Research has found that a typical kitchen will waste between 5-15%1 of the food they purchase – the reason? Over production. A whopping 70% of the value of all food waste in hospitality occurs before food reaches the consumer.

Not only does reducing food waste positively impact profitability, it has the additional benefit of reducing the volume of work in kitchens, ensuring chefs are not wasting precious time over-producing and prepping food that will end up in the bin.

While we all know the basics to reducing food waste; using food scraps and bones for stocks, soups and pies, reducing the quantity of ingredients used across the menu, and organising smaller more regular deliveries, as the focus on reducing waste increases, we are seeing greater innovation in this space, yielding some eye-watering results!

USING TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE CHANGE

Studies have shown that automated waste tracking prevents 32x more waste than manual methods. Today, you can use technology to:

  • Automatically capture and record food waste via built-in cameras.
  • Use AI to recognise food being thrown away for more accurate data collection and reporting.
  • Use apps to support menu development and maximise the use of ingredients.

In 2015 Ikea piloted a program to significantly reduce food waste in their kitchens using technology. Following the initial success, the team rolled the program out worldwide in 2017 and by 2021, it was operational in 30 countries across 400 stores. The target was to reduce food waste by 50% in 2022 and to become climate positive by 2030. Using AI, a dedicated project team, clear internal communication, technology for measuring waste and empowering teams to make necessary changes, they reached their goal by the end of 2021, saving 1.2million meals from going to waste.

Not all food waste comes from kitchens, a lot of waste occurs at the hands of diners who have not eaten their meals. This can be a result of ordering too much, not enjoying what they have ordered or a lack of portion control.

Beaufort Hospital in Washington have recently expanded their waste reduction project to include plate waste from patient trays. Using technology, the team tracked how much food was left on the plates of patients at the end of each meal to identify any commonly wasted items. By adjusting menus and ordering times and placing items such as condiments on demand rather than giving each patient a small selection of everything, the team saw a reduction in plate waste of 24% within months.

QUICK AND EASY LOW-COST TIPS TO REDUCE WASTE

  • Encourage children to pre-order their school meals so your catering prep closely matches what will be consumed.
  • Separate food waste to determine what can be repurposed, frozen, donated or composted.
  • To avoid over-merchandising at events, hotel breakfast rooms or schools, use vertical serving containers to add visual contrast, display items such as pastries in single horizontal rows rather than piles or bowls, and separate mixed foods where possible to enable re-purposing.
  • For self-serve instances such as salad bars, carveries, or buffets, try reducing plate sizes and help diners manage portion size by using smaller serving utensils, pre-portioning food or removing trays which enable them to take more than they need.