Foodservice Footprint Meiko-Designed-With-Waste-In-Mind-Report-1 Food waste rising as supply chains face ongoing pandemic pressure Foodservice News and Information  news-email

Food waste rising as supply chains face ongoing pandemic pressure

Food buyers in the UK’s biggest organisations are reporting a 60% increase in food waste over the last six months. The surge in waste is the result of “unprecedented pressure” on supply chains, according to research by Sodexo.

In a survey of 275 senior food buyers, commissioned by the caterer, 35% admitted to deprioritising food waste due to ongoing challenges in the supply chain. The conflict in Ukraine, covid-related labour shortages, and rising costs are all taking their toll.

The findings cast doubt on the food industry’s ability to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. The UK is over half way towards that but progress has slowed. 

Not enough businesses are taking action on food waste, said Defra recently, as it launched a consultation on mandatory food waste reporting. Almost one in three (34%) of the buyers polled by Sodexo supported the government’s proposal, which would see large food businesses publish food waste data annually.

Reducing food waste is critical to achieving net-zero – and saves money. Food waste across the foodservice sector is responsible for 3.6MtCO2e – about 10% of total food waste emissions in the UK. 

“The first step towards cutting food waste is tracking and monitoring,” said Sodexo UK & Ireland director of corporate responsibility Claire Atkins-Morris. “More broadly, we urge government to take a holistic approach to all areas which will determine the success of net-zero policy making, including food waste, carbon reduction and supply chain resilience.”

Sodexo’s survey showed that 85% of buyers are facing long-term damage to their supply chain as a result of the pandemic – and 32% said optimum efficiency wouldn’t return for another 12 months. Most (83%) said more resilient supply chains have been created, with 35% looking to source more food domestically. There will also be increasing reliance on SMEs.

Labour shortages and freight challenges continue to create problems, with 35% of buyers expecting to increase prices further. Sodexo told the FT that 80% of the food buyers quizzed for the study reported that their customers were considering using cheaper ingredients or smaller portions to cope with rising food costs.