WRAP to study meat and fish waste levels

WRAP is working with consultancy Envirowise to identify resource maps to highlight the amount of food and packaging waste generated and where it occurs. Data will be collected for four types of meat (poultry, beef, lamb and pork) and 20 fish types from haddock to cockles at all points along the wholesale and retail supply chain within the UK.

Charlotte Henderson, retail supply chain programme manager at WRAP, said the research was important because meat and fish were priority food items when it comes to waste reduction due to the high levels of C02 created during their production process.

The project will also aim to discover how much water is consumed and disposed of during processing and identify the carbon impact of the waste along with its economic value.

It is hoped that food producers all along the supply chain will contribute to the research. Ms Henderson added: “Identifying where and when the waste is generated – and the reasons why – will help us develop solutions to use resources more efficiently. These solutions will be shared and be good news for companies within the supply chains because the benefits identified will be commercial as well as environmental.”

Agencies

The research is being divided up between a number of expert agencies. Food and grocery supply chain experts IGD will undertake research on meat in partnership with MLCSL Consulting (a subsidiary of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board), the British Poultry Council and Cranfield University.

The work on meat will link into work being done by the English Beef and Lamb Executive and the Defra Meat Roadmap, a map to show the pigmeat supply chain.

Christine Walsh, senior consultant at MLCSL Consulting, said “The meat processing – encompassing abattoirs, cutting plants, wholesale and retail packing plants and retail sector – are always working to reduce their waste. This project will give the whole industry an up-to-date benchmark as to where they are and will also signpost them to further opportunities for improvement along the supply chain for the next decade”.

IGD's Director of Industry Development, David Gordon said that the project will follow a variety of animals from the abattoir to the retail check-out and will examine how each part of the animal is used in order to understand where opportunities arise to reduce waste.

C-Tech Innovation, the Chester-based technology development company, is undertaking the work on fish in partnership with the Sea Fish Industry Authority (SEAFISH) and Harris Interactive.

Michaela Archer, Project Manager at SEAFISH, commented: “This is a big issue for the industry so benchmarking the amount of waste product generated throughout the seafood supply chain is crucial if we are to provide a basis for managing waste better in the future.

“With escalating disposal costs and more stringent legislation on disposal methods it is increasingly important that the seafood industry is in a position to minimise the amount of waste produced and look ahead to identify alternative waste treatments and promote good practice,” she added.

The project team will be contacting companies across the supply chain, representing over 80% of the meat and fish species consumed in the UK, to participate in the project and provide data. The results of the survey are set to be available next summer.