Th The Australian alian Food Cold ld Ch Chain: I Identifyi - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Th The Australian alian Food Cold ld Ch Chain: I Identifyi ying I g Issues & & Imp Implemen lementin ing Imp Improvemen ements

Greg Picker

Pr Presentation Overview

Context

• National Strategy
• Status & challenges
• This study

Food and the Cold Chain

• Australia’s food production
• Size and make up of the cold chain
• The cold chain’s characteristics and performance

Food Waste

• Underlying situation
• Losses – size, scale and costs
• Improvements that can be made

Wha What is s food d loss ss and nd waste, , and nd wha what are th their eir conseq equen ences es?

• Food Loss refers to food that gets spilled, spoilt
• r otherwise lost, or incurs reduction of quality

and value during its process in the food supply chain before it can be eaten

• Food waste refers to food that completes the

food supply chain but still doesn't get consumed because it is discarded, whether or not after it is left to spoil or expire. (UN Environment) Implications of Food Loss and Waste include

• Hunger
• Higher costs to consumers
• Greenhouse gas emissions
• Water wastage
• Land clearing and more

Au Australia’s N Nation

• nal F

Food

• od W

Waste S e Strategy egy

• Australia’s National Food Waste Strategy – launched in

late 2017 - provides a framework to support collective action towards halving Australia’s food waste by 2030.

• The strategy contributes toward global action on

reducing food waste by aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 12.

• An Implementation Plan is being developed and while a

baseline study has been done, the lack of consistent comprehensive data has been identified as the key challenge.

Th This S Study

• Joint Government/industry effort –

Rome MOP and the FAO building were great prompts!

• Based on data and approach

prepared for assessment of refrigerants and RAC equipment

• First study of the scale food loss in

the cold food chain in Australia, with a focus on identifying solutions

Australia’s food production and cold food chain – some basic facts

Au Australia’s f food

• od p

prod

• duction
• n &

& e expor

• rts

Food reliant on refrigeration Production volumes Production values Export volumes Export values (Million tonnes) ($ Billion) (Million tonnes) ($ Billion) Fruit 4.575 $7.030 0.541 $1.878 Vegetables 3.695 $4.346 0.206 $0.255 Meat 4.583 $19.819 2.167 $11.440 Seafood 0.237 $2.903 0.052 $1.433 Dairy & eggs 10.264 $8.898 0.843 $3.438 Totals 23.354 $42.996 3.809 $18.445

Australian Exports

Si Simplified descr scription of Australia’s s food co cold chain

A d A detailed ed e example of t e of the f e food

• od c

col

• ld

ch chain: mangoes

Gr Greenhouse se Gas Gas Emissio issions s – im implic plicatio tions ns

• f Au
• f Australia’s f

food

• od c

col

• ld c

chain

• Emissions (direct and indirect) from the cold food

chain = more than 3.5% of Australia’s annual emissions

• BUT, emissions from food waste in the cold food

chain is larger!

• Emissions from the cold food chain (including

energy, refrigerant and food waste emissions) total about the same as the emissions from all of Australia’s cars.

Australia’s food waste – the significance of the cold food chain

• Warning!! Estimates are preliminary & conservative.
• Total value (farm gate prices) of food waste at least

AUD $3.8 billion which comprised of:

• 25% (1,930,000 tonnes) of annual fruit and

vegetable production worth $3.0 billion

• 3.5% of annual production of meat (155,000

tonnes) and seafood (8,500 tonnes) worth $670 million and $90 million respectively; and,

• 1% (90,000 tonnes) of dairy products valued at

$70 million.

• Estimates of losses in the food cold chain do not take

into account impacts of sub-par conditions that reduce product shelf life in the hands of consumers.

Hea Headline e figures es – Fo Food Waste from Au Australia’s c col

• ld c

chain

Fo Food is a perishable carbon intensive product

Food type Beef Very High Meat (Average) Very High Pork High Cheese High Poultry Medium Dairy Product (Average) Medium Yoghurt Low Seafood Low Milk Low Banana Low Grape Low Fruit & Vegetable (Average) Very Low Apple Very Low Carrot Very Low Tomato Very Low Lettuce Very Low Comparative scale of emission intensity based on kg CO2e/kg of food waste type >15 >10 and ≤15 >5 and ≤10 >2 and ≤5 ≤2

Ra Rates es of f food loss fr from the e cold food chain

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Mangoes Cucumbers Cauliflowers Cabbage Tomatoes Fruit & vegetables Melon/watermelon Capsicums Pineapples Oranges Potatoes Lettuce Wine grapes Apples Seafood Crustaceans Meat Poultry Dairy Products Milk - Fresh Milk - Dried

Food waste rate (%) Total supply chain Sub-par practices

Fo Food Waste from the Cold Chain: values & a & amou

• unts

$1,799 $1,160 $669 $94 $69

$0 $200 $400 $600 $800 $1,000 $1,200 $1,400 $1,600 $1,800 $2,000

Fruit Vegetables Meat Seafood Dairy products

200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 1,200,000 $ Million

Tonnes Production volumes (Tonnes) Farm gate value ($ Million)

Fr Fruit waste volumes s and values s

$0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000

W i n e G r a p e s O r a n g e s B a n a n a s N u t s T a b l e G r a p e s W a t e r m e l

• n

s M a n d a r i n s A p p l e s M a n g

• e

s P e a r s P e a c h e s S t r a w b e r r i e s A v

• c

a d

• s

P i n e a p p l e s O l i v e s

• F

r e s h L e m

• n

s C a n t a l

• u

p e s P l u m s B l u e b e r r i e s P a p a y a / P a w p a w C h e r r i e s

$ Million Tonnes Volumes (Tonnes) Value ($ Million)

Ve Vegetable waste volumes and values

$0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000

P

• t

a t

• e

s T

• m

a t

• e

s C a r r

• t

s O n i

• n

s P u m p k i n s C u c u m b e r s P

• t

a t

• e

s S w e e t C a u l i f l

• w

e r C a b b a g e G r e e n s

• L

e a f y L e t t u c e H e a d B r

• c

c

• l

i C a p s i c u m s M u s h r

• m

s C e l e r y C

• r

n Z u c c h i n i B e a n s S n a p / G r e e n P e a s

• G

r e e n B e e t r

• t

s H e r b s

• F

r e s h E g g p l a n t

$ Million Tonnes Volumes (Tonnes) Value ($ Million)

Australia’s food waste – how can it be improved?

Whe Where do do lo losses happe happen n in in the the cold ld chain? hain?

Finding: The greatest likelihood for perishable food to suffer damage is during transportation and handling between mobile and stationary refrigeration points Focus on this area first!

Ho How w can the e cold chain can be e improved ed?

• Better handling of food – simply following good,

common-sense practice

• Tracking food and sharing data throughout the cold

chain.

• Real time monitoring of food conditions, such as

temperature, humidity and location

• Improved operation and expansion of the cold food

chain

These are all inexpensive options that mostly require behaviour change and little capital investment!

Con Conclusion

• n
• The cold food chain is large, complex and important.
• At least in Australia, the food cold chain is not performing

near its capacity

• Reducing food waste will reduce hunger, greenhouse gas

emissions & other environmental pressures

• There exists the capacity to make improvements in the cold

food chain cheaply, easily and quickly.

Thank You

Greg Picker greg.picker@refrigerantsaustralia.org