Extending shelf life: It’s only natural

Extending shelf life helps reduce food waste

Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year gets lost or wasted. That equates to a staggering 1.3 billion tonnes of food. In industrialised countries, more than 40% of losses happen at retail and consumer levels (International Food Information Council Foundation, 2016 Food & Health Survey). Research by the Netherlands Nutrition Centre shows that 30% of people interviewed indicated “past best-before date” as a reason why they throw away food.

Several studies indicate that this massive food waste mountain could be reduced by extending shelf life. According to research by WRAP, an increase of shelf life of just one day could help prevent up to 0.2 million tonnes of household food waste. Biopreservatives can play a key role in reducing food waste.

Consumers prefer natural preservatives

Research among over 1,000 consumers, conducted by DSM, clearly shows that consumers think natural preservatives are as effective as chemical preservatives, but are better for health, safer, more sustainable and better tasting, as shown in the figure.

In addition, DSM recently collated the results from its Naturalness Research 2019, in which it polled 8,000 consumers from 16 countries about their understanding and attitudes towards naturalness when it comes to food and beverages and dietary supplements. A resounding 82% of consumers agreed that “natural products are better for me.” 70% of the global population agreed that “when purchasing a packaged food/beverage product, I prefer those that are more natural.”

Biopreservatives and anti-oxidants are here to help

Extending shelf life is not only essential to reduce global food waste, but can be done in a natural way. As part of its sustainability commitment, DSM leverages its in-depth food processing knowledge and its biopreservatives and anti-oxidants to help cheese, yogurt, baking and beverage manufacturers keep their products fresh for longer, prevent spoilage and reduce food waste.

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