One third of the food produced in the world today leaves the value chain, due to various reasons, and becomes food waste. The grocery industry has implemented good measures that have led to reduced food waste with the potential for better utilization.
In the report Kartlegging for matbränsjen og forbrukerleddet (NORSUS i 2023), food waste in Norway in 2021 was estimated to be approximately 450,000 tonnes. While households accounted for around half of the food waste, groceries accounted for approximately 14 percent with over 60,000 tonnes this year (excl. ‘non-food’ and animal feed).
Potential for additional feed use
The total amount of food waste of fruit, vegetables, bread and baked goods in Norwegian grocery stores was approximately 48,000 tonnes in 2021. Of this, approximately 16,800 tonnes was used for animal feed. The remaining 31,000 tonnes was sent to biogas, other combustion (6,600 tonnes together with compost) or had an unknown use. This shows a potential for additional feed use.
This can support the social mission "Sustainable feed", with the goal that "all feed for farmed fish and livestock should come from sustainable sources and contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food systems".
Insects as feed raw material is another area of focus, where food waste from groceries can be used as a substrate. In such cases, other product groups such as milk and dairy products can also be utilized, thereby further increasing resource utilization. Using food waste for combustion should be avoided, as it mainly recovers energy and misses out on valuable nutrients from the food.
Food waste that is not suitable for feed production should be used for biogas, where the bioresidue can be used as a soil improver, so that nutrients from the food return to the soil as fertilizer. This supports circular agriculture.
A need for overview
The main goal of the pilot project is to create an overview of the status of handling surplus products in the grocery industry in Norway, and its potential as a raw material for feed and fertilizer. To achieve this goal, the laws and regulations related to use will be mapped, important product groups will be analyzed and opportunities and barriers to increasing use will be assessed.
SINTEF is working on mapping food waste and food waste throughout the value chain and potential use. The project group will involve grocery, feed and insect producers and actors within the collection, handling and treatment of food waste.