Foodservice Equipment Journal – August 2019

The scale of the problem and its implications
The scale of the food waste challenge in the UK is an
enormous one — but if every foodservice operator was able
to do their bit the overall scale of it could be dramatically
reduced. Lee Shelton, head of sales at The Filta Group,
describes: “Over 10 million tonnes of food and drink waste is
produced each year in the UK, according to the government,
and worldwide this figure ramps up to 1.3 billion tonnes.
When it comes to waste management, the issue literally goes
much deeper than what foodservice operators do with their
untouched leftovers and out-of-date vegetables. They have
to seriously consider what happens with the by-products of

Good food waste management is now a pre-requisite for any successful and

conscientious foodservice business. FEJ therefore rounded up a string of the sector’s

leading experts and asked them to share their top tips for best practice.

cleaning cooking equipment and dishes — the fat, the oil, the

grease. Research shows more than 70% of drain blockages

within a commercial kitchen are caused by the build-up

of FOG generated from washing pots, pans and plates —

blockages which can cause kitchen closures, rancid odours

and unwanted pests.”

Understand the volumes you are generating

Before operators do anything, they need to take stock

of how much food waste their kitchens are generating in

the first place, insists Paul Anderson, managing director

of Meiko UK. He says: “Understand the volumes you are

10 FOOD WASTE MANAGEMENT

TOP TIPS FOR MASTERING

1

2

Food waste is about creating value

and efficiency over the long term.

32 | Foodservice Equipment Journal | August 2019 http://www.foodserviceequipmentjournal.com

FOOD WASTE