RMIT University and End Food Waste Australia (EFWA) are working with consumers and stakeholders to reduce household food waste, after finding confusing date labels and storage advice are driving Australians to throw away edible food.
Food waste is a multi billion dollar problem in Australia, with over 7.6 million tonnes of food wasted annually, much of it still safe to eat. Food systems are estimated to be responsible for around a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, half of which is caused by food loss and waste. Improving the Australian food system’s productivity, resilience and sustainability is a critical issue, which can begin in households.
RMIT released its Date Labelling and Storage Advice insights report last September, in collaboration with EFWA, revealing poor label design and inconsistent packaging are key reasons consumers throw out food, which can cost the average household up to $2500 annually. The team conducted interviews with 125 consumers to determine how to best combat the issue, with the full report available here.
RMIT University associate professor and lead author, Lukas Parker, said Australian shoppers don’t want to waste food or money, and deserve a better system.
“Shoppers are being let down by labels that don’t give them the information they need to make the right call,” said Parker.
“It’s time for a consistent, clear system that helps people make smarter choices, saves money and keeps good food out of the bin.”
Following the consumer interviews last year, the team conducted six collective intelligence workshops with consumers and industry stakeholders to gather feedback on plans to reform date labelling and storage advice systems.
Although consumers stated clearer, more consistent date labels and storage advice with related bigger print and simple icons could drastically reduce the amount of edible food Australian families throw away, the workshops revealed hesitations from food industry stakeholders, who cited concerns around cost, compliance and regulatory complexity.
End Food Waste Australia CEO, Tristan Butt, said the gap between consumer needs and system readiness is a major barrier to progress, and cutting food waste through smarter labels will only happen if government, retailers and food producers work together.
“Clear, consistent date labelling is one of the most cost-effective and scalable ways to reduce household food waste, but it won’t happen without industry-wide collaboration,” said Butt.
“This single change could prevent nearly a million tonnes of food waste by 2030. The UK’s retail sector has already proven this change is possible, without compromising food safety, it’s time we did the same.”
The next phase of the National Date Labelling and Storage Advice Project will bring together supermarkets, food brands and government to co-design, test and roll out a national framework for date labelling and storage advice.
