HelloFresh has today released research in partnership with Kantar, revealing that a quarter (25.2%) of Kiwis surveyed waste food at least once a week, and over a third (38.6%) believe a new food labelling system is needed to minimise food waste in New Zealand.
HelloFresh believes the innovative time-temperature indicator (TTI) technology is key to addressing this change. The technology shows the shelf life of products in real time, taking into account storage or temperature conditions, removing the uncertainty around what food is edible, and what is not.
Government initiatives to reduce food waste over the last few years have gone some way to address the issue, such as funding for Kai Commitment and Whangaihia te Whānau, as well as partnerships with the University of Otago to better understand reducing food waste in the retirement sector.
The current food labelling system in New Zealand, use-by and best-before dates*, hasn’t been updated since it was introduced over fifty years ago. With a majority of Kiwis (93.5%) saying they are more cautious of food waste because of the current cost of living crisis, HelloFresh is urging policy makers to introduce new innovative solutions such as food labelling technology to save edible food from being wasted.
Three quarters of Kiwis surveyed (75.4%) say that policy makers are responsible for reducing food waste, and HelloFresh Australasia CEO, Tom Rutledge, agrees saying regulatory change is needed in New Zealand.
“Our research shows that over half of Kiwis (55.5%) are throwing away food that has passed its best before date because they are afraid it might make them sick, with a further 27 per cent saying they are simply following the instructions on the packaging. While our meal kits inherently reduce food waste due to their pre-portioned ingredients, we see big potential for the government to offer further support for Kiwis to reduce food waste through innovative technology and educating consumers on the intention of best before labelling,” says Rutledge.
HelloFresh is committed to reducing food waste across the whole value chain – from sourcing ingredients directly, to supplying customers with exactly the right amount of ingredients needed to create delicious, nutritious meals. Minimising food waste is an ongoing priority for the company, and New Zealand operations has seen a significant reduction of 35 per cent in physical food waste since implementing supply chain improvements such as managing stock inventory and forecasting customer orders.
HelloFresh continues to identify innovative partnerships to further reduce food waste and partners with local food rescue charity, KiwiHarvest, who then deliver it to people in need. In 2023, HelloFresh New Zealand donated the equivalent of 750,803 meals to the charity.
