LeanPath just received a very nice write up from Christina Williams at Sustainable Business Oregon.  The article talks about the new product from LeanPath, called WasteLOGGER.

http://sustainablebusinessoregon.com/articles/2010/06/leanpath_launches_food_waste_tracking_software.html

Portland, Ore. -

LeanPath® proudly announces the introduction of WasteLOGGER, a software solution for food waste tracking that helps any restaurant, hotel, caterer, or foodservice operation prevent, minimize and avoid pre-consumer food waste (which includes overproduction, spoilage, expiration, trim waste). The software runs on existing computers and does not require specialized tracking equipment. WasteLOGGER was previewed at the 2010 National Restaurant Show in Chicago and will be available commercially in Summer 2010.

Food Waste Tracking: Best Practice in Waste Prevention

Food waste management is a core element of any strategy for sustainable foodservice operations and represents a significant opportunity to enhance efficiency and save resources.

“The EPA’s food waste management hierarchy prioritizes source reduction as the critical first step and best practice in food waste management” says Andrew Shakman, President and Co-Founder of LeanPath, Inc. “And the key to source reduction is daily food waste tracking – without daily information you have no way to diagnose food waste, create awareness, or begin to measure progress.”

Green recognition and certification programs (including the NRA’s Greener Restaurants Program and Green Seal’s GS-46 Standard for Green Restaurant and Foodservice Operations) both identify food waste auditing and tracking as a core best practice in any waste management effort.

Food waste is one of the most expensive hidden costs in any restaurant and foodservice operation. Food waste tracking is the simple, easy, and effective antidote. By tracking waste daily, operators can save 2-4%+ on food purchases, while also saving on disposal and labor costs and operating greener facilities.

LeanPath’s Family of Food Waste Tracking Solutions:

For Volume Foodservice & Hospitality: The patented ValuWaste® Automated System, a rugged touch-screen terminal and bench scale used to track food waste 24-7 in volume foodservice operations.

For Other Restaurants & Foodservice: LeanPath WasteLOGGER, a PC-based software tool to track food waste in small to medium-sized restaurant and foodservice operations as well as mobile catering operations, without the need for specialized tracking equipment.

About LeanPath, Inc.

Founded in 2004, LeanPath pioneered food waste tracking and offers several product solutions. Together, LeanPath WasteLOGGER and the ValuWaste System allow restaurants and foodservice operations of all sizes to select the right tools to meet their tracking and auditing needs for food waste.Contact: LeanPath, Inc. (www.leanpath.com) is a technology company providing food waste tracking systems to the restaurant and foodservice industry. LeanPath partners with leading foodservice organizations at sites in more than 24 U.S. states with customers including ARAMARK, Sodexo, Compass Group, and MGM Mirage. For additional information about LeanPath or its products contact the company by e-mail at info@leanpath.com or by phone at (877) 620-6512.

To view the press release from the LeanPath website:  http://www.leanpath.com/releases.shtml
Contact: Carolyn Burleigh, Carolyn.Burleigh@gmail.com or 503/381-1095

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By paying close attention to the types of food that you buy – responsible purchasing – will you get the best quality, freshest, healthiest and hopefully less expensive products.   And pre-planning your menus to the season will help you to reduce the amount of foodwaste in your operation.

LeanPath coaches speak with clients on a regular basis.  Often we learn new information that can help others reduce waste and we like to share those Hints and Tips with you:

 AvoidingPackage Entree Waste:

1.   Don’t just set an open ended par level to build to, look at each retail outlet and custom tailor production throughout the week.   Pay especially close attention to Thursday and Friday deliveries if your locations are closed on weekends.
2. Focus on merchandising the products so the displays are bountiful without the need for extra inventory to make it look full. 
3. Add a second production run during the day, some facilities lowered pachaged entree waste packaged entree waste by adding a second shift of production.  Doing inventory twice a day allowed them to re-stock bring packaged entrée levels  before the dinner and night shifts. 
4. Are you and your staff on the same clock? Review with staff the shelf life time limits to make sure your staff know when it’s time to pull the product.  A facility recently found out while looking at their packaged entree waste that staff were discarding the product prematurely at midnight, as soon as the clock turned over into the last 24 hr. period for the product. Consider adding times to your labeling or extra staff training to avoid such confusion.

For more tips, return to this Food Waste Focus blog and search the “Tips” tag and remember to subscribe to the Food Waste Flyer Newsletter.  Both contain fresh, real-world insights on food waste management from LeanPath, the experts in food waste tracking systems

In addition to focusing in sustainable food systems (including visits to green bean fields during harvest and cherry packers), the audience participated in an interactive discussion about food waste.    I co-facilitated this discussion with Babe O’Sullivan of the City of Portland.  We found that the top issues facing operators around waste management continue to be 1) how to compost, especially when commercial composting options aren’t available and 2) how to address the issue of single-use disposable ware such as cups and plates.

Of course, we also spoke about source reduction and the critical role it plays at the top of the food waste hierarchy.  The participants saw this, more detailed, version of the EPA waste hierarchy and learned why it’s critical to start at the top and move down the pyramid after preventing and reducing as much waste as possibe at the source.   We also discussed how food waste tracking and source reduction are two sides of the very same coin.

EPA Detailed Organic Waste Hierarchy