Efforts to reduce food wastage

The Straits Times AsiaOne 27 Apr 14;

SINGAPORE - We thank the letter writers who recently provided useful feedback on reducing food wastage. This is fundamentally an issue of values and behavioural change.

The Government has engaged stakeholders such as food manufacturers, hawkers, hotel operators, retailers and non-governmental organisations to better understand factors contributing to food wastage.

There are existing measures to support food wastage reduction, such as the 3R Fund administered by the National Environment Agency (NEA), which subsidises an organisation's food waste reduction and recycling projects.

We are currently studying other initiatives such as developing guidelines on unsold food and food waste management. Some of these initiatives have also been suggested by the letter writers.

As many of the letters have pointed out, all stakeholders, from businesses to consumers, have a part to play in minimising food wastage. Consumers should moderate their food purchases and consumption, so as to avoid having to discard excess food products.

To raise awareness of the need to reduce food wastage, the NEA and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority are also looking into developing a comprehensive public education outreach programme targeted at schools, the community and retailers to reduce food wastage, especially in moderating the way we consume food.

Astrid Yeo (Dr) Director, Regulatory Administration Group Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority

Ong Soo San Director, Waste & Resource Management Department National Environment Agency