The results of the LIFE FOSTER project to prevent food waste

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Tuesday 05 July 2022 10.00-13.00
UNISG University of Gastronomic Sciences – Campus
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 9, 12042 Pollenzo CN

THE CONTEXT
In recent years, food waste has become one of the environmental and social emergencies with a worldwide impact.
If we look at the latest available data (2019) provided by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), an international organization active in the fight against climate change, about 931 million tons of food have been wasted: 61% of these waste is reported at the consumer level, 26% within the restaurant sector and 13% within supermarkets and other retailers.

There are many projects and interventions at international level that are operating in this area and, given the relevance of the topic, it is expected that many new initiatives will be launched in the coming years, in order to achieve target 12.3 – halving global food waste at of production and consumption by 2030 – within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Waste occurs during distribution, sale, processing and final consumption and is determined by behavioral factors. According to FAO, most of these losses could be resolved through the implementation of tools and methodologies to identify critical stages along the food chain and act with preventive strategies.

The approach proposed by the LIFE FOSTER project is precisely based on a systemic vision of food waste and, at the same time, aimed at adopting waste prevention solutions suitable for the context of catering companies.
The key words on which the concrete contribution of LIFE FOSTER is based are prevention, professional training and education to increase the awareness of catering operators and, more generally, of citizens.

The project is part of a new and more general attention of society to education for the prevention of waste and to the opportunities generation from the activation of virtuous relationships aimed at creating a circular economy system.

LIFE FOSTER PROJECT
Starting from these assumptions, LIFE FOSTER project was launched four years ago in four European countries (Italy, Spain, France and Malta) thanks to the co-financing of the LIFE program of the European Commission. Its purpose was the reduction of waste from the catering sector through three levers: PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, EDUCATION, and COMMUNICATION.

For the realization of the project, the skills and experiences of partners active in the research sector, professional training and the world of catering have been combined under the coordination of the Italian network for professional training ENAIP NET, with the aim of developing training models, disseminating good practices and proposing awareness-raising initiatives.

The common commitment underlying the activities was to activate the transfer of ‘green’ knowledge and skills to future catering professionals in order to trigger virtuous behaviour. In this way, the project wanted to act in the production processes by rethinking them on a circular model (waste prevention, environmental protection and innovative practices).

THE PARTNERS OF THE PROJECT
Vocational training bodies: ENAIP NET Impresa Sociale (Italy), Agence nationale pour la formation professionnelle des adultes – AFPA (France), Confederación Española de Centros de Enseñanza – CECE (Spain), Institute of Tourism Studies – ITS (Malta)

Industry & trade associations: Italian Federation of Chefs – FIC (Italy), Malta Business Bureau – MBB (Malta)
Scientific partner: University of Gastronomic Sciences – UNISG (Italy)

THE RESULTS
Thanks to the work carried out in these 4 years by the partners, who have not stopped even in the face of the pandemic, many results have been obtained which open up interesting prospects for future years.

6500 face-to-face students | 320 face-to-face trainers | 4000 students and trainers trained through e-learning | More than 60 vocational training centers involved | 3 e-learning courses developed | 500 Professionals Attending Webinars During the Distancing Period | Selected by ICESP and UNI as BEST PRACTICE FOR THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN ITALY | 10 official videos of the project made | 430 Ambassadors of the Manifesto for the prevention of food waste | A WEB application has been created for measuring waste in the kitchen: FOOD WASTE FLOW BALANCE | More than 50 events organized, both online and in person | 2000 awareness questionnaires collected from the external public | 15 school training laboratories involved in the monitoring of food waste.

All these results are the outcomes of the commitment of an entire professional training system that wants to be the protagonist in the present and future environmental, digital and social challenge.

According to the data, however, there is still a long way to go to reduce food waste by 50%. Thanks to initiatives such as LIFE FOSTER, however, we have the opportunity to train and educate new generations of food professionals capable of promoting new, more sustainable lifestyles.

THE FINAL CONFERENCE
The Campus of the University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo (CN) will host the final event of the Project. During the morning, the results of LIFE FOSTER will be presented and, thanks to the intervention of authoritative Speakers and Representatives of the European Authorities and partner countries, a discussion will be held on the various issues that emerged.

Silvio Barbero Vice President of UNISG, Giorgio Sbrissa President of ENAIP NET and Laura D’Aprile Chief of Department. of Green Transition and Investments of Italian Ministry of the Environment opened the meeting
The results of the project, the repercussions in the contexts in which the initiatives took place and future perspectives will be presented by the partners.

Other interventions will bear the testimony of best practices.
Special guest Carlo Petrini, who will address the issue of food waste in the catering sector from a holistic point of view.

Link to follow the event in streaming:

https://zoom.us/j/93161621580?pwd=VGUzVUxoMHZVdFl5U2FWRVNFV2QvZz09

For info on the Project: info@mbb.org.mt.

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