LOW YOUJIN Today Online 6 Aug 19;
SINGAPORE — Even though Singapore prides itself on all things culinary, a new study has found that each household here throws away an estimated S$258 worth of unconsumed food annually.
Across all households, that amounts to about S$342 million of wasted food a year. Put another way, an average household tosses away the equivalent of 52 plates of nasi lemak over 12 months.
The study, published on Tuesday (Aug 6), was conducted by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC), and looked at both household food waste, and the large amount of food lost before it ever gets to the customer — during production, packaging and storage, for example.
Two million tonnes of food is imported into Singapore, of which 393,000 tonnes is lost.
The biggest volume of food loss involves fruit and vegetables, while Singapore’s egg farmers generate the least waste due to their well-developed and efficient supply chain and the use of modern technology.
“Local farmers can look to egg producers here as a role model to achieve the same high level of efficiency,” said the SEC on Tuesday, as it unveiled the findings of the study conducted with financial advisory firm Deloitte.
“This is the first time … we have conducted an intensive six-month study to … review the food loss and food waste in the entire food chain (in Singapore),” said the SEC’s chairman, Ms Isabella Huang-Loh.
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), “food loss” refers to any food lost in the supply chain, while “food waste” refers to the discarding or non-food use of products that are safe and nutritious for human consumption.
'USE BY' 'BEST BEFORE' AND 'EXPIRY' NOT WELL UNDERSTOOD
Data collected from 1,002 respondents through an online survey found that 26,000 tonnes of unconsumed food are thrown away from households in Singapore annually.
The study said that this is largely a result of improper storage, purchasing patterns and food handling habits.
About a third of the consumers surveyed indicated they would generally throw away 10 per cent or more of uncooked and unconsumed food items per week.
One factor is that 80 per cent of the respondents do not fully understand the difference between various labels such as “use by”, “best before” and “date of expiry” used on product packaging.
SEC’s executive director, Ms Jen Teo, said it is possible to stretch products by a “few weeks” if they have passed their “use by” or “best before” dates, though items that have passed their “expiry” dates should be discarded.
Added Mr Rayson Ng, Deloitte’s sustainability leader: “If we can discern between different types of labels, that will lengthen the amount of time to consume the food, and that will probably minimise food waste.”
On the flip-side, the study found that 20 per cent of respondents could be classified as “smart consumers”.
They are consumers who generally:
Do not throw away unconsumed food
Are effective and organised planners, who always or often make a shopping list
Are not swayed by promotional offers to buy excess food items that are potentially wasted
Make sure they consume all food items bought, and do not buy more than they need
Shop at least once a week without contributing to an increase in food waste
FOOD LOSS BEGINS BEFORE IT REACHES CONSUMERS
The 393,000 tonnes of food lost during production, processing and transportation here is equivalent to 62kg worth of food per person in Singapore.
For locally produced food, the study found that more than 5,000 tonnes is lost at production, and close to 2,000 tonnes of food is lost during post-harvest handling and storage.
During the processing and packaging stage of imported and locally produced food items, the SEC said food loss is close to 75,000 tonnes, with another 116,000 tonnes of food loss during distribution.
Of 342,000 tonnes of food loss incurred in Singapore, top of the list were:
167,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables
25,000 tonnes of fish and seafood
5,500 tonnes of eggs
Some of the key drivers of food loss identified in the study are:
Poor disease and pest management
Over-importation of food items
Fragmented cold chain management
Inadequate infrastructure
TREATING PERISHABLE FOODS CAREFULLY
While Singapore needs to address the issue of its food security, Ms Teo questions whether the Republic really needs to import “that amount of food”.
“Rather than over-import, let’s divert these resources and cost to growing locally.”
She said that if Singapore can encourage local food producers to flourish with the use of better technologies, there will not only be less food waste, but “fresher food” for consumers.
Touching on “fragmented” cold chain management, Ms Huang-Loh said that some “antiquated” methods of transporting perishable foods in Singapore have to change as well.
For example, more sophisticated methods of transporting fish were needed, rather than just covering the fish with ice.
The same can be said for “highly perishable” items such as fruit and vegetables, added Mr Ng.
He said that these are “low-value” products, so wholesalers and distributors are not willing to invest in proper cold chain management. “As a result, the transportation itself would contribute to the food loss.”
Speaking to TODAY, Mr Joe Chen, the chief commercial officer of local fresh produce company Glife Technologies agreed that more can be done by the various players within the food industry to reduce wastage.
Mr Joe Chen said that his company ensures that their perishable produce is kept chilled throughout the entire process.
Regardless of whether the produce comes from the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, or from one of the local farms, Mr Chen said it is transported in vehicles with a refrigerated space.
“There’s no point buying cheaply and discovering it’s rotten upon arrival.”
Even when they are getting ready to pack the produce for their customers, Mr Chen said that they will do it within an air-conditioned space. “We want to keep our products at the right temperature.”
He added that many wholesalers take it out of cold storage and put the produce either under the hot sun or at room temperature during packing and loading.
“The products will have a lot of condensation and they will spoil,” he said.
A SHIFT IN MINDSET TO BUY LESS FOOD
One consumer said it also helps to have a shift in mindset when purchasing groceries, even if it means that paying a higher price for not buying in bulk.
Mr Shaun Ho, a father of two, said that since the start of the year, he has been making a conscious decision to buy just enough for his family when he shops.
The 33-year-old, who works in logistics, said that he used to make his purchases according to the promotions offered at the supermarkets.
For instance, whenever a promotional discount was offered to shoppers whenever they buy two cartons of milk, he would do it even if he did not need that much at home.
“I always can’t finish and I end up throwing away about 60 to 90 per cent of the second carton of milk,” he said.
“I don’t like the idea that I’m throwing away more than half of unopened things that have spoiled from sitting in my pantry for too long.”
Another suggestion to reduce food waste, suggested Ms Huang-Loh, is selling aesthetically unappealing food at a lower price point at specialty stores.
This “ugly food”, which would typically be tossed out by supermarkets, is still safe for consumption, she said.
Mr Ng said if Singapore can cut down on food loss, and channel it into food for consumers, it could create the Republic’s “fourth food basket” – after food imports, locally grown food, and the sourcing of cheaper food alternatives from overseas.
One-fifth of fresh food lost and wasted before they reach consumers: Study
Shabana Begum Straits Times 6 Aug 19;
SINGAPORE - Close to one-fifth of imported and locally farmed fresh produce here is lost along the food supply chain every year, amounting to a loss of $2.54 billion, a study conducted by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and consultancy firm Deloitte Singapore has found.
Two million tonnes of fresh produce are imported to Singapore each year, while less than 10 per cent of food is produced locally.
The study found that the one-fifth of food that is lost and wasted translates to 393,000 tonnes of vegetables, fruits, fish, seafood and eggs that are spoiled and damaged during the post-harvest stage, storage, packaging and transportation.
These include food wastage when food close to their best-before dates and vegetables that look unappealing are left on the shelves and thrown away.
More than 65 per cent of the 393,000 tonnes are lost in the importation and distribution stages.
The study said the main causes of food loss are poor disease and pest management in farms and warehouses, over-importing, a broken cold chain management, and inadequate infrastructure to prevent food spoilage.
This is the first food waste study that examines food loss and waste from farm to market.
To put together the study, SEC and Deloitte Singapore looked at existing local and international research on food loss and waste, and also interviewed more than 30 key stakeholders in the local food supply chain from May to August this year.
SEC's executive director Jen Teo said there is a tendency for buyers to over-import food because of competitive pricing and the desire to meet consumers' demands for high-quality food.
Ms Isabella Huang-Loh, the council's chairman, added: "Buyers will import more potatoes than needed to feed a population of 5.4 million. Everyone wants to compete with one another for price, but it leads to more perishables lost in the process."
The study emphasised that an unbroken cold chain from farm to table is needed to maintain the quality of fresh produce and avoid pest infestation.
Mr Rayson Ng, Deloitte Singapore's risk advisory director, said: "A wholesale centre is housed in an open-air, humid setting. We realised that the shelf life of the vegetables can be lengthened if the wholesale centre were to be in a temperature-controlled environment. Or cold chain facilities can be set up beside the centre."
Vegetables and fruits make up the majority of food lost and wasted, at 49 per cent.
To save more perishables, Ms Teo said that there needs to be more coordination and communication between each player in the local supply chain.
"Now, the whole supply chain is fragmented and everyone operates in silos. With more coordination, everyone can work together to ensure that all the harvested food will be consistent in quality."
Ms Huang-Loh added that the $2.54 billion lost can otherwise be used to build efficient logistic companies, create jobs in the fresh food supply chain and create innovations to prevent food loss.
Mr Ng said: "If we can cut down on food loss, (the saved food) could be our fourth 'food basket'. This can help us in improving the country's food resilience and security."
Currently, imported food, local farms and food grown overseas make up the country's three "food baskets", with a focus on the latter two to achieve Singapore's goal of producing 30 per cent of its food needs by 2030.
In another part of the study, 1,002 individuals took part in an online consumer survey about their food storage habits, purchasing patterns and tendency to discard food.
The survey found that one-third of the respondents throw away more than 10 per cent of their food every week, amounting to $258 worth of food wasted in one household annually.
Eight in 10 respondents do not understand the difference between labels such as "use-by", "best-before" and "date of expiry".
"When the food almost reaches its 'use-by' or 'best-before' date, it does not always mean that the food is expired. But consumers don't understand that," said Ms Huang-Loh.
Mr Ng said: "In other countries, the two labels mean that if the food reaches its 'use-by' date, the quality and flavour of the food is lowered, but it could still be edible."
He suggested that food packaging companies provide a short explanation on the labels for food that can remain edible beyond its use-by date, until it reaches its expiry date.
In a joint response to the SEC study, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the National Environment Agency (NEA) said the findings on the drivers of food loss and waste will be useful for NEA when developing programmes to engage stakeholders on food loss and waste reduction.
Moving forward, NEA will also be implementing mandatory requirements for new developments which are expected to generate large amounts of food waste. These developers will need to allocate and set aside space for on-site food waste treatment in their design plans submitted from 2021, and implement on-site food waste treatment from 2024.
SEC will discuss the study's findings and explore solutions with industry players and experts on Aug 27 at the SEC Convention and Singapore Environmental Achievement Awards, which recognise organisations that have exemplary environmental practices.
