While people in many parts of the world are dying of starvation, billions of euros of foodstuffs are wasted in the rubbish bins in The Netherlands. The Wageningen University & Research Centre plays a leading role in trying to tackle this waste. This article is in Dutch.

The Dutch press and media devoted much attention to a study done by Wageningen University concerning the food which restaurants in The Netherlands throw away. The study shows that the 11,000 restaurants in The Netherlands throw away 25 to 30 percent of foodstuffs: vegetables and fruit top the list, followed by bread-potatoes-rice, meat and fish.  The customer appears to be the top food waster, accounting for 10-15 percent of the waste, while kitchen workers account for 5-10 percent of purchased foodstuff such as fish, meat and vegetables. Another 10 percent of food wastage is in the form of peels, bones and other unavoidable losses.

In specific terms, the total amount of food thrown away by restaurants is 51,000 tons, amounting to 235 million euros annually.

 "Too much is being purchased," the AD quoted researcher Henri Luitjes. Economy-wise aside, the damage to the environment is the 0.1 megatons of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere from disposal of wasted food. Dr. Luitjes feels that some simple regulations could lead to cutting the wastage down by half.

The press also interviewed restaurants and the Dutch Restaurant Association for their comments.

This internet article and newspaper article (in Dutch) are about the vast quantities of unsold Christmas and New Year goodies being thrown away in The Netherlands. Researcher Dr. Henri Luitjes, one of the founders of a consortium to tackle food wastage, is interviewed here.

The Intermediair features on its front page an article on the eating patterns of the Dutch and the amount of discarded food. The impetus for the article is the joint effort initiated by the Wageningen University which, together with several Dutch companies, intends to tackle the daily food wastage among consumers, retailers and supermarkets. Among those interviewed is Dr.Henri Luitjes, head of a research group in the Wageningen University, and one of the 'brains' behind the action. The article is available in Dutch.

Consortium 'Fresh on Demand' wants to cut down food wastage from farmer to consumer. While this is only thereotically possible now, the consequences can be enormous. Article is available in Dutch.

You can almost feed yourself from the rubbish bin. Most people throw away more than 1000 euros worth of food. A new organisation will take action against such wastage with modern technology and special ways. Article is in Dutch.

The food industry is going to try to tackle the problem of food wastage. The government and the business sectors wants to cut back the costs of food shrinkage with 1.2 billion euros. A project is being set up and this requires soem 45 million euros. This article appeared on the front page of the Volkskrant.

By making adjustments in chain management and packaging, the loss of one third of fresh-cut endive has been savaged by the Dutch Vegetable Cutters, the Wageningen University and the supermarket chains Spar and Jumbo. Details can be found in this article in Dutch.

Research poster

Communicative packaging can reduce shrinkage of fresh products during storage and transportation. The Agrotechnology and Food Science Group performs research within the EU-project Sustainpack into applications of temperature sensors in cardboard boxes. The findings can be interesting for inter-continental container transport of tomatoes on the vine. This article is available in Dutch.

More about Sustainpack
 

Aladin is a software tool which helps to redesign a supply chain in order to minimise product losses and to offer the required product quality. More...

As the quality of cut vegetables deteriorates very rapidly, supermarkets throw away much of such foodstuffs. Research carried out by Groentehof and Wageningen-UR reveals that temperature factors in the chain has greater influence on oxygen concentraion in the packaging than we know. Experiments with modelling and optimalisation of these factors can lead to less deterioration.  Article is available in Dutch.

Our researchers and IBM are developing a system to help retailers earn about 250 million euros a year. Article is available in Dutch.

One billion euros worth of fresh products is discarded annually into the rubbish bin, according to statistics from the AKK Foundation, in its joint undertaking with the Wageiningen University & Research Centre. The researchers claim that such wastes can be reduced by one quarter. Article is available in Dutch.

Each year, enterprises and consumers throw away about one billion euros worth of fresh products, or 35 per cent of the total turnover. These products could have filled the shelfs of five hundred supermarkts. Fresh products are thrown away mostly by producers and suppliers, while each Dutch consumer is responsible for an average of 135 kilograms annually. These are results of research conducted by AKK and the Wageningen University & Research Centre.  Article is available in Dutch

NRC, 13  June 2005: English translation of article. Original article in Dutch

Elsevier Voedingsmiddelen Industrie, June 2005 : Article in Dutch

Supermarkets throw away 5 to 10% of their turnover in fresh products each year. According to our research team, such shrinkage can be drastically reduced by quality-oriented logistics. Article is available in Dutch.  

Research into 'Ready-to-eat' mangoes

Wageningen University & Research Centre has succeeded in developing a ready-to-eat concept for mangoes, in which retailers see the product shrinkage go up, accompanied by increases in turnover and profit. Director Henri Luitjes says: "Our fresh logistics model is also applicable for all other fresh products. It gives an insight into product shrinkage and out-of-stock." More...

A fresh product is perishable. It is this that makes the work of a fresh products purchaser for a retailer so special. The purchaser has to buy products of the right qualiy which cater to market demands, and fit the timing necessary for distribution and marketing. Empty shelves are a no-no, on the one hand, while product waste due to decay has to be minimised, on the other. Our research team has brought together its expertise in the area of fresh products and agrologistics to enable product waste in the chain to be visible. The use of a software tool named ‘Aladin’ is also described in this article.

The Agro Chain Knowledge Foundation has approved three new projects on 4 June. Among these is the project 'Prolonged shelf-life of vegetables reduces wastes'. Working together with Laurus and the Hendrix Meat Group will be researchers from Wageningen UR. Article is available in Dutch.