Out the Box

Food waste? Just hoover it up!

Vacuum packing food in a fridge is touted as a fresh hope in the fight against food waste.

Vacuum packing is a decades-old idea for saving space, but it is now making a comeback as a fresh innovation to tackle food waste.

WHAT’S THE CONCEPT?

Food waste is a big problem in the whole world – and one that needs to be dealt with urgently if climate change is to be brought under control. According to estimates, the UK produces around 9.5 million tonnes of food waste, despite 8.4 million people in the country being in food poverty. Meanwhile, a study by the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in 2017 showed that the average UK household spends over £470 annually on binned food – with 70% of the food thrown away having had the potential to be eaten.

Now Hitachi believes it has found a silver lining: a refrigerator that contains a vacuum compartment that drives down food waste.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The tech giant’s new Vacuum Compartment technology aims to significantly extend the storage life of fresh food in the refrigerator by extracting air from a sealed food drawer to create a partial vacuum around fresh, chilled foods such as vegetables, fruit, meat and fish.

The process is thought to not only increase food longevity through reduced oxygen (slowing the oxidation/decomposition process), but to also help keep meat and fish moist, retain nutrients and colour in fruit and vegetables, and maintain the flavour and texture of cheeses.

Once shut, the vacuum compartment uses a small pump to withdraw air from the sealed drawer and maintain around 0.8 atm air pressure. To open the drawer, owners have to lift the handle to release the vacuum seal, accompanied by a ‘whoosh’ of air returning to the compartment.

DOES THAT REALLY HELP?

Independent tests at the Suranaree University of Technology in Thailand showed the Hitachi Vacuum Compartment retained 97% of the vital omega-3 fatty acid, DHA, in fresh fish (mackerel) after three days compared to just 93% in a standard chiller compartment.

In fresh fruit, vitamin levels can drop dramatically in the fridge, yet the Hitachi Vacuum Drawer retained 30% more vitamin C in pineapple than a typical refrigerator over the same three days, the company noted.

“In the home, where most food waste occurs, our latest Vacuum Compartment technology offers one solution to reduce waste by keeping food fresher for longer,” Hitachi Europe’s Head of Consumer, Richard Bass, commented.

“The Vacuum Compartment can up to double the storage life and nutrient retention time of fresh foods, helping to reduce food waste and save money on food shopping bills.”

AND WHAT ABOUT RETAIL?

It is not in the realm of impossible to see something like this enter the retail world in the future. Food waste is at the top of every country’s agenda and retailers are not immune to it. Waitrose and Marks & Spencer have already decided to remove ‘best before’ dates on 500 products to help tackle food waste. If vacuum packing proves to be a successful household solution, why could it not help retailers extend sell-by dates by extending shelf life?