Handling Fresh Produce in Hospitality
HOW TO CONDUCT A FOOD WASTE AUDIT
It is of the utmost importance that we fully understand the bigger picture of the issue of waste within the hospitality sector in order to come up with food waste solutions. Surprisingly though, hardly any businesses monitor what they don’t use.
According to recent research, only around 22% of businesses in the food sector monitor how much food waste they produce. This is surprising because reducing food waste can increase the profits of a food service business so vastly.
The following section will outline two routes you can take to conduct a food wastage audit in your hospitality business.
The first method involves using free online food waste templates. These templates go into depth, and have the added benefit of contributing your data to a worldwide research project to understand food waste management and how to reduce their adverse environmental impacts.
The second method is a simple suggestion on how to measure your food waste on your own, with only three steps. You can write out your own results in a physical table or in a simple computer spreadsheet.
Method 1: Download Free Food Waste Templates Online
If you want to conduct a waste audit for your establishment and contribute valuable data towards understanding food wastage on an industry-level, there are several organisations online that provide free templates that help users to report and quantify their organisation’s food waste.
These free spreadsheets are designed specifically for any business to figure out their food wastage. Once you understand your position, you can then come up with targeted food waste reduction strategies and increase the efficiency of your business.
Method 2: How to do Your Own Simple Food Waste Audit
If you are pressed for time or don’t use a computer much in your establishment, there is a simple way to check your food waste. If you’d rather go DIY with your food wastage audit, just follow the basic steps below:
Get your staff informed and involved. For a food waste audit to go well, you’ll need the support and engagement of your employees for accurate results. Plus, if you can get your staff interested early, your food waste solutions will run all the more smoothly later on.
Measure your food waste accurately. Separate your waste into 3 categories and use standard weighing techniques across the board. To do this, simply categorise your kitchen bins, and weigh them at the end of the shift or service. This will help you strategise your waste reduction plan, and give you a more detailed picture about where exactly food is getting lost unnecessarily.
Organic food waste broadly falls under 3 categories:
Waste from storage
Waste from preparation
Waste from your customers' plates
Compare your wastage results with your business activity. Once you’ve weighed the bins, record the weights against the number of people you served during the shift. This is your base data that you can use as a reference point as you move forward with your waste reduction plans. These important numbers will let you know what works and what doesn’t. You can also use these numbers to see how you stack up against industry waste minimisation benchmarks.
Now that you have the basics down, you are ready to conduct food waste audits and monitor just how effective your reduction strategies are.
After your first audit it will all become a habit, and part of the way your business is run.
HOW YOUR FOOD SERVICE BUSINESS CAN REDUCE WASTE
Waste Management Basics
To reduce food waste, keep the following principles in mind. Using the well known ‘Three Rs’ strategy, you can turn your food wastage completely around:
Reduce — You can stop food waste by pre-planning your food orders and only buying what you need, and by offering portion sizes that won’t end up as plate waste.
Reuse — Think of second uses before throwing food into landfill. For example, vegetable peels and meat bones can be thrown into a professional stock pot, to make high quality and versatile stocks. A collection of preserving jars in a variety of sizes makes creating your own preserves and pickles easy; the resulting house-made product can be an attractive selling point and addition to specials. You can also donate food you know you won’t use to organisations that can distribute it to people who will.
Recycle — Spoiled food can be utilised in a better way before it heads straight to landfill. If your food has already turned, consider creating compost or fertiliser from it before you throw it away
Policies to Reduce Food Waste in Your Business — What and How to Implement
Stop creating excessive organic waste that cuts into your profits with the following strategies. For best results, ensure your food waste audit includes checking that each of these points is up and running in your business. Make food waste management at least a monthly business activity to monitor, with checklists and quantitative measurements to ensure the job is done right.
Control Your Temperatures
End bacteria spoiling your food by using the right temperatures in both preparation and storage. Key temperatures include reheating to a core temperature of at least 70°C (158°F) for 2 minutes, keeping fridges between 1 - 4°C (34 - 41°F), and freezers below -18°C (-0.4°F). Safe holding temperatures for hot food should be above 63°C (145°F), and cold food below 8°C (41°F).
All commercial refrigeration should be monitored daily and kept well maintained. The breakdown of fridges and freezers can lead to a huge loss of stock if not picked up on quickly.
Avoid Huge Portion Sizes
People love to be full, but they also hate wasting food. Don’t force your customers to feel guilty about leaving food on their plates. Instead, offer a reasonable plate size that will end up in their belly instead of the bin. Using interesting and beautiful restaurant crockery can create the illusion of a filled plate, even if a serving size is relatively small. Train your wait staff to advise on ordering amounts and offer takeaway food containers for anything left over. For meals where it’s possible, environmentally friendly takeaway containers can be used.
Label Your Food
No more mysterious containers should live in your cool room. Use professional food labels for everything, and include the dates of when you made or opened stock, so staff know what to use with priority.
Manage Your Stock Mindfully
A way to ensure you use everything you have is to do regular stocktake of your pantry, storeroom and fridge — including the expiry dates. Using correct storage methods, such as airtight food storage containers and ingredient bins, will help stock stay fresher for longer. Managers, supervisors, chefs and kitchen staff should all be trained in the ‘FIFO’ rule – First In, First Out. This means rotate the inventory so the stock with the most imminent use-by date will not go to waste.
Test Your New Menus Before Ordering Ingredients You May Not Use
The food world is full of fickle trends, but before you jump on the latest fad ingredient, make sure your customers will actually order it. Fad ingredients tend to be expensive, so it’s a good idea to make sure it will sell before you stock up too much.
Don’t Go Shopping Without a Plan
Pre-planning your orders and shopping trips ensures you won’t over-buy or stock up on things you don’t need. Before purchasing anything, figure out what ingredients each dish requires and the quantities you need. A premeditated shopping plan significantly reduces food wastage in the storeroom. Even if deals are offered or there are ways to save if you buy in bulk, it won't save you money if the ingredients don’t get used.
Work With Food Rescue Organisations
Chances are, you can take advantage of an organisation who are more than happy to redistribute your unwanted food. Research and make contact with the food rescue organisations in your area so you are aware of their processes for picking up excess food. Once you know how it works, you’ll be more likely to reach out next time you accidentally over-order or over-cater an event.
Alternative Uses for Unused Food
Donate Your Food
Charities and not-for-profit organisations exist to redistribute your food to those who need it. The Civil Liability Amendment (Food Donations) Act of 2002 limits the liability of individuals and businesses providing they meet certain food safety standards.
Use a Food Waste Collection Service
Connect with a licensed service or business that processes food waste to ensure it gets put to good use. This is a good option if your unwanted food is past the point of acceptable consumption, or if you don’t have the capacity for compost or something similar. When selecting your contractor, choose to work with an EPA-approved facility by checking the public register.
Make Your Own On-Site Compost System or Worm Farm
Having a compost bin, worm farm, or an in-vessel composter is a good way to reduce the volume of waste on-site and help create rich soil. Check with your local council before you set one up, and keep in mind that certain foods are not acceptable for worms or compost bins (including seafood, onion, garlic and meat).
Use Recycling Equipment
You can purchase your own small scale recycling equipment and reduce your kitchen waste disposal on site. Macerators and rapid decomposition or dehydrated food waste containers are popular choices. Macerating is the process of turning solid food into pulp that can be picked up by a licensed commercial composting service. Rapid decomposition or dehydrated food waste containers require sewage hook-ups and a filter for the fumes. Check with your local Council to see the licensing or permit requirements for small scale recycling equipment in your area.
Livestock and Chicken Feed
While some foods are acceptable to feed to chickens or livestock, you need to make sure you are not giving any food that has made contact with meat products, or you could risk increasing disease in the animals. Some foods such as citrus also retain chemical residue, which is also not acceptable in stockfeed. Get in touch with your state Department of Primary Industries to check the regulations on what food waste can be safely given to animals.
