Food waste in potato processing industry down 5.5% compared to 2020

The Dutch potato processing industry is one of the largest in the world. Four billion kilos of potatoes are processed every year, predominantly into frozen french fries for clients in the catering sector, quick service restaurants and retail outlets. Some producers also supply rösti and chilled potato products to the retail sector, and dried potato flakes as an ingredient for the food industry.

Most of VAVI’s members have been monitoring their food waste internally for years, but do not report it as such. In 2022, member companies agreed to voluntarily report their waste through a sector-specific template developed in partnership with WUR. Data on waste is now available covering the past three years (2020-2022), and this is what WUR used for its data analysis. “We’re pleased to see an industry of this size committing itself to identifying and reducing food waste,” said Toine Timmermans of Food Waste Free United. “The first step in reducing food waste is to use monitoring to understand it. And every percentage point reduction in this industry represents a huge amount of food remaining within the food chain.”

Slight decrease in waste of frozen food products since 2020

Potato processing creates a number of different waste streams, and that waste doesn’t (and can’t) always get used for other human food products. These waste products, such as the peels left over from steam peeling, are regarded as food waste if they are fermented, composted, incinerated, put into landfill or disposed of in any other way. Under European regulations, waste streams used for animal feed or as technical excipients (bio-based materials) are excluded from that definition.

In 2022, the rate of food waste in the sector was 3.4%. This volume is defined as a percentage of the total weight of potatoes and other ingredients processed into frozen products. These are mainly ‘wet by-products’ which contain a lot of water, such as the peels from steam peeling, and starch extracted from the processing of wastewater, which is now banned as a form of animal feed in the Netherlands. In 2020, 3.6% of the total crop inflow still went to waste, meaning that member companies achieved a 5.5% reduction in their food waste in two years. The companies have been working to optimise their production processes. These efforts include both a focus on tackling the issue at the source (e.g. separating starch early in the process as high-quality white starch) and on the optimisation of peeling and sorting processes. The treatment of waste streams is also being optimised to make those products more suitable for animal feed rather than fermentation.

Sector monitor helps companies target food waste reduction

VAVI members have been transparent about their food waste since 2020. This provides them with a clear understanding of where waste occurs, so that they can work in a targeted way towards reducing it. Measurement at the sectoral level also provides a benchmark, as companies gain an insight into their performance compared to the sector average. This has a motivational impact on many companies.

Wastage of chilled products only 0.1%

Besides frozen products, the sector also produces chilled potato products. The figures for 2020 and 2021 show that within the chilled potato product process, almost 100% of what is left after the production of foods or by-products is then processed into animal feed, and thus remains in the food chain. This means that food waste from potato processing to chilled products represents only 0.1% of the total crop inflow.

Source: Food Waste Free United