Food Waste Action Week | South African campaign celebrates "food waste wins"

Image credit: Madison Oren on Unsplash

Shifting mindshifts

Started as a UK-based campaign, Food Waste Action Week gathers people of all backgrounds worldwide to implement practical solutions to reduce food loss and waste.

With over 10.3 million tonnes of food, 80% of which is edible, ending up as waste in South Africa annually, the social, environmental and economic impact is staggering.

This week-long campaign will focus on shifting mindsets, from farm to fork, to ensure that food is valued, not wasted.

In South Africa, the campaign highlights the importance of collaboration across the entire value chain.

By streamlining operations, improving storage, and educating consumers on smarter shopping and cooking habits, we can significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with food waste.

"Food Waste Action Week is more than just an educating exercise; it is a global call to action.

“By aligning our local efforts with international partners during this week in March, we are ensuring that South Africa remains at the forefront of sustainable food systems.

“We must act now to protect our resources for future generations,” says Matlou Setati, food safety and sustainability executive at CGCSA.

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In response to the food loss and waste in South Africa, the CGCSA in September 2020 launched the South African Food Loss and Waste Initiative, which commits signatories, food manufacturers, retailers, food service organisations and solution providers to collaborate with other businesses and stakeholders within the food sector to tackle food loss and waste.

Since then, at least 141 signatories have pledged to implement practical and verifiable measures to prevent and reduce food loss and waste.

“This shows that the initiative is valuable to a broad range of stakeholders in the food value chain, who see it as an opportunity to collaborate to achieve environmental, social, and economic benefits by preventing and reducing food loss and waste.

“Already, we have developed a standardised and internationally harmonised food loss and waste reporting tool and core signatories are measuring the food loss and waste in their businesses and reporting annually,” says Setati.

The SA FLWI aims to reduce food loss and waste in South Africa by half by 2030.