Price shock ensures high influx of food rescuers

Because consumers notice: those who save food can save money. For a family of four, there are avoidable costs of almost 350 euros, Edeka calculated on Food Waste Day on Thursday. In 2020 – when inflation was still low – German households alone threw away a total of 6.5 million tons of food. That is 59 percent of all food waste in this country. More recent figures are not yet available from the Federal Ministry of Food.

Germans throw away 78 kilos of food per capita every year. It also contains the shells of nuts or citrus fruits, bones and coffee grounds, i.e. garbage that cannot be avoided. A third of food waste in private households is fruit and vegetables. 16 percent is prepared food, 14 percent is bread and baked goods. This is shown by a study by the analysis company GfK from 2017.

Out-of-home catering – in restaurants and canteens – accounts for 17 percent of food waste in Germany. Seven percent of the surplus comes from trade. 15 percent of waste is generated during the processing of food. A mere two percent is generated in primary production, i.e. in agriculture. Because many excess or spoiled leftovers are recycled internally – as animal feed or in biogas plants.

From the farmer to the plate, 10.9 million tons of food waste was generated in Germany in 2020. According to the UN, up to two billion tons are wasted every year worldwide, that is 33 to 40 percent of all food.

Globally, the distribution looks a little different than in Germany: The management consultancy McKinsey estimates that more than half of the food worldwide, valued at 600 billion dollars, is lost during or shortly after the harvest. Wasted food consumes a quarter of the world’s freshwater supplies and accounts for eight percent of global emissions – four times as much as the aviation industry. According to McKinsey, 50 to 70 percent of global food losses along the value chain could be avoided.

Avoid food waste during production

There are many different approaches to combating food waste. “The problem does not begin with the disposal of excess food,” says Alexander Piutti, founder and head of the Berlin start-up SPRK.global, “but the real problem is the massive overproduction along the supply chain.” With the help of artificial intelligence, the start-up up, when and where too much is produced and where surpluses can be redistributed.

If, for example, a wholesaler can no longer sell fruit or vegetables, SPRK offers to sell the surplus to canteen kitchens or SOS Children’s Villages. Caterer Eurest, for example, has developed its own recipes for fruit salads or fruit ragouts that contain at least 30 percent excess fruit from the SPRK platform.

The Swedish start-up Motatos also sells food from overproduction, with small defects or with a short shelf life – but directly to consumers. They are offered in the online shop at a low price. In cooperation with major producers such as Unilever or Mars, 12,000 tons were saved in Germany and 40,000 tons worldwide last year.

At the beginning of the year, Motatos sales in Germany increased by 79 percent compared to the previous year. The shopping baskets have grown recently. Customers are less looking for specific brands than for cheap alternatives in all categories. “We clearly attribute this to even greater price sensitivity,” says Head of Germany Alexander Holzknecht. He expects annual net sales of just over 30 million euros.

Anti-inflation bread to help in the crisis

The Schüren bakery chain from Hilden has recently been using leftover bread in an inexpensive “anti-inflation bread”. The organic bread consists of 20 percent leftovers from unsold bread. This stale bread is added to the dough as croutons.

The 750 gram loaf costs 2.88 euros. “The price advantage of 98 cents compared to comparable organic bread is also a political price, so to speak. It should help consumers and the bakery to get through the currently very challenging time,” says owner Roland Schüren, who runs 20 branches around Düsseldorf. At the same time, the “anti-inflation bread” helps against food waste.

>> Read here: “Customers get used to 4.99 euros for butter”: Pricing expert explains how manufacturers set prices

The environmental organization WWF estimates that 1.7 million tons of bread and baked goods end up in the trash in Germany every year. The harvest from around 398,000 hectares of arable land is wasted – an area about the size of Mallorca. According to the WWF, the returns alone, i.e. baked goods that have not been sold by the time the shop closes, add up to around 600,000 tons a year in Germany. Distributed on trucks and lined up one behind the other, this would result in a distance of almost 400 kilometers. Part of it goes to charitable banks or the rest is used as pig feed.

The WWF demands that food surpluses such as returned baked goods can no longer be tax deductible as losses. “The state subsidizes food waste in this way,” says Tanja Dräger, nutrition expert at WWF Germany.

However, customers expect well-stocked counters, even just before closing time. AI can help bakers and canteens to stop over-producing. The start-up Delicious Data, for example, provides predictions for the optimal use of food. “Customers such as bakeries and restaurants can reduce avoidable food losses and optimize staff deployment. At the same time, CO2 emissions and costs are reduced,” says investor Carsten Maschmeyer, who recently invested in the Munich company.

“Our AI predicts how many schnitzels, tortellini or salad bowls will be sold,” explains co-founder Valentin Belser. Data from the customer history, public holidays and weather are evaluated. “With our partners we have already been able to save 820,000 meals, which corresponds to around 1000 tons of CO2 equivalents.

For food rescuers who give donated goods to the needy, however, avoiding a surplus can have consequences: the non-profit food banks are currently so popular that they sometimes have to turn away those in need. At the same time, the number of food donations has fallen.

More: How digital tools can save gastronomy