Th The Australian alian Food Cold ld Ch Chain: I Identifyi - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Th The Australian alian Food Cold ld Ch Chain: I Identifyi ying I g Issues & & Imp Implemen lementin ing Imp Improvemen ements Greg Picker

Pr Presentation Overview • National Strategy • Status & challenges Context • This study • Australia’s food production • Size and make up of the cold chain Food and the • The cold chain’s characteristics and performance Cold Chain • Underlying situation • Losses – size, scale and costs Food Waste • Improvements that can be made

Wha What is s food d loss ss and nd waste, , and nd wha what are th their eir conseq equen ences es? • Food Loss refers to food that gets spilled, spoilt or otherwise lost, or incurs reduction of quality and value during its process in the food supply chain before it can be eaten • Food waste refers to food that completes the food supply chain but still doesn't get consumed because it is discarded, whether or not after it is left to spoil or expire. (UN Environment) Implications of Food Loss and Waste include • Hunger • Higher costs to consumers • Greenhouse gas emissions • Water wastage • Land clearing and more

Au Australia’s N Nation onal F Food ood W Waste S e Strategy egy • Australia’s National Food Waste Strategy – launched in late 2017 - provides a framework to support collective action towards halving Australia’s food waste by 2030. • The strategy contributes toward global action on reducing food waste by aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 12. • An Implementation Plan is being developed and while a baseline study has been done, the lack of consistent comprehensive data has been identified as the key challenge.

Th This S Study • Joint Government/industry effort – Rome MOP and the FAO building were great prompts! • Based on data and approach prepared for assessment of refrigerants and RAC equipment • First study of the scale food loss in the cold food chain in Australia, with a focus on identifying solutions

Australia’s food production and cold food chain – some basic facts

Au Australia’s f food ood p prod oduction on & & e expor orts Australian Exports Food reliant on refrigeration Production Production Export Export volumes values volumes values (Million (Million ($ Billion) ($ Billion) tonnes) tonnes) Fruit 4.575 $7.030 0.541 $1.878 Vegetables 3.695 $4.346 0.206 $0.255 Meat 4.583 $19.819 2.167 $11.440 Seafood 0.237 $2.903 0.052 $1.433 Dairy & eggs 10.264 $8.898 0.843 $3.438 Totals 23.354 $42.996 3.809 $18.445

Si Simplified descr scription of Australia’s s food co cold chain

A d A detailed ed e example of t e of the f e food ood c col old ch chain: mangoes

Gr Greenhouse se Gas Gas Emissio issions s – im implic plicatio tions ns of Au of Australia’s f food ood c col old c chain • Emissions (direct and indirect) from the cold food chain = more than 3.5% of Australia’s annual emissions • BUT, emissions from food waste in the cold food chain is larger! • Emissions from the cold food chain (including energy, refrigerant and food waste emissions) total about the same as the emissions from all of Australia’s cars.

Australia’s food waste – the significance of the cold food chain

Hea Headline e figures es – Fo Food Waste from Australia’s c Au col old c chain • Warning!! Estimates are preliminary & conservative. • Total value (farm gate prices) of food waste at least AUD $3.8 billion which comprised of: • 25% (1,930,000 tonnes) of annual fruit and vegetable production worth $3.0 billion • 3.5% of annual production of meat (155,000 tonnes) and seafood (8,500 tonnes) worth $670 million and $90 million respectively; and, • 1% (90,000 tonnes) of dairy products valued at $70 million. • Estimates of losses in the food cold chain do not take into account impacts of sub-par conditions that reduce product shelf life in the hands of consumers.

Fo Food is a perishable carbon intensive product Food type Comparative scale of emission intensity based on kg CO 2 e/kg of food waste type Beef Very High >15 Meat (Average) Very High Pork High >10 and ≤15 Cheese High Poultry Medium >5 and ≤10 Dairy Product (Average) Medium Yoghurt Low Seafood Low >2 and ≤5 Milk Low Banana Low Grape Low Fruit & Vegetable (Average) Very Low Apple Very Low ≤2 Carrot Very Low Tomato Very Low Lettuce Very Low

Rates Ra es of f food loss fr from the e cold food chain 60% 50% 40% Food waste rate (%) 30% 20% 10% 0% Tomatoes Lettuce Crustaceans Poultry Dairy Products Cucumbers Cauliflowers Cabbage Fruit & vegetables Melon/watermelon Capsicums Pineapples Oranges Potatoes Wine grapes Apples Seafood Meat Milk - Fresh Milk - Dried Mangoes Total supply chain Sub-par practices

Fo Food Waste from the Cold Chain: values & a & amou ounts 1,200,000 $2,000 $1,799 $1,800 1,000,000 $1,600 $1,400 800,000 $1,160 $1,200 $ Million Tonnes 600,000 $1,000 $800 $669 400,000 $600 $400 200,000 $69 $200 $94 0 $0 Fruit Vegetables Meat Seafood Dairy products Production volumes (Tonnes) Farm gate value ($ Million)

Tonnes 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 50,000 W i 0 n e G r a p e s O r a n g e s B a n a n a s N u t s T a b l e G r a p e W s a t e r m e l o n s M a n d a Fr Fruit waste volumes r i n s A p p l e s M Volumes (Tonnes) a n g o e s P e a r s P e a c h e s S t r a w b e r Value ($ Million) r i e s A v o c a d o s P i n e a p p s and values l e s O l i v e s - F r e s h L e m o n s C a n t a l o u p e s P l u m s s B l u e b e r P r a i e p s a y a / P a w p a w C h e r r i e s $0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $ Million

Tonnes 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 50,000 0 P o t a t o e s T o m a t o e s C a r r o t s O n i o n s P u m p k i n s C u c u m b P o e r t s a t o e s S w Ve Vegetable waste volumes and values e e t C a u l i f l o w e r C a b b a Volumes (Tonnes) G g e r e e n s - L e a f L y e t t u c e H e a d B r o c c o l i C a Value ($ Million) p s i c u m s M u s h r o o m s C e l e r y C o r n Z u B c e c a h n i n s i S n a p / G r e e n P e a s - G r e e n B e e t r o o t H s e r b s - F r e s h E g g p l a n t $0 $50 $100 $150 $200 $250 $300 $ Million

Australia’s food waste – how can it be improved?

Whe Where do do lo losses happe happen n in in the the cold ld chain? hain? Finding: The greatest likelihood for perishable food to suffer damage is during transportation and handling between mobile and stationary refrigeration points Focus on this area first!

Ho How w can the e cold chain can be e improved ed? • Better handling of food – simply following good, common-sense practice • Tracking food and sharing data throughout the cold chain. • Real time monitoring of food conditions, such as temperature, humidity and location • Improved operation and expansion of the cold food chain These are all inexpensive options that mostly require behaviour change and little capital investment!

Con Conclusion on • The cold food chain is large, complex and important. • At least in Australia, the food cold chain is not performing near its capacity • Reducing food waste will reduce hunger, greenhouse gas emissions & other environmental pressures • There exists the capacity to make improvements in the cold food chain cheaply, easily and quickly.

Thank You Greg Picker greg.picker@refrigerantsaustralia.org