Expert Working Group Meeting on 'Food Wastage in Southeast Asia'

Date: 23–24 August 2012 (Thursday – Friday)
Venue: Nanyang Executive Centre (NEC), NTU
Organised by: RSIS Centre for NTS Studies

	Credit: Paul Teng, NTU/NIE.

The RSIS Centre for NTS Studies hosted a closed Expert Working Group Meeting in Singapore on 23–24 August 2012 to address the loss and wastage of food in Southeast Asia. The Meeting was convened with support from Singapore’s National Security Coordination Secretariat (NSCS).

The wastage of food is one of the most significant yet under-recognised global issues in the effort to combat food insecurity. Just how significant is unclear: relatively little data is available on the extent of food wastage and its impact on the world’s food systems. Southeast Asia as a region suffers from a lack of information on food wastage along supply chains in key food commodities. In order to address the issue, developing accurate and relevant information on the scope and causes of food wastage is essential.

The Meeting was structured around the conceptual framework of the ‘life cycle’ of food which takes the entire food supply chain into account. Topics for discussion included: global food wastage; the extent of losses and wastage in vegetable, rice and fish supply chains in Asia; methodologies for quantifying wastage at various points in supply chains; overview of current state of technologies for addressing food losses and waste; and private and public sector food wastage prevention measures. The Meeting sought to offer tangible plans of action for increasing knowledge in these areas and for ultimately producing policy-relevant research outcomes.

Speakers’ presentations and papers delivered at the meeting

Please note that all presentations and papers are draft versions and not meant for citation.

Session 1: Global and Regional Food Losses and Waste

The Food Not Eaten: Why We Waste So Much Food and Why It Matters
Mr Jonathan Bloom
Editor, Wastedfood.com 

The Save Food initiative
Mr Gernot Ringling
Managing Director, Messe Duesseldorf Asia Pte Ltd

Session 2: The Extent of Regional Food Wastage

Postharvest Losses in the Supply Chain for Vegetables in Southeast Asia
Dr Robert J. Holmer
Regional Director, East and Southeast Asia
AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center

Food Waste in Hong Kong
Ms Michelle Au
Deputy Environmental Affairs Manager
Friends of the Earth Hong Kong

Food Waste Republic: An Investigative Journalism Project on Food Wastage in Singapore
Ms Miak Aw and Ms Estelle Low
Project Founders, Food Waste Republic

Session 3: Interventions to prevent wastage in food supply chains

Food Waste Republic: An Investigative Journalism Project on Food Wastage in Singapore
Mr Anjan Mandal
CEO, L N Bangur Group

Appropriate Packaging  – A Key Intervention To Food Loss In The Food Value Chain In Developing  Countries
Dr Nerlita M Manalili
Managing Director, NEXUS Agribusiness Solutions

Consumer Food Wastage
Professor Albert McGill
Consultant, Future for Food

Session 4: Research Methodologies and Information Systems to Address Food Wastage

Researching Food Waste through Life Cycle Assessment
Dr Brad Ridoutt
Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)

Consumer Food Waste Research: An Integrated Approach for Effective Food Waste Reduction
Dr Julian Parfitt, Principal Resource Analyst, Oakdene Hollins

Posted on: 23/8/2012 8:30:00 AM  |  Topic: Food Security