On the occasion of the Italian Cuisine Week
Food waste reduction: Where are we in Italy?
In Italy 5.5 million tons of food are wasted every year. The most common acceptation of food waste is: «food bought but not consumed that ends in the garbage».
Among the causes of food waste in families, the main three causes are:
• preparation of excessive portions compared to the actual needs;
• the adoption of ever more demanding and varied diets;
• the lack of attention to the difference between the expiration date and the minimum term for preserving food products.
Food waste has a negative impact on different levels: Ethical- Social, Environmental , Economical.
Food is wasted not only at home but at every stage of the food chain. Much is still wasted, but the intensity of the recovery of surpluses is growing, from 7.5% of 4 years ago to 9%, the result of the work of many in the supply chain.
The "simplicity" and therefore lower cost to recover for the purposes of human nutrition is different depending on the product type and stage of the supply chain in which it is generated.
Over 50% of the surpluses have a degree of average recoverability (49%) or high (3%): surplus transformation and distribution; to these are added the surpluses generated by a part of the world of agriculture and collective catering (fruit and vegetables and canteens, for example).
The corporate cost for the recovery of surpluses depends not only on the presence of dedicated activities, but also on the cause of generation, on the characteristics of the products and on the organization of the conferment
The main goals are:
reduction of waste and garbage in the various phases of the food and pharmaceutical product chain;
simplification of procedures for donating surplus food products; incentives for virtuous behavior
STRATEGIES TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE The Action Line:
Involvement of all the players in the supply chain, from the field to the table; Greater awareness of the final consumer through education campaigns to a more conscious use of resources; Development of guidelines for the use of food products no longer intended for human consumption in food for animals.
The “Banco Alimentare” is an Italian no profit Foundation established in Milan in 1989, that is engaged in the fight against food waste and in favor of food sustenance to the needy. The daily mission consists in recovery of food surpluses from every stage of the agri-food supply chain and the redistribution to charitable structures that deal with poor people. Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus leads and coordinates the daily activity of 21 Food Banks and in 2018, it recovered 90.000 tons of food surplus and 2.000.000 portions of food thanks to 1.869 volunteers and 116 employees. Dr. Marco Lucchini, General Secretary of Banco Alimentare is one of its founders. He represents Banco Alimentare in national and European Institutional venues, strengthening and consolidating relations and developing new projects.
Turkish-Italian simultaneous translation.
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