The sector continues to face pressures around rising costs, from energy bills to supply chain issues as well as increasing concerns about sustainability practices – including food waste and emissions. Food service technology company Nutritics asked three of its key foodservice customers their thoughts:
Pete Statham, head of sustainability and government relations at Sysco
“What scares me most is food waste. I’m terrified by the idea of growing, producing, chilling, transporting and cooking food only for it to be wasted. And I won’t be alone, because WRAP’s 2021 data found 800,000 tonnes of food is wasted in the hospitality and food service sector alone, with a value of £3.21bn!
“But I like to be more focused on the treat than the trick, because working in sustainability is all about finding solutions and opportunities to innovate. And there’s plenty of reason for optimism across the sector that we can look to for inspiration. For example, technology to measure food waste from buffets and plates has been shown to more than halve food waste.
“Our creative team of chefs is supporting customers with the inspiration to develop more sustainable menus. That starts with cutting waste, or reformulating recipes. For example, by using by-products you can develop totally new recipes (like pickled pumpkin rind), or by using one item across multiple dishes you can reduce wastage whilst still creating a tasty dish, helping it go further.”
Annelie Selander - chief sustainability officer at WSH Group
“What scares me most is climate change. Businesses don’t only contribute to the problem, we are increasingly feeling the impact of climate change ourselves. The food industry, of which catering is one part, is responsible for roughly one third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
“Around 30-40% of all food produced is lost or wasted and modern diets are fundamentally bad for our health as well as the health of the planet. So what can we do about it? For a catering business like ours, the impact from the goods and services we use has by far the largest carbon impact, and represents about 85% of our total corporate carbon footprint.
“Whichever way we look at it, transforming the food supply chain and changing our eating habits is critical if we are to significantly halt global warming, and it poses the question ‘how good is catering at encouraging customers to change their diets, long term?’ Are we doing everything we can to promote food that is ‘sustainable, nutritious and affordable’?
“We know that taste is critical if we want to drive ‘repeat ordering’, and that’s why part of the success is having our food teams onboard. To succeed with the transition to more plant-based diets, we need to move beyond the perception that meat has to be at the centre of the plate and showcase plant-first food options that delight in all aspects. When we do that, the narrative shifts from ‘menu editing’ to ‘simply better food’.”
Sally Grimes, quality standards manager at BM Caterers
“Tackling the environmental issues we face in supply chains is what I would say is one of the greatest challenges the hospitality industry faces in the coming years. Operators have a responsibility to ensure supply chain transparency for their customers, and also need to look to collaborate with their suppliers to improve their carbon footprint alongside their own. Operators trust us to be running our operations in a sustainable way, constantly taking ESG into consideration, and if we fail on this front, it trickles down through the operators to the customers.
“Rising costs can also be concerning for the sector. If operators can provide suppliers with accurate forecasts of demands, suppliers can look to plan production and reduce costs, as well as working with operators to streamline processes and reduce waste. Our focus is to uphold company-wide standards across a wide number of factors including food quality, nutritional profiles, allergen reporting, portioning, value for money and consistency of presentation.
“We’re always looking for ways to implement technology in our menu management processes, and the nutritional, allergenic and sustainability data that Nutritics generates for menu items has made us more thoughtful about ingredients and their provenance, and their role in improving nutritional profiles and reducing the carbon they generate.”