From 7 to 13 September, the Netherlands marks Verspillingsvrije Week, Waste-Free Week, a national campaign that challenges everyone to throw away as little food as possible for one week. This year's edition, the eighth so far, is built around a simple idea: staying flexible in the kitchen when plans change, so good food does not end up in the bin.
Dutch households waste an average of 33 kilos of good food per person every year. Add that up nationally, and it comes to about 23 million meals thrown away every week. If everyone in the Netherlands skipped food waste at home for just one week, the country could save close to 18 million meals. This week exists to close that gap.
A few small habits go a long way during the week, and long after it too.
Check your fridge, freezer, and pantry before you shop, so you only buy what you actually need.
Make a shopping list and stick to it, it keeps impulse buys and forgotten leftovers to a minimum.
Plan meals around what needs to be eaten first, and stay flexible when plans change.
Freeze what you will not eat in time. Bread, cooked meals, and even some fruit hold up well in the freezer.
Get creative with leftovers instead of tossing them. Yesterday's vegetables make today's soup.
Roughly one third of all food produced worldwide is wasted, and fresh produce accounts for a large share of that. This connects directly to UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which calls for halving food waste by 2030, a target major food companies have organized around through the Champions 12.3 coalition.
At OneThird, we work at the point where a quality decision can prevent waste before it ever starts. Our non-destructive scanners give real-time, objective data on fruit quality, so more good produce reaches the shelf and less gets discarded along the way.
We developed technology that assesses strawberries for Brix and runs visual inspection for dry and wet spots, and predicts shelf life so batches move to the right destination in time. For blueberries, our technology assesses Brix as well as visual inspection. For avocados, it tests dry matter, the parameter that drives ripeness and eating quality decisions, and stem-end rot. Next that we assess quality non-destructive, the results are also fast and objective. Meaning the supply chain has accurate data to send the right fruit to the right location. Preventing rejections and waste.
We also built the Avocado Scanner, made specifically for supermarkets, which tells shoppers exactly how ripe an avocado is right at the shelf. It is already running in stores worldwide, helping shoppers pick the right avocado for them. Preventing them from squeezing and bruising, and ultimately wasting the avocado.
Small choices in the kitchen matter during Waste-Free Week. So does catching a quality issue three steps earlier in the fresh produce supply chain.