In this event, they presented the four innovations that have been implemented in Austria aimed at curbing food waste: a mobile application for the household sector (CozZo app), educational programmes and technical solutions for the dining room in schools (Plate Waste Tracker), the successful distribution of surplus fruit and vegetables from production and processing and processing by the Austrian company Unverschwendet, as well as the forecasting software for bakeries in Germany, which is already being used in Austria (FoodTracks).

A panel discussion also took place during the event. It was expertly moderated by Christian Pladerer, from the Austrian Institute of Ecology. Representatives from policy, academia and the food sector shared valuable insights into the practical implementation of food waste prevention measures.

We wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all participants for joining this event! We look forward to future collaborations in our ongoing fight against food waste!

The project coordinator Clara Cicatiello (UNITUS) recalled the steps of LOWINFOOD, including both good results and the challenges faced by the partners. Federico Tonegatti, from UNIBO, presented the recent research work on the quantification of the social impact of the S.I.R. platform: through a participatory method involving all the actors, the social impact was calculated in terms of Social Return On Investment – SROI. The work highlighted the role of public bodies in the coordination of food recovery and support to the Third Sector, reaching people at risk of food poverty and often in conditions of social distress.

The event also hosted a round table, entitled “The evolution of the organisational model: state of the art and perspectives” in which several stakeholders participated, including agri-food associations and centres, NGOs, universities, as well as Stefano Bonaccini, MEP Member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

Learn more: https://progeu.regione.emilia-romagna.it/en/lowinfood/news/the-social-impact-of-the-market-withdrawals-regional-system-through-s-i-r-platform?set_language=en

Watch below the event recorded:

Nearly 180,000 tons of baked goods are wasted annually in Sweden. Roughly 51 % is generated at the supplier-retailer interface, particularly considering bread sold under take-back agreements where 14 % of production becomes surplus. Only 2 % of this surplus is recirculated to the food system, while the majority is used in energy production. 

The take-back agreements implemented in the bread supply chain in Sweden exhibit a degree of circularity, as they allow the valorisation of unsold products. However, this model has also been identified as a risk factor in generating high volumes of bread waste, entailing a considerable economic loss for producers, retailers and consumers, but also has a devastating environmental impact through, e.g. increased global warming, biodiversity loss and depletion of natural resources. Many retailers face a trade-off between providing high availability of products and the environmental, social and financial burdens related to unsold products. 

Through the stakeholder dialogues (two rounds of dialogues were conducted in Sweden as part of the implementation of this innovation), along with literature, previous research, public company reports, and data shared via correspondence with industry actors and charity organizations, the volumes of surplus arising at the supplier-retailer interface were quantified by the LOWINFOOD researchers. Alongside this, the amount of surplus bread sold under the take-back agreement following different pathways was mapped. 

The results show that just under 180,000  tonnes of baked goods, equivalent to roughly 7.7 billion EUR, are lost or wasted annually. The majority of savoury bread consumed in Sweden was found to be sold and distributed under take-back agreements, where 14 % of production (27,000 t) becomes surplus already at the supplier-retailer interface each year. The results further show that the loss rate for sweet products is overall higher compared to savoury products, with even lower loss rates for hardened products.

The power of prevention and valorisation was demonstrated through scenario analyses, where innovations for waste reduction and alternative surplus pathways at the retail-bakery interface were simulated. The largest reduction potential was obtained for preventative actions, either through sharing of data or price reductions. Scenarios adopting both prevention and high-value valorisation resulted in up to ten times lower climate impact per kg of bread.

The outcome of this study can be directly used to support industry actors who want to implement changes that reduce waste or promote high-value valorisation pathways. The results can also provide guidance in developing policy recommendations that economically favour prevention and valorisation toward human consumption, and provide a valuable basis for future research on resource-efficient food systems.

There, different people from various Start-Ups, city administration, volunteer work and research met to discuss and find solutions together. Dr Christina Strotmann presented the LOWINFOOD project as well as her viewpoint on the food waste problem during a panel discussion. Further, other participants were able to meet the team at the LOWINFOOD stand.

An interesting reflection our partner Christina Strotmann provided: “Isn’t it absurd? On the one hand, saved food waste can help nurture the ones in need. On the other hand, the ones that seem to have enough and too much wealth waste food regularly. While many initiatives, often led by volunteers, provide for those facing food insecurity utilizing food waste, the abundance must be restricted. Because anything abundant is easily wasted. We need more quality in place of quantity”. 

Some other Italian LOWINFOOD partners, from the University of Bologna and Emilia-Romagna Region, among others, also attended the event.

She promoted discussion among students and talked a lot about bread losses and waste and how this can be managed and reduced. She also focused on research and presented results attained in LOWINFOOD.

The aim is to create opportunities for researchers and citizens to meet in order to spread scientific culture and knowledge about research professions in an informal and stimulating context. Events include live scientific experiments and demonstrations, exhibitions and guided tours, conferences and popular seminars, shows and concerts.

In Italy, the Researchers’ Night was celebrated in different cities. Clara joined the event in Viterbo, while Roberta participated in the event organised in Rome.

Food-sharing platforms and the practice of taking home leftovers after dining out are recognized as viable approaches to mitigating the phenomenon of reducing food loss and waste. However, a critical gap persists as academic studies usually do not systematically assess the actual consumption of this food at home and its correlation with post-consumption waste.

This study was carried out by leveraging primary data from the Regusto technological innovation, an innovative application that allowed measuring and tracking the actual consumption of acquired food at home, both the surplus food sold by restaurants to consumers and leftovers taken away by consumers. A QR code attached to the Regusto bag that customers take home with leftovers or the ordered takeaway meal contained a questionnaire that customers filled out to report the amount of food consumed and wasted.

Based on the experience of 574 respondents, the results showed an 88.2% reduction in food waste, confirming the potential of food-sharing platforms and the use of doggy bags in reducing food waste. However, post-consumer food waste differed between leftover waste (23.6%) and takeaway food waste (11.4%).

Learn more about this study

Influenced by market competition and consumer demands, retailers prioritize keeping shelves well stocked with a diverse array of products, although this makes them face a trade-off situation between the high availability of products and the environmental, social, and financial burdens related to food waste. Further, the take-back agreement is a common practice in Sweden. This agreement holds the bakeries responsible for forecasting, ordering, delivering and placing products at retail level, while also being financially responsible for managing the surplus bread.

This study aimed to map and quantify the surplus pathways for bread in Sweden, and from that assess the environmental impact of different prevention and valorization strategies. Researchers mapped the different pathways, as well as modelled and assessed the impact of different strategies fostering bread waste prevention and reduction. They calculated the bread loss rates both at the bakery and retail levels and then compared them with the environmental consequences of modifying or removing the take-back agreement. Input data was collected through stakeholder dialogues in combination with company information accessible through interviews and environmental reports.

Two of the most favourable scenarios were found to be the sharing of data among the supplier-retailer interface, alongside transferring retail ownership of surplus bread to retailers. The main results can be used as support by stakeholders and policymakers on how to prioritize different strategies, to provide actors with a clear view of the options they have, and the related benefits.

Learn more about this study