HelloFresh has partnered with Kantar to release research that shows 76.4 percent of Kiwis understand current food labelling, while 55.5 percent say they discard food past its best-before date as they're afraid it will make them sick.
According to the research, 25.2 percent of Kiwis surveyed waste food at least once a week, and over a third believe a new food labelling system is needed to minimise food waste in New Zealand.
The current food labelling system in New Zealand, use-by and best-before dates, has yet to be updated since it was introduced over fifty years ago. HelloFresh believes innovative time-temperature indicator (TTI) technology is vital to addressing this change.
This technology shows products' shelf lives in real-time, considering storage or temperature conditions and removing the uncertainty around what food is edible and what is not.
Over the last few years, government initiatives to reduce food waste have addressed the issue, such as funding for Kai Commitment and Whangaihia te Whānau and partnerships with the University of Otago to understand better reducing food waste in the retirement sector.
HelloFresh Australasia CEO Tom Rutledge agreed that regulatory change is needed in New Zealand.
“Our research shows that over half of Kiwis 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,” said Rutledge.
“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.”
New Zealand operations have seen a significant reduction of 35 percent in physical food waste since implementing supply chain improvements such as managing stock inventory and forecasting customer orders.
Minimising food waste is an ongoing priority for HelloFresh. The company identifies innovative partnerships to reduce further food waste and partners with local food rescue charity KiwiHarvest, delivering food to needy people.
