Poland: food waste can be limited!

It is still very difficult to properly count food wasted in Poland. Based on the research made lately it seems that 4,8mln tonnes food is wasted in the country. This was discussed during a webinar about Reduction on Foodwaste in the Horeca on October 14. The webinar was organized by the Embassy within the Circular Economy week in Poland.

Consumers’ choices

If one looks at the division between all the parts of the chain it seems that it is mainly consumer that is causing food waste in Poland:  

  • Production: 15% food waste
  • Processing and distribution: 16%
  • Consumer: 60% of food wasted in Poland.
vegetarian finger food
Beeld: ©A.Murawska

Food waste in Poland is a problem. Consumers aren’t good at planning their meals and eventually buying too much food. Luckily there are many bottom up initiatives to change this bad trend: books about food preservation, diverse podcasts with creative cooking, and awareness initiatives showing how to avoid food waste. This direction is very positive and fits into general fight against plastic and  climate changes. Only the steps could be bigger.- Joanna Trybus from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development sketched the current situation in Poland.

HoReCa problems

Although it is the consumer who is the least educated about food waste, also in the HoReCa sector, where professionals are working, is facing this problem: in hotels chefs want to show traditional hospitality and have false imagination about the food amounts their guests can eat. Next to that they don’t want to risk shortages of food and anger of their clients, especially as in many cases meals were already paid by the client. Therefore chefs don’t see reasons to limit the purchase of food.

metabolic food waste is a specific type of food waste when people eat more than they need because they don’t want to throw food away. It leads to obesity and health problems.

Venturis horeca, one of the participants of the event, counted that this way of operating results in overproduction in Poland and food that is eventually not used in the HoReCa sector costs even 7 tonnes of gold annually.

food waste
Beeld: ©A.Murawska

Food waste law for retailers

Two years ago new law for retailers to avoid food waste was introduced. Only from bigger chains 20 000 tonnes were saved and transferred to food banks in Poland. Next year Poland will get data for all the retailers operating in Poland so the number of saved food will increase. There are also voices to extend the new law also for other part of the chain like food processors. The Ministry is planning to put the support to food charities under the national recovery program.

production scrubs and peelings small parts of vegetables of fruit that are normally removed before processing are sometimes also seen as food waste

There is ongoing discussion in Poland about redistribution of food after the expiry of best before date. Authorities from the Polish health sector don’t support the redistribution after the date as it might have negative impact on people’s health. The solution to this problem might be the minimum durability of food. It can be used by charity organizations to prepare ready to eat meals right after processing and offer to people who cannot afford to buy food themselves.

webinar about food waste
Beeld: ©A.Murawska

Never waste a good crisis

Last two years changed the awareness of the society about food. Due to the pandemic people started to worry about food, they had more time to compose their meals and plan food purchase at supermarkets. On the other hand even short pauses in the food chain let companies think about shifting processing lines from outside of the EU back to the region. A so called food nationalism- consumption of food that is grown locally has risen. Next to that also support for initiatives helping to reduce food waste are welcome. Therefore also restaurants like to cooperate with them and becoming more and more aware of food waste problem.

Luckily there are plenty of initiatives restaurants can work with: diverse food sharing movement and food communities that take food rests and process it further. Also the app too good to go is a well-known operator among restaurants. One of our speaker- Café Stor invested in a machine composter where all the food to be wasted is put in there and within 24 hours natural fertilizer is being produced that can be used for plants or a garden. Stor got in touch with other guest of the webinar: Ecobean that helps to change the value of coffee waste and makes coffee straws and coffee brickets from the coffee rests. Ecobean informed that 30-40 tonnes of coffee waste arises in café’s in Poland annually.

What we call waste is a resource for the other

But some of the restaurants went even further and are actively avoiding food waste. And based their whole meals on products that otherwise would be thrown away.

The world is in constant change

All the speakers present at the session stressed a very difficult start in this field. The chef from the Circl restaurant admitted that it was a real challenge to complete the team as in his kitchen the challenges lie not only in the taste, but mostly in the different way of cooking: instead of developing new recipes and ordering ingredients, he is checking the products available and preparing meals from the products to prevent the waste.

But every change starts somewhere and as some years ago it was incredible to find a dog owner who is cleaning after his pet, now also consumer habits are changing. Some years ago meals prepared from food at the edge of the expiry date wouldn’t be considered as good idea by the consumers, nowadays it is a very positive part of a promotion campaign for many restaurants and café’s that are taking care for the planet.

Food is fun!

The next guest of the webinar Upprinting food presented their own way for food waste reduction. They use a 3D printer and surprise people with taste of food printed in an interesting shape. Their advise is to make meals visually attractive. They made tests themselves and by changing shape of served food they convinced children to eat meals they initially found ugly.

Practical tips to reduce food waste

  • Restaurants put bycatch fish in the menu instead of regular fish the customer is used to.
  • The best way to limit food waste is to process it and preserve it. Not many people want to eat ugly vegetables, but by processing it to sauces it still can be eaten by consumers.
  • Reduce number of menu items. Less products in the fridge.
  • Supermarkets have shelves where you can buy products just before the expiry date.
  • Every hotel of cook should have an ABC food plan. By buying less food he can choose for better quality food and better products.
  • Look what’s available not what do you need and cook meals from ingredients you already have in the fridge.

Don’t think it is difficult to limit food waste, just start!

webinar about food waste
Beeld: ©A.Murawska

Cost of food waste is often bigger than one think: next to products people need to throw away, it is also an environmental issue, food costs money and resources like nutrients and water therefore food waste is actually dangerous to the future of Earth. And according to research of Greendish less meat and more vegetables in one meal make consumers happy, so it is possible to serve meals Food within the capacity of the Earth.

AM