The "Bread Rescuers" project - an initiative to reduce bread waste

• The project "Bread Rescuers" ("Bread Savers") is an initiative led by the Norwegian Research Council (Nofima) to prevent and reduce bread waste.

If once in many cultures throwing bread in the trash was unimaginable, being governed by superstitions foretelling major troubles, modern times have completely changed the paradigm, bread waste being a serious problem in many countries around the world today.

A survey carried out in the Flemish region of Belgium showed that, for the year 2019, each household in the Netherlands threw away about 7,3 kg of bread and pastries, amounting to a percentage of 20% of the total bread production at the national level.

Nor is Sweden faring better in terms of bread waste, with 80.410 tons of bread being thrown away annually, that is 8.1 kg per capita. And between 2012 and 2022, in Great Britain, 10% of the bread sold by the Tesco supermarket chain was thrown away.

In the effort that more and more states are making to reduce this food waste, in Romania, in 2023, BREAKING  in collaboration with important universities, both in the country and abroad, realized the project  "Stop Waste to VET".

The paper, citing the 2021 study "Food Waste along the Food Chain in Romania: An Impact Analysis", by Dumitru OM, Iorga CS, Mustatea G. 2021, reports that "in Romania, food waste in public food is 8,63%, and for home consumption 6,50%. In addition, household consumers produce up to 40,78% of the total food waste in Romania. Regarding the level of food waste throughout the food chain, the authors reported values ​​of 3,79%, while in food processing higher losses were reported for the bakery (6%) and the meat industry (7%) .”

Bread waste a global problem

Globally, an estimated 1,3 billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted each year, and if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, after China and the US.

Bread and bakery products lead the list of food waste in Western countries, and Norway is another example of a country joining efforts to prevent and reduce bread waste.

With 300 loaves of bread wasted every day – representing 000% of household food waste and 18% of the retail sector, the situation in Norway is a real problem given the amount of bread consumed in this northern European country (it is believed that 42% of Norwegian consumers eat bread regularly) and the impact of food waste on the environment.

In response, a project led by the Norwegian Research Council ( Nofim ) aims to develop new strategies to prevent and reduce bread waste throughout the distribution chain, from bakeries to consumers. Its ambition is to halve bread waste.

Rethinking, reducing and reusing bread waste

The four-year project, which started in November 2023, is supported by other research institutions, organizations focused on food waste, members of the local grain industry and bakeries in Norway. Outside of Scandinavia, Central Queensland University from Australia and City University of London of Great Britain are acting as external advisors to the project.

Called "Bread Rescuers", the project aims to rethink, reduce and reuse bread waste. Researchers will conduct a literature review and interview industry experts and stakeholders to investigate how return agreements lead to less waste. Studies will be carried out on approximately 30 families with children to identify "triggers and solutions" which reduce the waste of bread.

To reduce food waste, the project investigates whether frozen bread could be a good strategy to prevent waste at both the consumer and retail level. Nofima researchers will map the sensory properties of bread under different freezing and thawing conditions.

To investigate how bread waste could be reused, the team will develop and evaluate technological solutions that could turn surplus bread into new ingredients and bakery products. Consumer attitudes and bread price sensitivity will also be examined "reused".

But why is so much bread wasted?

According to the data collected so far, many consumers do not eat the final pieces of a loaf of bread, which means that often a significant part of the product is thrown away.

Another reason why bread ends up in the bin too early is related to the perception of freshness. If a consumer buys too much bread at one time or forgets to eat it while it's still fresh, it's likely to end up in the trash. According to Nofima, many shoppers forget that they already have bread at home when they are in the supermarket and buy extra.

Among all demographic categories, it was found that families with children waste the most bread. It has been suggested that a significant amount of bread waste in families comes from leftover sandwiches from packed lunches.

Several factors cause bread wastage

Most bread waste (like most food waste in developed countries) occurs in the home. But that doesn't mean waste doesn't also happen in the supply chain and retail sectors. It is estimated that up to 35% of all bread waste occurs in these sectors.

One of the reasons for the excessive waste of bread in the retail sector is due to agreements with suppliers: often large grocery chains can return unsold bread to their suppliers, who in turn recycle it into animal feed, compost or even a incinerate. According to Nofima, these agreements do not incentivize grocery store chains to reduce bakery orders.

And researchers don't yet know whether stores are actively communicating to consumers that having a wide selection of fresh bread on offer throughout the day leads to more bread waste.

Project "Bread Rescuers", started in November 2023, will run until the end of October 2027.

Article source: "Reduced bread waste through innovative business and consumer strategies".

Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă

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