Are you guilty of buying too much at the supermarket and later finding shrivelled vegetables hiding at the back of your fridge? Do you cook too much thinking you’ll eat the leftovers the next day but instead forget and grab takeout on the way home?
A recent survey of 2300 people by Rabobank, from its annual Food and Farming Report, RaboDirect, found that this kind of behaviour was normal for the average family living in urban NSW and Victoria. The report claims that Australians are throwing out $9.6 billion worth of food annually with a cost to the average household of around $1050. The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates this cost to be even higher at approximately $3800.
Respondents said purchasing more food than they needed was the biggest reason for food waste with some saying that they did not want to consume leftovers.
Restaurants and cafes are among the worst offenders with nearly a quarter (23%) of the food they buy for their business discarded. In addition to the the environmental impacts, wasted food also represents a significant financial loss for restaurants and cafes..
The Federal Government has identified food wastage as a national issue. Last week Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg announced the establishment of a national body charged with reducing the soaring amount of food waste, with a goal of halving waste output by 2030.
The significant amount of food waste has created an opportunity for charities such as OzHarvest and FareShare who rescue discarded food and give it to those in need. OzHarvest estimates the annual figure from food wastage, including institutions, is around $20 billion. The charity delivered more than 13 million meals last year, using food that would otherwise have ended up as landfill.
Food wastage has significant environmental impacts which many people in urban areas are disassociated from. The amount of greenhouse gas emissions created by food waste going to landfill is 5.25 million metric tonnes of CO2-e every year in Australia. This is the same amount as that produced by the iron and steel manufacturing industries combined.
The RaboDirect report reveals that although three quarters of consumers claim to care about food wastage their actions don’t reflect this. Consumers in rural areas who are closer to food production tend to be less wasteful than those living in urban areas.
So what can we as individuals do to avoid food wastage and be more efficient with the products in our fridges and pantries? The RaboDirect Report has some useful tips to help:
- Plan meals ahead of time so that you shop for what you actually need rather than stocking up on excess ingredients that may go unused and be discarded later.
- Ensure that you check your fridge and pantry prior to going shopping so that you don’t double up on ingredients that you won’t use.
- After shopping reorganise your fridge to bring older items to the front and newly purchased foods at the back.
- Cook or bake meals that use up fruit and vegetables that are past their best such as smoothies, soups and fruit muffins.
- Consider growing your own herbs and vegetables and picking only what you need.
- Finally learn to love your leftovers. Sunbeam has come up with the perfect solution to reduce waste and keep food fresh for longer.
The FoodSaver® Fresh is an innovative vacuum sealing appliance that was launched in Australia last week. It is an easy and cost-effective solution for increasing the longevity of fresh food and helping to avoid food wastage.
While traditional food storage methods trap air causing food to quickly lose flavour, texture and nutrition, the FoodSaver® preservation system efficiently removes the air from the customised containers, keeping food fresh for twice as long as usual.
The FoodSaver® Fresh is the ideal solution for people who love to eat healthy, tasty, fresh food but don’t want to shop on a daily basis. It is also perfect for people who dislike food wastage or who are cooking on a budget, says Sunbeam FoodSaver® Category Manager, Nicole Norton.
“The FoodSaver® Fresh enables efficient meal planning by allowing you to cook and prep food in bulk knowing that it will stay fresh and nutritious for at least twice as long as standard storage systems such as cling wrap and zip lock bags”, says Norton.
The RaboDirect Report states that world population is set to increase to 9.8 billion by 2050. As a result, current food production will have to increase by 60 percent in order to put food in all of those mouths.
Everyone needs to play a part in reducing food waste. And just think, by using some of these simple tips instead of wasting money on unused food, you could have an extra few thousand a year in your bank account!
Samantha English is a Senior Account Director at Blackie McDonald working on the Sunbeam account.
 RaboDirect Financial Health Barometer 2017
 The Australian November 20, 2017