Penny Market Italia has developed the first private label line of Italian organic fruit and vegetables designed to limit food waste.
MyBio Bellezze Naturali consists of six aesthetically-imperfect seasonal references - courgettes, lemons, tomatoes, potatoes, apples and carrots – presented in biodegradable and compostable packaging.
According to research conducted by the Food Sustainability Observatory of the Milan Polytechnic, 12% of the surplus in production in Italy is due to non-compliance with aesthetic standards required by the market.
In Italy, 5.1 million tonnes of food is wasted each year, accounting for 15.4% of food consumption, with an economic impact of €12.6 billion and environmental impact of 13 million tonnes of CO2.
Industry Efforts
However, Penny Market is not the only grocery retailer in Italy to have launched initiatives to combat food waste.
Since February, Lidl Italia has been cooperating with Banco Alimentare (Food Bank) on a nationwide project that recovers food surpluses (mainly fruit and vegetables) and distributes them through a network of local charities.
The results after nine months are encouraging: the more than 250 stores involved have collected and donated more than 1,000 tonnes of food.
Also working with Banco Alimentare is Pam Local which, for the second year in a row, plans to distribute 100,000 meals to the most needy.
Coop has been involved in food donation since 2013, and last year the Buon Fine project involved 647 stores, corresponding to 75% of the sales network.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
