Fonterra working on reducing food waste

Simon Tucker, the cooperative’s director global sustainability, stakeholder affairs & trade, says Fonterra joined the Kai Commitment as a founding signatory in 2022 because of its belief in maximising “every drop of dairy nutrition”.

“We’ve committed to the Target, Measure, Act framework and are keen to collaborate with industry partners and play our role within New Zealand’s food system,” he told Dairy News.

“Our priority is to avoid food waste wherever possible, however when surplus does occur, our partnership with New Zealand Food Network ensures that product gets to the communities that need it most,” Tucker says.

Fonterra’s partnership with New Zealand Food Network kicked off in 2020 and since then the co-operative has donated approximately 34 million serves of dairy through its surplus and international donation programmes.

“As part of our waste to landfill reduction targets, we actively continue to find ways we can further reduce our food loss and waste,” Tucker says. “We have numerous projects underway to identify possible value streams, including food donation programmes and partnerships with upcycling organisations like Rescued Kitchen.”

Tucker’s comments come after the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor (PMCSA), Dame Juliet Gerrard, released 27 recommendations to the government to reduce billions of dollars of wasted food each year.

The recommendations, released late last month, were also released to more than 50 large food businesses, including Fonterra, Woolworths NZ, and Nestlé at an event hosted by New Zealand Food Waste Champions.

Gerrard says the recommendations are a call to action and aim to shift NZ towards a zero-waste economy by reducing the economic, environmental and social impacts of food waste. “Reducing food loss and waste is a win-win-win,” she says.