BENTON, AR - Walmart has announced that it will be implementing new initiatives in the effort to combat the $29 billion dollars a year lost due to food waste in the United States. The retail giant will now have a new imperfect produce program and change its date labeling system.
“Although food waste has been making headlines in recent months,” explained Frank Yiannas, Vice President of Food Safety, in a blog post on the company website, “Walmart has been doing its part for more than a decade to create a zero waste future by affecting change in the way we do business and throughout our supply chain, especially where fresh produce is concerned.”
No stranger to imperfect produce programs, earlier this year Walmart began selling Spuglies, Russet potatoes that saw visual imperfections due to rough weather in Texas. The company also tested “wonky veg” at its Asda locations in the UK, quickly becoming popular enough for it to offer year-round supply.
“Because customers around the world shop very differently, our team here in the U.S. has been working for months on our first spec for this type of produce,” Yiannas wrote. “We’re exploring the ways to make these items available while providing value to our customers and supporting farmers.”
Also on the agenda for change at Walmart is its labeling system, changing labels from saying things like “best by,” “use by,” and “sell by,” to a standardized date label, “best if used by.” The switch will go into full effect this month and involves thousands of products, the company confirmed.
“I expect the standard labels to have an even bigger impact on waste reduction since many of our suppliers sell products under their own labels outside of Walmart,” Yiannas continues. “This is significant, as the global economic impact of food wastage comes to about $750 billion each year.”
Walmart and Sam’s Club U.S.’s other efforts include an organics recycling program, and a partnership with Ecoscraps, a company that turns food scraps into organic and sustainable lawn materials.
