, biodiversity loss and freshwater use. Adopting the right strategies for land use in the UK will determine outcomes for both public health and the UK’s contribution to wider climate change.

FEEDING SURPLUS FOOD TO PIGS SAFELY: A WIN-WIN FOR FARMERS AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Our new report reveals that a change of law could liberate up to 2.5 million tonnes of currently wasted food from the UK’s manufacturing, retail and catering sectors to be fed to pigs – 20% of the UK’s estimated food waste.

The Food waste scorecard: An assessment of supermarket action to address food waste.

We ranked the UK’s top ten supermarkets based on publicly available information on their work to reduce food waste. Our ranking assessed the supermarkets against the food use hierarchy which requires that prevention be the priority towards tackling waste. Tesco is ranked at number one, while Waitrose came out at the bottom of the pack. Other supermarkets known for their strong reputations on sustainability, including Co-op and Marks & Spencer, also scored poorly.

Health and harmony: the future for food, farming and the environment in a Green Brexit

Brexit provides an opportunity to rethink how we subsidise and regulate our agricultural system. Over the past weeks, the government ran a consultation on their proposals for replacing Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) after Brexit. Along with 44,000 other respondents to the consultation, we responded illustrating how we believe the food system should work.

How should the EU measure and monitor food waste

Feedback’s response to the EU’s consultation on how to implement mandatory food waste measurement required under the Waste Framework Directive.

FARMERS TALK FOOD WASTE: SUPERMARKETS ROLE IN CROP WASTE ON UK FARMS

Based on Feedback’s experience working with farmers through our Gleaning Network, and a survey of farmers, this report examines the systemic role that supermarkets play in the overproduction and subsequent waste of food on UK Farms. Farmers we surveyed reported reported that together they wasted approximately 22,000-37,000 tonnes per year, equal to enough produce to provide up to 250,000 people with five portions of fruit and vegetables a day for a year.

London Environment Strategy – consultation response

Feedback responded to the Mayor of London’s consultation on the London Environment Strategy. We strongly supported the ambition to make London a zero waste city by 2026, but argued more would need to be done to reduce food waste from both households and businesses, and to ensure that the food waste hierarchy is followed by all London food businesses. We also encouraged the Mayor to consider opportunities for London to become a pioneer in developing circular, local food systems – for example through urban growing and capturing and composting food waste at a local level.

Lost potential: mango loss and waste in Senegal

An estimated 65% of mangos in Senegal are wasted every year, equating to around 88,000 tonnes.  The main causes of this waste are fruit fly, infrastructural challenges, weakness of cold storage methods, harvest management, cosmetic specifications, and local market saturation. Exporting companies select mangos from farms based on cosmetic appearance. The result is that farmers are left with large amounts of mangos on their trees which are unsold.

Food waste in Peru amidst water scarcity

Feedback travelled to Peru to interview producers and exporters of asparagus, citrus fruits (including mandarins, tangelos and grapefruit), onions, squash, avocados, grapes and pomegranates. The interviews
showed two primary causes of supply chain food waste – cosmetic specifications and price volatility.