Food Business News - September 27, 2011 - 20

The beneﬁts of reducing food waste
Companies may improve ﬁnancial performance by evaluating food waste streams
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Making food waste streams more efﬁcient in an effort to reduce the amount of food sent to landﬁlls by manufacturers and retailers was cited as an industry priority by a panel of experts who were convened at the Sustainability Summit, an annual meeting sponsored by the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and held in Scottsdale earlier this month. The panelists said reducing food waste not only will help address the issue of food insecurity in the United States, but also help food companies of people in this country who have less and less food security. The economic need on a number of different measures is incredibly consequential.” Mr. Branham noted that the phrase “food waste” is a misnomer. Much of the fresh and processed product that ends up going to landﬁll is not presentable for sale, but perfectly safe to eat. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 34 million tons of food ends up in landﬁlls every year, and as the waste in the landﬁlls decomposes it produces methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases. “The scale of this problem will make your head spin,” said Michael Hewett, director of environmental and sustainability programs for Publix Super Markets, Inc., Lakeland, Fla. “The good news is there is something we can do about it.” Mr. Branham said General Mills is assessing all of its facilities to develop an exact cost to the company for sending food to the landﬁll. “You have to dig into the numbers to understand the costs,” he said. “On average it can cost $4,000 per truck to dump into a landﬁll. Then you have to incur the cost of having someone from the company go to the landﬁll to ensure the — Robert Branham, director product is being landﬁlled. It is of customer sustainability, an amazing amount of money.” Eric Olsen, senior viceGeneral Mills, Inc. president of government relations and public policy for Feeding America, Chicago, said that at the A same time edible food is going to landﬁlls, the incidence of food insecurity in the United States is increasing. “We are facing a perfect storm in terms of improve their bottom lines by reducing food security,” he said. “We are looking at a costs and taking advantage of federal tax situation of sustained high need while at the deductions. same time we are seeing a decline in our ﬁrst “This conversation tends to start by line of defense, which is the federal safety net.” talking about what goes to landﬁll, but you In addition to reducing costs by improving have to go back upstream to look at the efﬁciencies, companies may beneﬁt from economics,” said Robert Branham, director increased tax deductions for the product they of customer sustainability for General Mills, donate to food banks. Inc., Minneapolis. “You have to evaluate the “In addition to evaluating the costs costs of the inputs and all of the processes and potential savings, make sure you are required to get food to our retail partners. maximizing tax savings as an organization,” And then, at the end of the day, you have to Mr. Branham said. “What we have discovered realize how much of that — the inputs, the is that we (General Mills) may not be taking nutrition and the calories — is disposed of. full advantage of all the (tax) codes that are “On top of that you have a growing number available.” FBN

Food and beverages index climbs 0.5% in August
WASHINGTON — The Consumer Price Index for food and beverages rose 0.5% in August, climbing to 229.6 from 228.5 in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor. The 0.5% gain followed advances of 0.4% in July and 0.2% in June. The food index also rose 0.5% in August after rising 0.4% in July. For the second consecutive month, ﬁve of the six major grocery store food groups increased during August, led by a 1.1% gain in cereals and bakery products. The index for cereals and bakery products was 262.4 in August, up from 259.6 in July. The index for dairy and related products, which rose 1.2% in July, again advanced sharply, gaining 0.9% in August to 216.7. The other food at home index rose 0.8% in August to 199.2, up from 197.7 in July. The B.L.S. said the gain was driven in large part by a 1.2% increase in the index for sugar and sweets. A 0.6% increase was scored in the index for fruits and vegetables. At 287.2, the index was up from 285.6 in July and 282.2 in June. The index for meats, poultry, ﬁsh and eggs increased 0.4% to 225.5, while the index for food at home rose 0.6% to 228.5. The only exception to the gains in the food and beverage category was the index for nonalcoholic beverages, which fell 0.2% in August. The overall Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in August to 226.3 after climbing 0.5% in July. The index now has increased 3.8% over the past 12 months. FBN

This T conversation conv tends to start by talking about what goes to landﬁll, but you have to go back upstream to look at the economics.

FOODBUSINESS NEWS

September 27, 2011

Food Business News - September 27, 2011

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