Waste management at foodpro 2017

Tuesday, 16 May, 2017

2017 is certainly proving an auspicious year for the food manufacturing and processing industry — global changes are affecting the way we work, ‘new age’ technologies like 3D printing are becoming the norm and the issue of food waste is ever more perennial with each day.

2017 is also the 50th anniversary of foodpro, the food processing and manufacturing industry event that has been serving as a meeting place and opportunity for industry members to network and engage for decades. This year’s event, set to be the largest ever staged, will host over 360 exhibitors while also providing education content.

One business showcasing its latest innovations is CST Wastewater Solutions, with its GWE anaerobic digestion technologies on display. The technologies extract biogas from food, crop and livestock processing wastewater streams to simultaneously raise water quality while generating methane to replace fossil fuels such as coal and gas used in production processes.

Along with the extensive range of exhibitors across the show floor, a line-up of education opportunities also provides reason to attend the foodpro 2017 event. Ron Cotterman of Sealed Air continues the theme of waste challenges, speaking about taking action to tackle food waste challenges.

One-third of all food produced — nearly 9 million tonnes — ends up in garbage bins across Australia and New Zealand, only to make its way to landfills where it rots and emits greenhouse gases. It’s a shocking trend that this level of waste has continued to grow in recent decades and has reached unprecedented levels with enormous implications for business, for the environment and for society. To address the issue of food waste as it impacts our future, the environment and the long-term profitability of our industry, Sealed Air commissioned a two-year study to capture both consumer perceptions about food waste and food loss results within the retail environment. For the first time, recently collected results for Australia and New Zealand will be presented; key findings will be compared and contrasted to a comprehensive global survey of 11 countries spanning four continents.

The conclusions from this research provide valuable insights on how to help ignite and guide the development of food waste prevention and sustainability strategies across the food supply chain. Results demonstrate a clear business case for food brands and grocery stores to not only manage food waste, but to prevent food waste from occurring in the first place while improving their own customers’ retail experience.

Clear action steps are identified that leverage innovation, education and collaboration to bring sustainability benefits to consumers. Discussed are practical solutions, based on food packaging, storage and distribution, that can be implemented to reduce the economic, environmental and social costs of food waste.

Seminar topics, such as the integration of hygienic drainage systems into food processing designs; gaining more refrigeration capacity while using less energy; and a look at how technology has advanced mobile robots and how they can improve food processing, are just a few others on offer.

The event co-locates with the annual AIFST (Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology) Convention. Over 600 delegates are expected to attend the convention’s 50th year to hear about topics such as the future nutritional needs, technology driving innovation, regulations related to imports as well as a roundtable discussing financing innovation and growth in the food industry.

foodpro 2017 is the event for those in the industry wanting to find out about the latest global innovations and trends, and stay competitive and efficient.

Event details at a glance:

foodpro 2017

16–19 July 2017

International Convention Centre Sydney, Darling Harbour