Meat + Poultry - November 2016 - 54

PA C K A G I N G S O L U T I O N S

"As a producer and - at the same time -
a consumer, my growing concern about food
waste has caused me to take action both on
my farm and in my personal life."
- TERRYN DRIELING

sustainability programs. "From the farms that
grow and raise our food to the stores that
bring it to us, a lot of hard work, commitment
and resources go into the food we eat - which
is one reason why it's unacceptable to waste
it. As a producer and - at the same time - a
consumer, my growing concern about food
waste has caused me to take action both on my
farm and in my personal life," she says.
Likewise, meat and poultry processors have
created various initiatives to reduce waste as
part of their sustainability programs. Tyson

When freezing food for two
months or longer, a second
layer of wrap will help
to prevent freezer burn.

54

Foods, Springdale, Arkansas, for example,
started a Go Green program in 2016 at five of
its pork plants. Since it began, more than 8.6
million lbs. of materials have been recycled
and diverted, an average of 40 percent of
material bound for landfills. Smithfield,
Virginia-based Smithfield Foods, which has
encouraged its processing facilities to meet
zero-waste-to-landfill best practices, has
identified vendors that will accept and recycle
bags with liquid purge from meat products and
cooking bags.
Goodwin has some advice for processors
looking to reduce waste in their own business.
"They need to look at what's going on in their
operations - do they know how much material
they are buying, how much waste they are

MEAT+ POULTRY | 11.16 | www.meatpoultry.com

creating and how much money they are losing?
Once you start measuring, you can start
creating targets and set about reducing waste,"
she advises.
Many retailers, too, are doing their part.
Des Moines, Iowa-based Hy-Vee Food Stores,
for instance, recently reported that it diverts
more than 2 million lbs. of food waste from
landfills every month.
This summer, Wal-Mart began requiring
suppliers under its Great Value label to use
a standardized date label, "Best if used by"
to help reduce confusion about freshness
and lower waste related to package dates. "I
expect the standard labels to have an even
bigger impact on waste reduction since many
of our suppliers sell products under their own
labels outside of Wal-Mart. This is significant,
as the global economic impact of food
wastage comes to about $750 billion each
year," remarked Frank Yiannas, vice president
of food safety.
Packaging suppliers are getting innovative
in reducing waste, through the use of less
packaging material and more recyclable
packaging materials. Packaging innovations
are geared around the notion as well: at a
sustainability conference in Europe earlier
this year, a chemist from Belarus presented
a research paper on edible films, with a main
component of starch that could be used with
meat and poultry products to reduce packaging
and food waste.
Other campaigns are working to extend
food waste messages directly to consumers. A
public service campaign called "Save the Food"
was launched in early 2016 by the Ad Council
and Natural Resources Defense Council to
encourage consumers to reduce the amount of
food they waste in their homes.
Ultimately, sharing information on how to
reduce food waste throughout the supply chain
is one of those win-win situations, Mintel's
Johnson says. "Providing meat, poultry and
fish consumers with options that help them
to control food use and reduce waste can
appeal to both their needs for environmental
responsibility and their desire to reduce food
costs through avoiding food waste. Packaging
has a clear role to play in assisting with limiting
food waste," she says, adding that on-package
communication should clearly communicate
that message to buyers.
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat + Poultry - November 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat + Poultry - November 2016
