Save the World (and Some Money) With Judicious Use of Ingredients
Greenleaf Foods, a plant-based protein manufacturer, uses a tracking program called Crisp to monitor sales and inventory data to identify potential spoilage problems at its distribution centers. If they see a large supply of a product that probably won’t sell before its expiration date, they can take action to move the product and/or reduce order volume on future shipments.
At Immordl, a maker of nutrient-infused coffee, a powder version of the product is being rolled out to replace the liquid form. “The migration to a water-soluble powder has reduced the carbon footprint per unit sold by increasing the number of units that can be packaged into a shipping container or box and also greatly reducing the fuel costs of shipping product via ground or air,” says Brandon Dorsky, an advisor to the company.
Greenleaf Foods and Immordl demonstrate two intertwined sides to the reduction of waste in food manufacturing. Greenleaf is limiting food and ingredient waste internally – and keeping unsold product out of the dumpster – while Immordl is reducing its carbon footprint.
Both types of waste reduction are ultimately reducing the impact of food manufacturing on the environment, and most companies that do one also do the other.
Getting started
Food processors that endeavor to reduce waste find that engaging employees in the concept is a key to success. When a company adopts a culture that values waste reduction, employees on the floor might start seeing opportunities that managers might miss.
“Any effective food waste prevention and management strategy must be embedded in the decisions your employees and managers make each day across your organization,” according to “Messy But Worth It!” a 2020 handbook from the Food Waste Reduction Alliance.
Vega, a manufacturer of plant-based smoothies and protein powders, recently established a set of sustainability goals that focus on waste, biodiversity and climate action, says Richard Outhwaite, the company’s sustainability impact manager. Naturally, the company’s employees have been encouraged to embrace those goals.
“Embodying sustainability as a company value doesn't just mean looking at product lifecycles but also the day-to-day actions of our team,” Outhwaite says. “For example, Vega's new office has been designed as a Zero Waste office, helping bring our sustainability values to life by engaging the whole Vega team in the importance of eliminating waste.”
The handbook from the Food Waste Reduction Alliance says many companies create a food waste reduction team to direct reduction efforts and encourage cross-departmental efforts. Food waste reduction can involve many types of personnel – inventory managers, researchers, chefs, manufacturing line personnel, truck drivers, etc. – so a team composed of employees from various departments works best.
Another important step at the beginning of a waste-reduction journey is gathering data about the current situation, so that progress can be measured. Gathering waste data can be complicated, the Food Waste Reduction Alliance notes, but some potential metrics are the quantity of food being donated, the weight of waste going into dumpsters and the volume of food being composted.
Manage the supply flow
One of the best ways to keep food out of your dumpster is to carefully manage the supply chain. Technology is a key tool in that effort.
Are Traasdahl, CEO of software firm Crisp, explains that his company’s system tracks a wide range of supply chain data for food manufacturers – such as Greenleaf Foods -- that helps them control waste.
“Crisp automatically ingests data from Greenleaf’s distributor partners, which provides a daily feed of sales, supply chain and on-hand inventory data,” Traasdahl says. “Using that data, the tracker monitors sales and inventory data to calculate ‘weeks of supply’ available at distribution centers to identify possible spoilage incidents before they occur.”
The goal of a system for tracking the supply chain is to ensure the optimum amount of supply reaches the factory when needed, and the minimum amout of finished product goes unsold before its expiration date. It also allows the manufacturer to adjust production schedules to reduce waste – for example, if one ingredient is nearing its expiration date, perhaps the schedule can be adjusted to use up that ingredient quickly.
Tatianna Vassilopoulos, founder of JP’s Delights, says her tracking process allows them to take quick action to preserve ingredients – primarily fresh fruit -- when spoilage is a risk.
“If it does look like our fruits and vegetables are ripening too quickly, we cut, label and freeze them for future use,” Vassilopoulos says. “Everything we produce for our regular line of preserves is freshly made, but we’ll be asked for special orders of things that aren’t in season, and that’s when we let our customers know that we can do a just-in-time limited run for them with the produce we had stored away at the peak season. That way nothing goes to waste.”
Optimize recipes, production
Naturally, optimizing recipes and production is another way to reduce food waste. Changing recipes to include ingredients that are less vulnerable to spoilage or that can be consumed more completely are obvious steps.
Another is to consider using ingredients that may be considered waste from another recipe. For example, Vassilopoulos uses some by-product from her company’s jam production in the recipe for another product.
“We have a variety of seasonal apple jams, jellies, chutneys and butters, so we were having a great deal of peels we didn’t want to waste,” she explains. “We tested a bunch of recipes and came up with what we initially called Scapple Jelly where we made juice from the peels and turned it into jelly. It became one of our best sellers. Furthermore, instead of buying pectin, we try to get it from our apple and citrus peels.”
There are countless ways food processors can alter production processes to reduce waste, most of which involve ensuring that temperatures, line speed and other factors are optimized. When the line runs smoothly, less unsellable product is created.
Sometimes adding a step reduces waste. At Bitchin’ Sauce, the company uses high-pressure processing (HPP) to extend the life of its products, thus reducing the risk of product going unsold before its use-by date.
“What we do is place each unit under 87,000 lbs. of pressure for 180 seconds, and it kills any bacteria that may be present,” says Mike Noonan, the company’s vice president of operations. “HPP helps extend the shelf life of Bitchin' Sauce by 4-6 months without preservatives.”
Ironically, the HPP process does result in some loss as well: “We lose a small percentage of product in this step,” Noonan says.
Saving the world
The other side of reducing food waste extends beyond the walls of the production facility. Many companies work to reduce their environmental footprint, either by composting the waste they produce, donating it to someone who can use it, reducing shipping requirements or choosing less environmentally damaging ingredients or packaging.
For example, Noonan says Bitchin’ Sauce has implemented a compost program in cooperation with the City of Carlsbad, Calif. The scraps from their plant are taken to a city facility where they are added to others and composted into nutrient-rich soil additive and mulch that is made available to local gardens and community parks.
Another way to deal with food waste is to find another use for it. Stacy Savage, CEO of consulting firm Zero Waste Strategies, says her company helped a pet food manufacturer keep 500,000 lbs. of waste out of landfills by finding someone who could use it.
“Our team reached out to a large-scale farming and ranching company in the local area to reach an agreement where the farmer/rancher would accept the food waste onsite to feed the livestock and to make compost for a nutrient-rich soil amendment for growing crops,” Savage explains.
Reducing shipping is another important way to cut waste. That’s a strategy employed by Fruit Slabs, which makes edible CBD products. Dorsky, who in addition to advising Immordl is the CEO of Fruit Slabs, says the company recently switched to an ingredient purchasing model that allows them to ship less frequently and from more centralized locations.
Choosing the right packaging also helps, both up and down stream.
“We ask our major suppliers to cut down on packaging to only what is absolutely necessary,” Vassilopoulos says. “When we ship our preserves, we use air packs and as many recycled materials as possible for our cardboard packaging.”
Finally, many companies have adopted the concept of “upcycling,” in which foods that might otherwise end up in the dumpster find a new life as ingredients in other products. Produce that is too “ugly” for the supermarket is a commonly upcycled ingredient, as is spent barley from brewing processes. Every ingredient that is upcycled is theoretically kept out of the landfill.
Sometimes food companies take an even bigger-picture view of the situation: “As great as it is to find uses for landfill-destined food waste, ultimately we would like to work with our partners and suppliers to prevent that waste from happening in the first place,” Outhwaite says.
“That's where the other pillars of our sustainability strategy -- biodiversity and climate action -- come in; for example, sourcing regenerative ingredients like North American pea. Regenerative ingredients sequester carbon in the soil and help fix nutrients like nitrogen, eliminating the need for fertilizers.”
Ultimately, every angle on the food waste reduction strategy helps. Internal changes can save a company money and keep product on shelves longer, while “big picture” strategies can reduce overall food waste. And in today’s environmentally conscious world, customers expect their food suppliers to pay attention that problem.
“Cost is a common trade-off to all the above [food waste reduction] strategies,” Outhwaite notes. “Still, as we communicate our values as a point of differentiation, we think this will drive customer loyalty and ultimately bring in new customers.”
