One of the major challenges in the world today is how to manage waste and conserve our environment. There are many types of waste that are hazardous to our environment, one of them is food waste. Food waste is the food that gets discarded before being consumed. Over a third of the food that is produced often goes to waste. This is unfortunate because there are many people facing hunger, especially in third world countries. Food waste occurs at every stage of production.
Causes of food waste
1) Fresh produce from the farm that does not meet optimum qualifications such as size, shape, color and other minimum qualifications.
2) Food that is considered to have reached ‘best before date’ while still on the shelf hence disposed by either retailers or in the household.
3) Large quantity or wholesome food that are discarded by supermarkets or food stores.
How supermarkets can reduce food waste
1) Partner with farmers
Food waste starts in the farm where some food is left in the farm due to surplus supply. Some other times the food get to the supermarkets late because the intermediaries take time to transfer the food from farmers to the supermarkets. This can be solved by having farmers partner with supermarkets. When supermarkets partner with the farmers, it will be easier and faster to get the food from the farm to the store.
2) Use upgraded inventory system
Upgraded inventory systems will help to account for goods that are on the shelves and in the store to avoid excess. Instead of depending on manual labour to move goods from the store to the shelves, these systems help to organise food depending on the sell-by date. This will help to ensure food that has a short shelf period sells first to avoid wastage.
3) Creating awareness on food waste
Supermarkets can create awareness of the rising number of food waste in our society. Most people do not know what to do with food leftovers and end up disposing of them. Supermarkets can educate consumers on how to cut food waste in their homesteads. Publications that supermarkets use to share stories can also include sections where they share tips on how to reduce food waste. Partnering with restaurants or chef to educate people on how to deal with leftovers can also help to reduce food waste.
4) Eliminate practices that encourage food waste
Supermarkets can also help to reduce food waste by modifying practices that lead to food waste. Instead of letting goods go to waste, they can adopt a practice to sell the goods at a discount. Other checklists such as the size, colour or shape of the food can also be taken into consideration. Instead of rejecting these food leading to waste, they can be sold at a discount.
How supermarkets deal with food waste
Although food waste should be minimised, sometimes it is inevitable to have some food go to waste. For instance, power outages due to natural causes can cause perishable food to go to waste. Supermarkets can deal with food waste by hiring a professional waste removal company like Paul’s Rubbish Removal. Here are some reasons why supermarkets need to hire a professional waste removal company.
1) Affordable prices
Waste removal companies offer to help remove food waste from the supermarket at affordable prices. This is convenient for the supermarket because they do not need to hire extra man power to deal with the waste.
2) Proper disposal
Environmental conservation is a key element for most businesses. It can be hard for supermarkets to find places to dispose of food waste without posing an environmental hazard in the society. Rubbish removal companies help you to dispose of the waste appropriately they also help to sort waste that can be recycled.
3) Fast and efficient
Most supermarkets operate 24 hours. Food waste can cause a foul smell in the store resulting in poor customer service. Cleaning the food waste, on the other hand, can take times or cause a messy situation whereas business is still running. Hiring a rubbish removal company will ensure the waste is removed fast and efficiently without causing a major hitch in the normal operation of the supermarket. They will also ensure the place is left tidy and in good order.