Nordic Choice Hotels is now taking the fight against food winnings. Starting today, June 5, on the World Environment Day, Nordic Choice Hotels Stockholm’s hotel will choose “ugly food” as part of the work to reduce food welfare and reduce environmental impact.
About a third of all food grown globally is thrown, according to the FAO International Agricultural Organization. That corresponds to 1.3 billion tonnes of food. Of the food that is not used, almost half of the fruit is estimated to be fruit, vegetables and root vegetables, and a common reason for this food being thrown is that it is considered ugly, so-called “ugly food”.
– Is it something that makes me upset, it’s food that is being thrown. By choosing “ugly food” in the first place, we take advantage of food that would otherwise be thrown simply because it is “ugly”. In this way, we are also contributing to reducing food efficiency, “says Fredrik Blomberg, Executive Director of Food & Beverage at Nordic Choice Hotels.
Foods under the “ugly food” category are of the same quality as other foods and taste the same. It is in no way about bad food but is merely a matter of aesthetics. For example, it may be carrots that are too crooked, stains on lemon peel or different color on the tomatoes.
– Suppliers second and third-hand sorting of fruits and vegetables should be our first choice. That we prioritize “ugly food” is an effective way of reducing food profit. We have also replaced the plates in the buffet to a smaller size which reduced the hotel’s common loss by 20 percent. The goal is to reduce food prices this year by 10 percent this year, says Katalin Paldeak, COO Nordic Choice Hotels.
– Nordic Choice Hotels Stockholm’s hotel is the first to choose “ugly food”. As soon as we have received procedures for ordering these types of goods from our suppliers, the idea is to roll it out in all hotels, “says Fredrik Blomberg.
The food promotion campaign is part of Nordic Choice Hotels WeCare work, which is an important part of the Group’s corporate culture and strategic corporate social responsibility. WeCare means that the hotels both work with small local measures and large investments that are ongoing for several years, with the common purpose of creating a better world. Nordic Choice Hotels has chosen to focus on six different areas, where sustainable food is one of the components. Other areas of action include diversity, sustainable hotel management, local social responsibility, ethical trade and trafficking work done in conjunction with UNICEF.
Facts of food:
In Sweden, approximately 400,000 tonnes of food are produced annually in agriculture that does not leave the farm due to its appearance (source: the Swedish Agriculture Agency).
According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, for example, a quarter of Sweden’s carrots, 16 percent of the potatoes and 13 percent of the onion are lost because they do not meet the aesthetic requirements of trade and consumers.
The wastes lead to major negative environmental effects and resources are in no way lost (source: the Swedish Board of Agriculture).
