Tackling the food waste crisis What can be done to

taCklinG the food waste Crisis

There are many possible approaches to dealing with the global food waste problem, from innovative packaging to nanotechnology and smarter transit solutions, as Victoria Hattersley reports.

AS the world’s population expands and environmental pressures increase, the vast extent of the global food waste crisis is being thrown into the spotlight. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says that roughly one-third of the food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted each year. And according to WRAP, the UK’s Waste and Resources Action Programme, each year the world sees $984 billion in economic losses per year due to food waste.

But how is such a vast problem to be tackled? Of course there is no simple – or single – solution: technologies are being developed in a number of fields to help reduce the amount of food we waste and ease the environmental burden at the same time.

Improving sanitisation technologies

Take Swiss startup Ebeam Technologies, which uses electron beams to sanitise crops and other dry foods. The company is currently in a partnership with Swiss food giant Bühler to test the technology, with the first installation taking place at German food manufacturer Kündig’s production facilities.

One of the significant aspects of this technology is that it is able to sanitise the foodstuff, prolonging its shelf life without damaging its essential qualities – i.e. its taste and nutritional value. For example, in early tests on coriander ebeam was able to provide sanitisation while only slightly reducing the essential oils (amounting to roughly a third of the oil that would be lost through steam treatment).

Smarter transit solutions

Reducing damage to food during transport is another major challenge, which a team from the Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) in Switzerland is working to address. They have developed sensors to monitor the condition of fruit as it travels from farm to shop.

These sensors are the exact size and composition of the fruit, in order to model its experience in the pallet as closely as possible. They provide continuous feedback on the container’s temperature, as even the slightest variation can affect the shelf life of the fruit. This solution could help prevent food waste as well as creating more leeway on the use-by date on the produce.

Packaging innovation

Smarter packaging development to deal with the food waste crisis can take many forms. Some researchers are looking at improving barrier properties, for example, while others are developing intelligent packs that can interact with the environment and monitor the rate of deterioration.

However, while high barrier packaging materials are desirable in terms of food protection as they offer strong resistance to water, oxygen and pathogens, they are often produced from non-renewable resources so there is something of a tension between the need to lower the environmental impact of a package while also protecting the food. It’s a difficult balance, but one that researchers are constantly working to achieve.

For example, last year, UK-based Aquapak Polymers Ltd launched HydroPol, a range of flexible polymers based on polyvinyl alcohol, which is oil-based while also being biodegradable and fully recyclable.

According to Dr John Williams, business development director at the company: “Unusually for a plastic, HydroPol is hydrophilic, so food is also less likely to perish from sweating. Many plastics are used only once, and for a short time, before they become waste. Aquapak’s Hydropol significantly reduces the environmental impact of flexible plastic packaging, without requiring a change in consumer behaviour.”

Nanotechnology

Whether it’s in the area of nanocoatings on packaging or in the structure of the food itself, there is significant promise in the use of nanotechology (science, engineering and technology conducted at the nanoscale) to design

food, ingredients or food contact materials at the molecular level. For example, nanoparticles could be used to provide a barrier to oxygen in plastic packaging to reduce food spoilage, or nanosensors could be developed to detect bacteria to reduce the risk of contamination.

We spoke to Dr Julian McClements, Distinguished Professor at the Department of Food Sciences at the University of Massachusetts, about the possibilities of this fascinating but complex area of research. He told us: “Nanotechnology-based sensors are being developed to monitor the safety and quality of foods more closely so that consumers can make more informed decisions about when to eat (rather than just relying on sell by dates). These sensors can be integrated into packaging.

“Materials such as nanocelluose, a waste product from other food and non-food processes, can be converted into plant-based packaging materials. Other biopolymers may also be used for this. But more research is needed to make them durable, affordable, and scalable.”

One project looking at using nanotechnology for packaging materials is the EU-funded NanoPack, which is developing an active packaging film with antimicrobial properties that would slowly release miniscule amounts of antimicrobial essential oils into the ‘headspace’ of the packaging, sanitising both the food and the headspace and extending its shelf life.

When it comes to improving the durability of food itself at the molecular level, nanopesticides and nano-fertilisers could improve agricultural yields, reduce losses and enhance resilience. These tiny particles are able to penetrate into the plants and get to the place where they need the nutrients.

Dr McClements says: “We are working on nano-based delivery systems and excipient systems that can increase the bioavailabilty of vitamins, nutraceuticals, and health oils (such as omega-3). They do this by being broken down more efficiently in our gastrointestinal tracts because of their small size and large surface area.”

But it should be remembered that this technology is still in its early stages, and many are cautious about the use of nanotechnologies to manipulate the structure of food. When questioned about this issue, Dr McClements said: “In my experience, there are some potential risks, because small particles can behave differently in the environment and our bodies than larger ones. However, just because a particle is nano does not mean it is harmful (milk contains lots of nanoparticles). Typically, potential toxicity has to be established on a case-by-case basis.”

using food waste

Environmental organisations are also looking at the problem from further up the chain. After all, even with the wealth of new technologies in development it will not be possible to entirely eliminate food waste – and that’s not to mention the many food byproducts that are also sent to landfill. How, then, can we create economic value out of surplus food products?

One method is to use anaerobic digestion to process feedstock, which can be turned into biogas for energy generation, or used as biofertiliser. UK-based start-up Revive Eco, for example, is working on transforming coffee ground waste into fertilisers and biomass pellets that could be used as a low carbon heating source.

Co-founder Fergus Moore says: “According to figures from the International Coffee Organisation, approximately 500,000 tonnes of coffee ground waste ends up in landfill every year in the UK. Creating Revive Eco was our way of addressing the issue.”

Then there is YPACK, an EU-funded project that started in November 2017 and is currently developing a fully recyclable flow pack film and fully biodegradable packaging tray using by-products that would normally be wasted, such as unpurified cheese whey or almond shells. The flow pack film would function as a passive barrier and the tray would have active antimicrobial properties that are capable of extending the shelf-life of the food products. If successful, this last is a great example of how a packaging could potentially ‘close the loop’, making use of food waste products while also helping to prevent further food waste along the supply chain. n