Food Waste Intelligence

Food waste history buffs will recall the launch of the Courtauld Commitment in 2005.  Led by UK-based WRAP and funded by local governments, the initiative engaged food organizations in a voluntary commitment approach to reducing household food waste and food and packaging waste in the UK grocery sector.

Recently, the Courtauld Commitment was renamed the UK Food and Drink Pact, and the inclusion of the word “Drink” sparked discussions with my colleagues on the subject of elevating the tracking of liquid food waste as part of standard food waste prevention efforts in foodservice.

Here’s why.

At Leanpath, having launched just prior to the 2005 Courtauld Commitment, we’ve been focused on tracking and measuring food waste to create a prevention-focused culture in foodservice operations in parallel with this groundbreaking initiative and all of its iterations.

But for the most part, foodservice operators equate the term “food waste” with solid food, and not liquids, despite the fact that a considerable amount of waste in daily operations is in liquid form – coffee, tea, juices, milk, sauces, gravy, soup, etc.

We have long advocated that foodservice operations track liquid items to get a comprehensive picture of their waste levels, and to make that easy, we provide the ability to track such items by weight or by each (example, ½ an urn of coffee). The ability to track liquids easily is unique to Leanpath’s flexible food waste tracking solutions. Many other food waste solutions on the market only offer ‘in the bin’ tracking, which inherently means that you cannot capture liquid waste.

Some operators don’t inherently value liquid food waste at first. As Leanpath’s chef Ben Murphy notes, some operators feel that liquid waste is “not a worry,” taking the view that “if it’s not going in my bin, I don’t need to track it.” Further, others feel that “if it’s going down the drain, there’s less of an impact in terms of environmental footprint, and little disposal cost.”

But the cost of that waste is real, both financially and environmentally.

As Leanpath chef Robb White, reminds us, think of coffee. Foodservice and catering operations waste a lot of coffee in the quest to provide an unending “fresh” supply for patrons, and it’s expensive (and getting even more costly). And in terms of environmental footprint, think of the nature of coffee from farm to consumer, and all of the production and energy inputs that went into the journey. Think of the water involved: a 2021 article in The New York Times cited a Dutch study reporting that 39 gallons of water are required to produce one cup of coffee.

He added, “Those costs are real, and there are additional labor costs as well, but armed with the data gained from tracking, organizations can take actions to reduce coffee waste, for example, by using vacuum carafes to make it last longer, by refining how much is put out for service (and when), and even by repurposing excess amounts.”

The same thinking applies to items like fruit juices and milk as well.

The tracking of liquids may be perceived by some operators as being more difficult, but as Chef Robb points out: “Once people understand that liquids can be tracked, and how they can do it on our system, they tend to do it – because there is value in doing so.”

The tracking of all kinds of liquid food waste takes me back to one of my favorite early learnings at Leanpath – the story of a University foodservice employee who was excited to begin the tracking process, noting that “Every day for 30 years I have made ten pounds of oatmeal for breakfast, and every day I throw out five pounds at the end.”

That individual’s comment reveals how rote behaviors which go unchallenged result in high costs (financial, environmental, social) over the course of a year.

Items like coffee, which is such a core part of our day, can result in the same rote behavior.

Tracking of such items brings visibility to recurring daily waste, creating awareness that leads to behavioral and operational changes that reduce waste, save money, and benefit people (in the form of donations) and the environment.

As noted, we’ve long advocated that our clients track all types of liquid food waste – coffee, tea, juices, milk, soup, sauces, and gravy. Soups are obviously expensive, and can easily be provided to staff or donated to provide a high-quality source of nutrition for those in need.

Milk and juices are also expensive and carry a significant footprint, while gravy, broth and stocks can be preserved and/or utilized in many ways.

But visibility into the waste stream is needed, and that visibility comes from consistent tracking.

So as we begin to think about food waste in terms of “food and drink” waste, let’s elevate the importance of tracking liquid food waste as well – an important element of a complete food waste tracking program.

And feel free to reach out to Leanpath for assistance.