A major new research project has been launched to measure and ultimately reduce wastage in the fresh produce supply chain.
The Resource Map project is examining the entire retail and wholesale supply chains from packing and distribution to back-of-store to ascertain how much fruit, veg and packaging is wasted and why.
Eleven fruit and veg items are being tracked in the Wrap/Envirowise trial, with research carried out by Cranfield University, IGD, the Fresh Produce Consortium and Ed Moorhouse Consulting. Data collection kicked off last month and results are expected by July.
While previous studies had identified how much fresh produce was wasted by consumers, this was the first such project to
measure how much was lost in the journey from farm to shelf, said project director Charlotte Henderson.
As well as visiting and interviewing packers and suppliers, researchers have also asked supermarkets to contribute to the study, which aims to cover at least 80% of the UK supply chain.
Wrap plans to produce a report outlining best practice and advice on handling, packaging and storage, with the aim of reducing the huge losses that are thought to come through fresh produce wastage. Waste levels will be quantified both in terms of their economic value and carbon equivalents.
The report also aims to establish how much waste is avoidable, understand how it is currently managed and ascertain how much wasted produce goes into other income streams such as animal feeds.
One third of all fruit and veg is believed to be thrown away by consumers, while analysts have suggested as much as a quarter of fresh produce could be damaged or wasted before it even reaches the shopper’s basket.
The fresh produce study is the first of a number of Resource Maps, with meat and fish set to follow. The study is funded by Wrap and Envirowise, and the results will be shared with the industry.
