Innovations that reduce the creation of food waste include ways to extend product quality and shelf life, improve processing and distribution efficiency and create new products from agriculture and processing leftovers. Examples include using nanotechnology in beer bottles, food storage containers, and refrigerator compartments to slow down spoilage of produce. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Research Service (ARS) developed a small-scale peanut dryer and sheller for use in remote areas in Haiti where as much as 50 percent of the peanut crop is usually lost due to poor moisture control.
Innovations to recover wholesome food for donation include connection technologies, tools for measuring the value of food donations and tax benefits, and new concepts like Trader Joe’s ex-president Doug Rauch’s project featured on FutureFood 2050 about selling imperfect and expired food. A new web-based service is helping small-scale producers inform thousands of people almost instantaneously about surplus food, events, discount sales, and freebies.
In order to keep food out of landfills, innovators have devised ways to recycle food for animal feed, compost, and energy generation. While turning food waste into animal feed has been a practice used for years, it’s recently become more widespread in restaurants, hotels, schools, nursing homes, and grocery stores.
View the full article in Food Technology hereEditor’s Note: View an infographic on food waste here
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