Great effort from the French to reduce food waste

[Ludensian Gull]

When I first moved here, I was looking through the expats forum, and one of the questions was, what do you miss most from home...
1st reply was 'Fruit and vegetables that dont look as if they have just fallen off the back of a lorry' ;-)

Having said that, when I lived in Holland, the fruit and veg looked fabulous, but was generally tasteless.

Bit like here then.

 

[Cian]

Crap looking veg is what's used in food service and making ready meals as it is - there's this obsession that huge amounts are being binned when that isn't the case. Like a lot of these campaigns, ill informed and wildly missing the point.

You don't expect a £1 Iceland takeaway to be using perfectly shaped onions now do you?

 

[glasfryn]

Yup. I go in there now and again for certain fruit and veg, and some spices you can't get elsewhere. Garlic in supermarkets, for instance, is crap.

I still call them Infidelity Foods after an old girlfriend of mine called them that. According to her, all the staff effectively had a closed-shop of everyone working there shagging everyone else. Some things just stay with you.

yes while I had a small business in Kensington Gardens I used them a lot for lunch

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Crap looking veg is what's used in food service and making ready meals as it is - there's this obsession that huge amounts are being binned when that isn't the case. Like a lot of these campaigns, ill informed and wildly missing the point.

You don't expect a £1 Iceland takeaway to be using perfectly shaped onions now do you?

Prove to us that huge amounts are not being wasted? News sources are quoting up to 40% is abandoned.

 

[spring hall convert]

But in all honesty if we were in a supermarket and presented with a mixture of fruit/vegs to pick from would we pick the nice ones or the "nasty" ones?

Depends on the pricing doesn't it?

 

[Return of the Rev]

Eating mutant food What next three headed chickens

 

[Notters]

Waitrose has been doing this for years and making a big thing about it. http://www.waitrose.presscentre.com...th-their-wonky-weather-fruit-and-veg-93c.aspx

 

[Cian]

Prove to us that huge amounts are not being wasted? News sources are quoting up to 40% is abandoned.

News sources are getting that 40% figure from where in the first place?

I've seen farm packaging lines (by accident rather than intent - the massive clanking machine that took in dirty spuds and put sacks of washed outs out the other side that happened to be a building next to a transmitter was something I couldn't *not* look at, for one), and the grading systems used within. Stuff that passes the grading gets sold to retail, stuff that doesn't gets sold to food service. Only stuff that's actually already rotten doesn't get sold at all.

 

[Psychobilly freakout]

it makes me wonder if we have grown a bit obsessive with the presentation of food rather than its nutrition.

Nothing compared to the Japanese & American supermarkets, they polish the bloody apples and it all has to look oh so right no funny penis shaped carrots such a shame.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

News sources are getting that 40% figure from where in the first place?

I've seen farm packaging lines (by accident rather than intent - the massive clanking machine that took in dirty spuds and put sacks of washed outs out the other side that happened to be a building next to a transmitter was something I couldn't *not* look at, for one), and the grading systems used within. Stuff that passes the grading gets sold to retail, stuff that doesn't gets sold to food service. Only stuff that's actually already rotten doesn't get sold at all.

That's just potatoes and one farm.

I can't imagine that 40% is a made up figure. Who has anythjng to gain from making that up?

 

[Barrel of Fun]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28092034

Figures come from a UN Committee.

 

[forrest]

Most food be it fresh fruit/veg or raw meat is graded these days. You often find that the stuff that doesn't make the grade is usually packaged as basic/value ranges to cut down on the wastage before the stuff makes the stores.

 

[Lawson]

Nothing compared to the Japanese & American supermarkets, they polish the bloody apples and it all has to look oh so right no funny penis shaped carrots such a shame.

At least we are better than the Yanks. Those bloody polished apples, they were very difficult to eat, and trying to find some fresh sandwiches in America is a wild goose chase.

 

[MarioOrlandi]

As an ex greengrocer we classified these products as Class II along with the other marked fruit and veg, these were normally organic produce

 

[ewe2]

Food waste in the home,need addressing as well .

 

[Cian]

That's just potatoes and one farm.

I can't imagine that 40% is a made up figure. Who has anythjng to gain from making that up?

Do you seriously think farmers throw potential sales away?

People constantly abuse figures to push an opinion, as is often the case. Its "trendy" to pull stunts like the 'curry made from malformed veg that would be thrown away' events that I've seen happening; where the organisers never mention they had to buy every single one of the ingredients.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28092034

Figures come from a UN Committee.

That includes people throwing food out that they've bought and not consumed - its not a valid figure for this. At absolute and utter best you can take the first four stages of the process diagram they give - but that would involve ignoring loss due to equipment malfunctions, delays, cooling failure, over-ordering leading to spoilage, etc, etc - and you get 20.8% for Europe. Not 40%. Reality of it is that its a lower amount than 20.8%, realistically MUCH lower.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Do you seriously think farmers throw potential sales away?

People constantly abuse figures to push an opinion, as is often the case. Its "trendy" to pull stunts like the 'curry made from malformed veg that would be thrown away' events that I've seen happening; where the organisers never mention they had to buy every single one of the ingredients.



That includes people throwing food out that they've bought and not consumed - its not a valid figure for this. At absolute and utter best you can take the first four stages of the process diagram they give - but that would involve ignoring loss due to equipment malfunctions, delays, cooling failure, over-ordering leading to spoilage, etc, etc - and you get 20.8% for Europe. Not 40%. Reality of it is that its a lower amount than 20.8%, realistically MUCH lower.

So, let's say 10%. That accounts for millions upon millions of tonnes. You stated huge amounts are not being binned. That is crap.

Interesting that you picked potatoes as your argument. They are the only fresh produce whereby supermarkets and people will not baulk at odd shapes.

Why is it 'trendy' to highlight how much food we waste, whether at production or consumer level?

I volunteered for FareShare and it is staggering how much food would be lobbed away to waste. That's just the tip of the iceberg (or little gem).

 

[MarioOrlandi]

I don't know, a few carrots can do just the same

 

[Cian]

So, let's say 10%. That accounts for millions upon millions of tonnes. You stated huge amounts are not being binned. That is crap.

I suspect its significantly less than that again. I'd suggest that the entire 10% harvest-level wastage on that diagram includes all of the 'odd shape' stuff as well as multiple other causes of loss. The figure is and always has been hugely over-stated.

If the media are already overstating the figure by 300% for headline value, there's a damn good chance its 700%.

Interesting that you picked potatoes as your argument. They are the only fresh produce whereby supermarkets and people will not baulk at odd shapes.

Its because I saw the machine last week. I've also seen the grading process for apples (anything not retail saleable on that farm gets used to make Magners) for instance. Same applies to everything. The fruit/veg has cost quite a bit in terms of land use, water, fertilizer, labour and equipment costs to harvest - if it has a recoverable value, that value gets recovered.

Why is it 'trendy' to highlight how much food we waste, whether at production or consumer level?

Because its easy to latch on to, get some nice images/soundbites and get a fuzzy feeling inside. One of many things that get treated similarly - hybrid cars being considered "more environmentally friendly" than a second hand car that has already been built and shipped from halfway around the world for one.

I volunteered for FareShare and it is staggering how much food would be lobbed away to waste. That's just the tip of the iceberg (or little gem).

Let me guess, nearly entirely short-dated produce due to overstock by retailers?

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Well, I think you are wrong. You are understating the amount of waste. There are committees and international movements to combat waste, but apparently you saw one potato processing plant and all is good. The burden of proof is upon you.