HOW TO TRANSFORM FOOD WASTE INTO A RESOURCE

The objective of the project is to propose and implement new solutions to tackle food waste. Based on the principle of circular economy, the strategy of the project is to prevent food losses from turning into waste by working synergistically on different action points. The main goal of the project is to develop an innovative network of expertise, able to implement new food recovery logistics chains. This study arises out of the need for new strategies to: (i) prevent and reduce the volume of surplus food generated, (ii) implement and harmonize the recovery system for social solidarity purposes, and (iii) enhance the conversion of food waste into safe and sustainable feed products. For this reason, the study is divided in three sections: source reduction, feed hungry people and feed animals. The section entitled “source reduction” presents two studies: the first study is focused on food packaging, a fundamental aspect related to the extension of the product’s life that helps preventing waste. The second study is an analysis of the correlation between food portion size in school catering and the generation of food waste, which can result when food is not accurately proportioned. In the section called “feed hungry people” three studies are included. The first identifies critical points with respect to the food recovery chain, while the second study is a Manual of Good Practices for Charitable Organization approved by the Italian Ministry of Health. Finally, at the end of this section an applicative study is presented that was conducted in collaboration with Fondazione Banca Popolare of Lodi and Centro Solidale del Diritto al Cibo of Lodi. In the final section “Feed Animals”, two scientific works are presented; the first is a qualitative analysis of agri-food waste and by-products in order to estimate their bioactive contents and a possible reuse as functional ingredients in animal feed. The last work examines the European regulatory framework regarding animal feeding in order to evaluate possible new interventions to reuse food waste, not only vegetable matter, in the pet food industry. The project builds on the fact that around 88 million tonnes of food are wasted annually in the European Union, with associated costs estimated at 143 billion euros. Thus, looking for every opportunity to prevent food waste and strengthen sustainability of the food system is one of the most crucial issues of modern societies. The key output of the project consists of an improvement of the overall sustainability of food chains, from social, environmental and economic perspectives.