International Day of Awareness: Report recognises industries' efforts

COINCIDING with International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste today, Lux Research has published a new report in which it recognises the efforts being made by pesticide and herbicide manufacturers, as well as developers of edible coatings.

It stresses that improved technology in these sectors is needed to decrease food loss and waste globally. 
Food loss and waste (FLW) currently causes an estimated $1 trillion in economic losses globally each year. The United Nations set a goal of reducing global FLW by 50% by 2030. 

The new report by Lux Research, “Preserving the Food Chain,” outlines key protection and preservation technologies to help companies achieve significant reductions in both pre-consumer food loss and post-consumer food waste.

Lux Research Analyst and lead author of the report, Harini Venkataraman, said: “Preservation and shelf life extension technologies are key across the agrifood and health ecosystems, something the pharmaceutical and pesticide industries have long understood. We’re now seeing innovation and new solution development across the food supply chain, from pre-harvest preservation technologies to post-retail and in-home storage solutions.”

The report documents best-in-class protection and preservation technologies across six segments of the agrifood value chain and highlights emerging technologies companies need to invest in now to take full advantage of the benefits of preservation tech, including novel natural preservatives, edible coatings, and active packaging technologies. “The penetration and adoption of biological and digital tools will play an important role in shaping the future of preservation tech,” adds Venkataraman.

Lux Research predicts developments in all six segments of the value chain in the coming three years. On farms, integrated crop protection will become industry-standard, while post-harvest wax coatings will lose dominance to a mix of bio-based coating solutions. Within food production, biopreservation methods will achieve performance parity with conventional preservatives. Distributors will adopt digital tools more liberally to manage supply chains, and within homes, expect point-of-use sensors to flourish, driven by consumers’ concerns about the safety and reliability of purchased products.

The COVID-19 pandemic has enhanced the need for supply chain resiliency, which will continue to drive innovation in a persistent fashion long after the peak of the global crisis passes, the report reveals. Emerging from this crisis will require effective preservation technologies from farm to fork to mitigate demand shocks, improve margins, and reduce overall FLW. 

Harini Venkataraman, added: "Protection and preservation technologies are a significant part of optimising profit margins in the food supply chain, while also contributing to meaningful reductions in food loss and waste. Especially in times of uncertain or fluctuating demand for foods, preservation tech takes centre stage to help agrifood value chain players - from producers to retailers - cope with uncertainty. 

"The 2020 International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste focused on mitigating FLW points out that innovation, technologies and infrastructure are critical to increasing the efficiency of food systems and to reducing food losses and waste.”