Fighting Food Waste

A recent study summarized in IFT Weekly discusses the fact that consumers do not understand the need to control food waste.  From the report, only about half of the people surveyed were aware of the issue.  While many feel guilty about throwing away food, many do not understand the impact on the environment or on their wallet.  Interestingly 42% of people said that they do not have the time to worry about it.

I think about the national campaign conducted years ago when people threw garbage wherever, including on the highways.  You might remember it as the Keep America Beautiful Campaign.


While some people are still less than clean, there has been a marked improvement in the amounts of trash dumped on the streets and highways.
To get public awareness, like this topic or the topic of smoking, there was a major media push.  I would expect the same for this. 

But reducing food waste goes against excess purchasing of food...a positive economic benefit for those who sell food.  So who is going to support this type of initiative?

Consumer Reports Ground Meat Report - Hype versus True Risk

Consumer reports released a study of pathogenic bacteria found in ground beef titled – How Safe Is Your Ground Beef . The tag line – “If you don’t know how the ground beef you eat was raised, you may be putting yourself at higher risk of illness from dangerous bacteria. You okay with that?”

So Consumer Reports bought 300 packages of ground meat and tested for E. coli (including O157 and six other toxin-producing strains), enterococcus, salmonella, and staphylococcus aureus. Plus they tested for antibiotic resistance.
Results –
· All samples contained indicator organisms – enterococcus and generic E. coli.
· C. perfringens – 20 percent of the samples.
· S. aureus – 10 percent of the samples
· Salmonella – 1 percent
· Beef from conventionally raised cows was more likely to have bacteria overall, as well as bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, than beef from sustainably raised cows. 18 percent of conventional beef samples were contaminated with superbugs—the dangerous bacteria that are resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics—compared with just 9 percent of beef from samples that were sustainably produced.
· The rest of the article goes on to state why they believe sustainably produced is safer than conventional.

Agree – there are pathogens, namely Salmonella and STEC E. coli, that can be present in meat, and when that meat is ground, these pathogens are distributed throughout. So if you undercook ground meat (aka rare or medium rare), the pathogens, if present, can survive and then may cause illness. So it is important to cook ground meat to 160ºF. and of course, verify with a thermometer.

The fact that ALL samples contained enterococcus and generic E. coli shows that ground meat is not sterile and because the indicators are present, we know that there is always the likelihood of pathogens being present. But it is important to point out, there was a very low levels of Salmonella and that no pathogenic E. coli were able to be isolated from their samples.

The study also looked at the prevalence (absence vs presence) for S. aureus and C. perfrigens as a indicator of safety.   First, these organisms only cause illness when the numbers are exceedingly high, so just being present is not as important as the number. These organisms are commonly found in the environment and in food at low numbers that have no health effect. Humans have a high prevalence of S. aureus in their nasal passage and C. perfringens in their intestines.

The antibiotic resistance numbers were not clear cut in that there are many variables. This is not anything different than has been found before.   However, the prevalence of the two most important pathogens in beef related illnesses (STEC E.coli and Salmonella) were too low, so nothing could be said with regard to that.   And there was no differentiation on which antibiotics (those used for humans, those used for animals, and those not really used).   

Unlike studies that are published in peer-reviewed journals, this study is not peer reviewed.  Also, it would have been better to look at numbers for S. aureus and C. perfringens rather than prevalence.

The other issue is determining what is more sustainable....that is, what provides the lowest carbon footprint while being able to feed a growing population.

Take home– if you want to buy organic or grass fed beef because you think it tastes better, great....if you are willing and able to pay the higher price.  But saying it is safer based upon these results may be more hype than true risk.  But of course the main stream media will push the hype.

Regardless, it is important to cook ground meat to the proper temperature and to handle it properly.

Food Waste and Sustainability - Reducing Waste with Food Safety in Mind

 A UK group called WRAP ( Waste & Resources Action Programme ) issued a report on food waste and the impact on the economy as well as on the environment.  According to the report, the cost of wasted food in the US is about $162 billion.  This waste is generated throughout  the food chain, from the field to the kitchen table, and in a time when many go hungry, there is a need to put waste reduction controls in place. 

The NY Times published a series of articles on waste reduction controls for the consumers and restaurants.  One is providing tips for utilizing food that would otherwise be wasted and another on being more efficient in the kitchen (articles below). 

For food processors and retailers, there is the Food Waste Reduction Alliance.   A nice publication on their website is a Best Practices Guide.  This includes information on food donations.

There will be an increasing emphasis on reducing food waste, especially as there are many people who do not get enough food

Regardless of where those controls are instituted, one important factor that must be part of any food reduction control activity is food safety.  As we try to store food longer, or utilize foods or parts of food previously thought of as unusable, food safety can be an issue.

One concern is collecting raw food / kitchen waste for composting.  Often times, raw foods will have pathogens like Salmonella and Campylobacter associated with them, chicken skin for example.  Cooked foods can also be a concern.  Cooks foods, with no or very little bacterial flora, can serve as a growth media for spore-forming pathogens that survived the cooking (such as Clostridium perfringens or Clostridium botulinum) or for environmental pathogens such as Listeria or Staphylococcus.  There are however, spoilage bacteria that may work to prevent this.  A study of kitchen waste has shown that common spoilage bacteria, primarily lactic acid bacteria, are often in our collection points and prohibit or eliminate any food safety issues.  This is not to say that kitchen waste shouldn't be handled and stored properly.

A more important control though is proper composting.  Proper composting will eliminate pathogens, so it is important to do this prior to using compost in a garden.

Molds are one hazard to consider when utilizing food or food waste.  As food is handled and/or store for a long time, or when it is handled and restored, mold can be introduced, and then grow during storage. A number of mold species can produce mycotoxins and these mycotoxins are dangerous in that they can cause a wide broad range of health issues including being carcinogenic, mutagenic, and having harmful to organs such as the liver.  It is also important to note that mycotoxins are heat resistant, and will not be eliminated by cooking.

People will often try to salvage food with mold on it.  In general, once a food becomes moldy, it should be discarded.  This includes fruits and vegetables.  If within a lot of fruits of vegetables, items are showing mold, the effected product should be sorted out immediately.  It is also important to note that mold spores may have deposited on the good product from the mold growing nearby, and that good food may show signs of mold spoilage in a matter of days.  Therefore, you want to use that salvaged product sooner rather than later.

An issue with long term storage of refrigerated foods is Listeria.  Unlike many of the other bacterial pathogens, Listeria can grow at refrigeration temperatures.   This is a especially a concern for soft chesses and deli meats.  These are two items that should not be used once the product has reached the end of its stated shelf-life.  It is also important to keep you refrigerator clean.

Manufacturer-established shelf-life dates have come under fire as a big cause for much of the food waste that is seen.  True, many of these dates are based upon quality, or best quality, and have little or no relation to safety, with the exception of deli meats or dairy products such as soft cheeses.   My input to this is that rather to argue about whether product should be thrown out by the end of that date, is to put the emphasis on using the product before it gets to that point.  Perhaps it would be better to focus  on the consumer better utilizing food.  Better utilization would entail better determining the amount of food that can be used within a given amount of time, such as a week or the time between shopping trips.  This way, perishables will be used before they go bad.  Better utilization also includes rotating food on the shelf, so that we don't end up finding that expired product in the back of the shelf.  Face it, who hasn't had to throw out a box of Fruit Loops that got pushed behind everything else on that shelf.  Being more deliberate in your choices at the store.  If like me, you buy 5 cans of a new product only to find out as you eat the first can.....it's not very good.  Then the rest sit...forever.   Or there is a sale on Sriracha flavored beans - buy five get two free, and of course you get 7 cans only to tire on them after the first three.  Lastly, preparing too much.  Who finishes that 2lb can of pork'n beans?


NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/us/food-waste-is-becoming-serious-economic-and-environmental-issue-report-says.html?_r=0
Food Waste Is Becoming Serious Economic and Environmental Issue, Report Says

By RON NIXONFEB. 25, 2015

WASHINGTON — With millions of households across the country struggling to have enough to eat, and millions of tons of food being tossed in the garbage, food waste is increasingly being seen as a serious environmental and economic issue.
A report released Wednesday shows that about 60 million metric tons of food is wasted a year in the United States, with an estimated value of $162 billion. About 32 million metric tons of it end up in municipal landfills, at a cost of about $1.5 billion a year to local governments.

The problem is not limited to the United States.

The report estimates that a third of all the food produced in the world is never consumed, and the total cost of that food waste could be as high as $400 billion a year. Reducing food waste from 20 to 50 percent globally could save $120 billion to $300 billion a year by 2030, the report found.

Are You Ready for Man-Made Meat?

I guess this is one way to eliminate the risk of E. coli in meat.

Man-made meat may be just around the corner, say scientists

By Nathan Gray, 28-Jun-2011 Food Navigator.com

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Product-Categories/Meat-fish-and-savory-ingredients/Man-made-meat-may-be-just-around-the-corner-say-scientists

Facing an ever-increasing population, and a growing demand for meat products, the world’s first in vitro meat may offer the beginning of a new solution to the problem, say researchers.

Researchers hope to produce a burger from lab grown meat within twelve month's.

 

A team of scientists, led by Dr Mark Post, a professor of physiology at Maastricht University in The Netherlands, are currently developing meat products grown from stem cells extracted from cattle. The in vitro process involves growing muscle tissue from a small number of stem cells taken from healthy cows.
Researchers believe the so called ‘test tube meat’, which is grown from stem cells could eventually lead to the reliable, sustainable production of low cost food, without the need for livestock.
Growing population
The researchers said that as the global population grows over the next few decades, the world’s meat consumption is also expected to double by around 2050.
As a result, lab grown meats such as beef, chicken and lamb could become commonplace.
Man-made meat
The researchers are currently working on producing a burger from around 10,000 stem cells extracted from cattle. The cells are left to multiply by more than a billion times, producing muscle tissue that will then be used to make burgers.

In 2009 researchers from Maastricht University also grew strips of pork using similar methods, whilst fish fillets have previously been grown in a New York laboratory using cells taken from goldfish muscle tissue.
The research team said that the first in vitro burger could be ready to be taste tested in less than twelve month's time.
Sustainable?
A study by researchers at Oxford University previously suggested that that the process of in vitro meat production could mean a 35 to 60 per cent reduction in energy consumption, in addition to requiring 98 per cent less land and producing between 80 and 95 per cent less greenhouse gas than conventional farming.