The Day of Food Waste regularly shows how much food ends up in the garbage every year – in Austria alone there are 900,000 tons. Previously it was assumed that a third of the food produced was wasted, new research by the WWF shows that the figure is even 40 percent. On the Day of Food Rescue, solutions are to be presented that can significantly reduce this amount – more on this in More and more food rescue ideas (2.5.2022).
Fewer temptations required in retail
Politics and trade are required here, but also the consumers themselves, says Dominik Heizmann, WWF expert for sustainable nutrition, because the temptations in the supermarket are often great: “It’s barbecue season right now and when you go to the supermarkets, then you see that meat is offered at bargain prices. This tempts consumers into buying more than they actually need, and these products often end up in the bin once more – so retailers have a very big responsibility there.”
“Beauty craze” in fruit and vegetables
In this context, there is also a need for an end to the “beauty craze” for fruit and vegetables, demands Dominik Heizmann: “Retailers have very strict visual specifications as to how fruit and vegetables should look – this then means that a lot of edible fruit and vegetables are sorted out or not even harvested just because it doesn’t look as pristine as we know it from the shelves. That’s why the motto on the day of the food rescue: ‘Bucket the beauty craze and not the fruit and vegetables’.”
Write shopping lists
According to Heizmann, an easy-to-implement tip for each individual to save groceries is to write a shopping list: “Let’s go shopping more consciously once more, think regarding what we really need – we’ll go to the supermarket with a plan, and then we’ll come we really only take the products home that we can use in the next few days.”
Store food properly
But the right food storage can also help to save food: “That means: put the new products in the back of the fridge and put the older products in front. If we do have some leftovers, then you can get lots of recipes from the internet on how to put these leftovers to good use.”
Last but not least, the habit of throwing away food automatically because the best-before date has been reached leads to unnecessary waste. Instead, Heizmann advises, “first see, smell and taste, and then our senses immediately recognize whether a food is still edible or not.”
Waste also affects the environment
In general, apart from bread and pastries, fruit and vegetables are thrown away most often, less animal products such as meat, sausage or dairy products – but according to Heizmann they have “the greatest negative impact on the environment” because their production costs the most resources.