REFRESH Results
1. Happy 1st birthday to the REFRESH Community of Experts! Now hosting over 160 resources and 375 registered experts
The REFRESH Community of Experts (CoE) is a knowledge-sharing platform which seeks to promote best practice, foster discussions and improve stakeholder engagement on food waste. Since the site launched, it has received over 6,000 users and 25,000 page views. The site is now set to get even busier as the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste has recently decided to use the CoE as its main source for new and updated food waste prevention web content.
Access the Community of Experts
2. REFRESH interim results presented in brochure
This brochure describes the interim results of the REFRESH (Resource Efficient Food and dRink for the Entire Supply cHain) project through May 2018. REFRESH’s research into the behaviours, economics, and relationships that lead to food waste will inform future recommendations into efficient and versatile solutions to food waste at all levels of its production.
3. Food waste prevention and valorisation: relevant EU policy areas
This report provides an overview of the most relevant EU policies and instruments with an impact on food waste generation and/or prevention. It explains the relevance of the different policy areas at EU level and identifies the gaps, overlaps and unintended effects of EU regulation. Finally, it identifies potential opportunities for improvement in each policy area.
4. EU panel of experts concludes that feeding treated surplus food to pigs is viable provided certain safety measures are enforced
An expert seminar examined the viability of feeding treated surplus food to pigs and chickens. It examined the hazards and risk factors, and the environmental benefits. The panel concluded the practice is viable provided certain safety measures are enforced involving a combination of heat treatment and acidification and a system to prevent cross-contamination.
5. Unfair Trading Practice regulation and Voluntary Agreements targeting food waste
This report assesses Voluntary Agreements (VAs) and regulation against Unfair Trading Practices (UTPs) as policy interventions to impact on food loss and waste. It makes recommendations for their successful implementation.
6. Donation management for menu planning at soup kitchens
This scientific paper analyses the benefits of agreements between charity organizations providing meals (e.g. soup kitchens) and the food industry. It shows that structural food donations reduce the overall costs of the soup kitchen and can contribute towards a good variety in the meals offered. Moreover, due to the redistribution of food, the overall waste levels in the supply chain are reduced.
7. Simplified LCA & LCC of food waste valorization
This report contains a description of the methodology used in the FORKLIFT tool for life cycle costing and assessment of food waste valorization options. It covers the standardised models for the valorisation spreadsheet tool for life-cycle assessment and life-cycle costing. The FORKLIFT tool will be published in the coming months.
8. Using steam exploded vegetable side streams as food ingredients
The report investigates using vegetable side streams, treated using a thermophysical technique known as steam explosion, as food ingredients and tests their functionality in model food products. Chicory fiber leftover from inulin processing was tested as an additive in bread and yogurt drinks with positive results.
REFRESH National Platforms
9. Progress of the REFRESH Spanish national platform since 2016
The REFRESH Spanish Platform has been cooperating with members on food waste reducing actions since 2016. Since then, pilot projects looking at whole supply chains, consumer acceptance studies, and food waste in hospitality have been carried out, alongside baselining and multiple meetings to share good practice and collaborate on open questions.
10. REFRESH pilots first surplus food shelf in the Netherlands
The first surplus food shelf in the Netherlands opened in March 2018 at George Verberne’s Jumbo supermarket in Wageningen. This store shelf features products made from ingredients which would otherwise have been wasted. As part of REFRESH, Wageningen University & Research is using this living lab for research into the consumer acceptance of such surplus products.
11. News from Hungarian platform: Tesco Hungary food waste report, reducing food waste at Budapest Wholesale Market, launch of food saving event programme, and more
Multiple articles on the REFRESH website cover activities related to the Hungarian REFRESH platform. These include a new food waste report from Tesco Hungary, an event at the Budapest Wholesale Market, the launch of a programme to reduce food waste at events, and the HFCSO Forum on food waste.
12. German REFRESH national platform discusses the next steps concerning the collection of food waste data
Eighteen Steering Committee (SC) members met on 11 April 2018 for the sixth meeting of the German REFRESH national platform to continue the discussions on data collection, own activities and pilot projects. The exchange showed that continuity of measurement is key, and members explored further activities.
13. Launch of Food Waste Reduction China Action Platform at the 2018 China Sustainable Consumption Roundtable
The Food Waste Reduction China Action Platform is a partnership initiated by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, CCFA and CHEARI, guided by FAO, UNEP ‘Think, Eat, Save’, and supported by REFRESH, in the aim of supporting China to achieve SDG 12.3.
Recent Events
14. The Subgroup Action & Implementation of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste visits Dutch REFRESH national platform members
From fruit liqueurs and carrot juice to fish food made with insects, Dutch entrepreneurs are launching one innovation after another in their fight against food waste. This was evident during the Taskforce Circular Economy in Food (TCEF) event, held, on 1 October 2018, for Taskforce partners and members of the European Food Losses & Food Waste platform. The Taskforce is one of four national platforms launched within the REFRESH project.
15. REFRESH Policy Working Group on Voluntary Agreements
The event took place 19. June 2018 in Amsterdam and aimed to spotlight Voluntary Agreements as a policy instrument for more sustainable food systems. Member state representatives and policy experts discussed best practices for establishing Voluntary Agreements during the working group. The agenda, minutes and presentations are available for download.
16. REFRESH presents at EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste
The REFRESH project presented at the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste in May 2018. The REFRESH Community of Experts was highlighted by EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis.
Upcoming Events
17. REFRESH interactive policy working group series in 2018 and 2019
Three more interactive working groups coming up in 2018 and 2019 will provide a space for stakeholders to discuss policy options to reduce food waste. Two working groups will have specific policy focuses: animal feed (30. October 2018 in Brussels) and consumer behaviour (19. November 2018 in Berlin). A final event will provide an overview of the policy outcomes from the entire REFRESH project. These follow three previous working groups.
18. REFRESH Final Conference 2019
The REFRESH Final Conference will showcase the results of the REFRESH project and spur future action on food waste among business, policy, research, and civil society. The conference will take place on 09.-10. May in Barcelona and will inspire visitors with interactive and innovative sessions to learn, share, and network.
Further details will be published soon here.
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About REFRESH
REFRESH (Resource Efficient Food and dRink for Entire Supply cHain) is an EU research project taking action against food waste. 26 partners from 12 European countries and China work towards the project's goal to contribute towards Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, reducing waste management costs, and maximizing the value from un-avoidable food waste and packaging materials. Read more ...
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REFRESH Newsletter
Publisher: Ecologic Institute, Pfalzburger Str. 43/44, 10717 Berlin
Editor: Stephanie Wunder, Ecologic Institute, Pfalzburger Str. 43/44, 10717 Berlin
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Contact: info@eu-refresh.org
Website: http://eu-refresh.org
