Food Waste Intelligence

Leanpath CEO and founder Andrew Shakman recently hosted a webinar on the future of food waste prevention and how operators must adapt to that changing landscape.

“When we look to the future,” says Shakman, “we think that food waste action is going to be more required by law and integrated into everyday practice in the world's kitchens rather than being a special activity in an innovation context. It’s going to be the norm of how we think and work.”

Here are 5 ways foodservice operations must adapt:

We can’t address the climate crisis without fixing our broken food system. Even if all manufacturing, transportation and energy sectors halted fossil fuel emissions, emissions from the food system would still keep us from hitting the Paris Climate Agreement target. Since foodservice accounts for a quarter of the world’s food waste, it is a big part of the solution. 

What this means for you:
Food waste action is climate action. As more foodservice organizations make climate commitments–and as more climate action is legislated–it is critical that the reductions in greenhouse gas emissions due to food waste reduction are tracked and reported. This is especially meaningful because the primary greenhouse gas created by food waste is methane, a short-lived climate pollutant that’s more immediately reversible. By working on methane reduction, we can have an immediate impact on climate change.

Up until this point, food recovery has felt optional, but we expect this to change as legislative trends are pointing to higher regulatory minimums. These are already starting to show up in terms of carrots–including tax incentives and liability protections–and sticks, including penalties for food waste to landfill and mandatory donation. We think there are going to be more ‘sticks’ coming, similar to California’s SB 1383, where operators must donate the maximum amount of excess edible food.

What this means for you:
Prepare to manage a patchwork of evolving laws, including zero food to landfill requirements and donation minimums, in some locations. 

Generally, the foodservice industry has spent more time focused on kitchen waste than plate waste. It’s been a bit of a blind spot - and it’s a big opportunity. Plate waste can be up to 60 percent of your food waste stream. 

What this means for you: 
There are two primary strategies for addressing plate waste: influencing consumer behavior (getting consumers to be more mindful of what they’re wasting) and optimizing menus (changing what you put on the plate). Tracking plate waste gives insight into menu optimization opportunities and communicating with customers in a positive, let’s-tackle-this-together manner can change behaviors.

High food prices and supply chain issues aren’t going away and demand us to find even more ways to avoid waste. If you can source the food you need and afford it and have the labor to prepare it, the last thing you can afford is to see that food go to waste.

What this means for you:
Leaders must make food efficiency a continuous priority, implementing daily data-driven practices for measuring and controlling waste. We must build an intentional food waste prevention culture, engaging employees to drive awareness and focus behavior.

Artificial intelligence is providing new types of operating leverage to drive efficiency. This is happening throughout the kitchen. In addressing food waste, AI first showed up in food item recognition, through a type of AI called “machine vision.” Today, it’s showing up with generative AI, which carries the opportunity to turn food waste data into actionable insights.

What this means for you:
Some of the highest leverage comes from embracing generative AI in turning food waste data into actionable analysis and recommendations. Ask your food waste tech partner about this. Combining data from various sources in the kitchen will provide significant leverage in the future. Consider where you can integrate systems to bring even more operational leverage to your kitchen efficiency.