FOOD WASTE In previous years, buffets have been a prime example of this, as not only does a large portion of this get wasted by the business, but by the consumer, too. All too often, customers load up their plates with eyes bigger than their bellies, leaving much of their serving to end up in landfill. In many ways, the pandemic has helped reduce this as the need for increased safety measures such as social distancing and new serving methods has helped to minimise touch points, meaning catering companies have been able to reduce menu’s and cut down food waste. Businesses can also aim to reduce their contribution to food waste by implementing digital food safety strategies into their workplace. Utilising online databases, compliance calendars and automatic temperature checks will allow hotels and restaurants to monitor stock whilst keeping produce fresher for longer. Although reducing food waste is a global issue and a hugely crucial one at that, it is just as important for businesses to ensure that their food remains safe to eat and consume. Therefore, if food is crosscontaminated or any spillages occur, the food should be discarded immediately
as the health and safety of consumers is paramount. If a business is able to reheat food, then they must make sure they have the correct equipment to do so. Some foods will be able to be reheated or be used the next day, so I urge businesses to use food as long as it remains fresh, safe, and fit for consumption. Not only will this result in a better environmental impact, but it will cost businesses far less, too. THE FUTURE OF FOOD WASTE The coronavirus pandemic has negatively impacted all of our lives in one way or another. However, something it has positively contributed to is the state of our planet. As well as improving air quality, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, and generally slowing down the usual impacts on our environment, Covid19 has also limited the amount of food ending up in landfill - call it a silver lining. Whilst none of us would want to relive the events of the past year, it has taught us to be more mindful and to focus on sustainability. Restaurants and hotels have spent the last 18 months offering
reduced menus, which has also resulted in less wasted food, which is something they many consider continuing for the future. Or perhaps, alternating menus on a weekly basis is the way forwards? This has both saved businesses money and limited their contributions to food waste and is something I predict will be utilised beyond the days of the coronavirus. Businesses within the food and hospitality industries should seek new ways to monitor current stock as well as ways to forecast new stock. Digital food safety allows businesses to do exactly that whilst improving cost-efficiencies and promoting a circular food economy for the industry.
NEW PRODUCT
Make Logs Direct your charring partner this summer! Logs Direct, the specialist that economically fuels outdoor living and cookery, is taking the chore out of charring, for chefs across the UK, having added brand-new products to its existing topquality range of products. Whether a chef favours a wood-fired pizza oven, a traditional barbecue, a Josper-type outdoor oven or a Turkish-style barbecue, Logs Direct have a restaurant-grade product to suit. Its new Leonardo pizza oven briquettes, for instance, are a wholly natural, additive-free product formed 100% of highest quality, finely ground and compressed Italian beech. These masters of any wood-fired oven will light up quickly, emit no noxious chemicals and burn hotter and in a more chef-friendly way, thanks to their six-sided design, which reduces roll but helps increase air-flow. They will also produce just the right amount of char required to produce a perfectly cooked pizza base. These briquettes can be handily snapped into sections, allowing flexibility over how much wood is added to the fire at once. Easy to use, these briquettes generate less than 1% ash and make cleaning the oven a breeze. Used in combination www.papa.org.uk
with Logs Direct’s extremely efficient kiln-dried kindling and eco-firelighters, they are kind to both the food being cooked and the environment. For those who also need to keep customers warm outdoors, Logs Direct is the place to turn for perfect choices for the chimenea or fire pit. Choices range from kiln-dried logs or kilndried chimenea chunks,to innovative products such as Hot Blocks, an eco-product made from recycled pallet wood, and Hotmax Fuel Logs, made from 100% natural and recycled wood dust (call 01524 812476 or visit www.logsdirect.co.uk). 39
