Minimising Food Wastage With Dynamic Dating

Murali Manohar, Managing Director, India Subcontinent, Infor

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Awareness around sustainable practices is becoming increasingly imperative, especially in the food and beverage industry. Sustainability is vitally interlinked across all stages of the food ecosystem, from sourcing and processing to final consumption. Amid the current global trends surrounding climate change, waste reduction, and economic growth, the complexity of the issue cannot be ignored. Responsible for 24% of greenhouse gas emissions, food waste has a substantial impact on the environment, one of the major contributors to climate change. In 2021, 17% of global food production went into waste bins, as per the UNEP Food Waste Index Report. While most of the food wasted is by consumers, it could be attributed to the confusion around the ‘use by dates’ or ‘best before use dates.’

The enormous amount of food wastage and its consequences on the environment gives F&B manufacturers the opportunity to put future generations and the environment on the path to sustainable development. Progressive F&B businesses are thus opting for new approaches that centre around best-before and use-by-dates and leveraging technologies to streamline their operations, reduce food losses, and improve their profits and competitiveness.

Making sense of date labels