67
AUG2017 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND
SOURCE
OF ENGINEER
Thesituationurges thesociety toseek forsolution tocombat foodwaste.
Methods like “Food Bank” were established in many countries to collect
unsellable food fromsupermarket and restaurant anddonate them to those
inneed.Someschoolcanteensalsoadjust the tasteof the foodand ingredient
in thehope that studentswill consumemoreandwaste less.Campaignsare
conducted to raiseawareness of thedifferencebetween “Best Before” and
“ExpiredDate” for consumers, for example;
• Best Before
means that the food remains fresh and in good quality
if it is consumed before the specified date. However, the food is still edible
andcookableafter thedate, though the taste, smell, and textureof the food
may deviate.
• ExpiredDate
means that the foodshouldnot beconsumedafter the
specified date. Meanwhile, many countries are seriously promoting waste
reduction by specifically implementing regulations. France, for instance,
restrictssupermarket fromdisposingor destroying food, but todonate them
tonot-for-profitorganizationsand foodbank.SouthKorea installsRFID food
waste disposal system in many community area, which will calculate the
weight of thrown-away food and charge to the household. Some states in
theUS also regulate large companies to separate and recycle foodwaste.
The increasingly popular zero food waste trend throughout the world
has influence newbusiness ideas or newmarketing strategies suchas;
• EstablishingExpiredFoodSupermarket:
“Wefood” inCopenhagen,
Denmark, is theworld’s first ever supermarket selling good quality expired
food, nearly expired food, or donated food (fromboth retail shops and food
manufacturers)withflawedpackages.Theseproductsarehalf-pricecheaper
than the original, which iswhy the shop is verymuch popular.
Wefood is a small supermarket in Copenhagen
operatedbynot-for-profitorganization.Itsproducts
areeither expired,packed in imperfect packages,
or donated from supermarket, retail shops,
importers,exporters,andmanufacturers.The food
are soldat half-of-market priceandall of its staffs
are volunteers. Certain amount of profits are
donated to charity with aims to eliminate hunger
across the globe.Wefood has gained so much
popularity that it has to open the secondbranch
right after.
• Establishing Restaurants with Zero Food Waste Trend:
Restaurants likeRub&Stub,whichusesdonated foodas ingredients,and
WastED,whichusesexcess from food industry, aregoingalongwith this
new trend.
• MakingApplication toCampaign for ZeroFoodWaste:
There
aremanyapplicationsat thismoment suchasTooGoodToGo (TGTG),
whichcombines list of food left unsold frompartnered restaurants, coffee
shops, and bakeries. Users can order listed food in cheap price and
receive the products at specific time. Love FoodHateWaste is another
application that provides users with food recipes to help them calculate
the right amount of ingredient used in each meal and avoid producing
wasteat any cost.
• Changing Marketing Strategy:
Many supermarkets are using
promotionstrategysuchas “cheaperby thedozen”or “buy1get 1”which
encourageshousehold tobuymore than theyneed. Thisgenerates food
waste. Having a promotion like selling flawed fruits or vegetables at low
pricewill help reducewastemore efficiently.
• PromotingTakeawayCulture:
Many restaurants inEuropehave
the policy to embolden customers to take leftover foodback home.
From the mentioned examples, it is obvious that zero food waste
trend ispowerful enough tomakesomechangesamongmanufacturers,
retailers, and restaurants. Hence, it is the time that Thai investors and
exportersshouldconsider readjustingproductionprocess to reduce food
waste, or develop new strategy to foster global zero food waste trend.
Not only that, decreasing package size to be per consumption, using
recyclable packaging, and vividly printing best before or expiry date are
also interestingoptions.
