The UK’s dairy industry body, Dairy UK, has vowed to slash food waste 30% within the next seven years.
It comes as Defra announced it would make an additional £15 million available to tackle food waste and redistribute surplus food within the UK.
Dairy UK chief executive Dr. Judith Bryans said: “Over the past decade, dairy processors have taken significant steps to minimise food waste and find alternative uses for the waste generated on site.
As a result, 85% of the food waste generated on site is not wasted and has an alternative use. Increasingly food waste is being used for animal feed, converted into energy or redistributed, all of which ensures that the abundance of nutrients that dairy products provide do not go to waste.
“Through the Dairy Roadmap, dairy processors have committed to continue this action, pledging to reduce the food waste they produce by 30% by 2025, and to take effective action to prevent consumer food waste.”
Dairy Roadmap
Alongside work as part of its Dairy Roadmap, Dairy UK is also a signatory of the Courtauld Commitment 2025, an ambitious voluntary agreement which aims to cut food and drink waste by 20% by 2025.
Courtauld business signatories, including leading retailers, manufacturers, and food redistribution organisations, have agreed to work collaboratively to double the amount of surplus food they redistribute by 2020.
