This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Western Australian businesses can now make better-informed decisions about reducing food waste and turning discarded materials into valuable products, thanks to a new online toolkit. Developed through a research collaboration involving Curtin University, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and the End Food Waste Cooperative Research Center, the Food Waste PRO toolkit helps small and medium-sized food businesses measure their waste and assess potential solutions from technical, regulatory and economic perspectives.
Curtin food science researcher Associate Professor Janet Howieson, from the School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said many smaller businesses recognized opportunities to reduce or repurpose food waste but lacked the time and resources to determine whether solutions were commercially viable. "Food waste can represent a significant lost opportunity for a business, but identifying a possible solution is only the first step," Howieson said. "Businesses need to understand how much waste they are producing, what can practically be done with it and, importantly, whether investing in a particular solution makes financial sense.
"This toolkit brings those considerations together, giving businesses an easier way to investigate their options before potentially committing significant resources to something that may not be profitable." Howieson said the project brought together researchers from a wide variety of disciplines to examine food waste from multiple perspectives. "The research has involved mapping and monitoring food waste, examining potential markets, using food science to trial new products and supply-chain innovations, undertaking cost-benefit analysis and looking at how different strategies can be successfully implemented," Howieson said. "The solution will be different for every business: reducing waste might involve changing procurement or processing practices, improving staff training or supply chains, or finding ways to turn what was previously a discarded byproduct into a new product." The toolkit has been trialed and refined through several Western Australian food businesses spanning the grain, seafood and horticulture industries.
Carnarvon-based grower and distributor Sweeter Banana participated in the trial. Business manager Doriana Mangili said the horticulture industry often had to discard fruit and vegetables due to their appearance, despite the produce being perfectly healthy. "The mapping tools have been an excellent way of seeing in which areas exactly we get waste," Mangili said.
"We had access to information we would never otherwise have had as individual growers. "Over a few months we were able to reduce our waste from up to 30% to virtually zero, by sending everything through to our value-adding facility and processing those products into either frozen bananas or freeze-dried bananas." Howieson said the ultimate goal was to make sophisticated research and analysis more accessible to smaller businesses. "Small and medium-sized businesses often don't have the resources to commission extensive research every time they identify a potential opportunity," Howieson said.
"By giving them a practical framework to measure the problem and assess their options, we hope they can make informed decisions which reduce waste while also making good commercial sense." BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience.
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