How is the UAE Dealing with Food Waste?

The United Nations Environment Programme and the UK-based climate action NGO, WRAP, released the UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 in March this year.?

Out of the total food wasted in 2022, households were responsible for 60%, food services for 28% and retail 12%, it finds. Households across all continents wasted a whopping 1 billion meals a day in 2022. The report authors attribute this to people buying more than they need, misjudging portion sizes, and not consuming leftovers. Expiration dates also contribute, with edible food being discarded due to incorrect assumptions about spoilage.?

There are key takeaways for the Middle East region, particularly the United Arab Emirates. The household food waste has been found to be particularly greater in high income countries. The hotter countries appear to generate more food waste per capita in households, potentially due to higher consumption of fresh foods with substantial inedible parts and a lack of robust cold chains, the index shows. ?

Food systems contribute an estimated one-third of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, with food waste alone amounting to around 8-10% or more. Despite this, as of 2022, only 21 countries included a commitment to reduce food loss or waste as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). And the UAE is one of them.?

The UAE leading by example?

The UAE aims to cut food waste by half by 2030 by engaging citizens, government organizations and businesses in initiatives to advance collective effort to cut food waste, create new social norms, and scale best practices. The report highlights the country’s comprehensive approach to encourage the treatment of food waste.?

As a desert nation with limited freshwater resources and arable land, the UAE faces significant food security challenges. As its population grows, food consumption is expected to increase at the rate of 12% per year. Currently 85% of its food is imported from other regions. It recognises that the food sourced this way has a high cost and high carbon footprint. Hence, the nation has taken an early lead in sowing the seeds for long term food security and is committed to enhancing domestic production and increasing self-sufficiency in selected food items.?

As part of these initiatives, in 2022, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) launched a food loss and waste initiative called Ne’ma (which is Arabic for blessing). It’s a nationwide campaign to encourage public and private sector entities to collectively address food waste and promote responsible consumption.?

The country also launched the UAE Food Bank in 2017 to create a comprehensive ecosystem to efficiently store, package and distribute excess fresh food from hotels, restaurants and supermarkets. Another initiative was the 2018 UAE Food Waste Pledge where the Ministry called upon the hospitality sector, which contributes more than 30% of all food waste, to pledge to adopt efficient food production practices and cut down on waste from their kitchens.?

Embracing innovation

The business ecosystem has been quick to embrace innovation and technology to tackle the issue head-on. The hospitality, restaurant, and catering (HORECA) sector, retailers and other businesses are working hand-in-hand with recyclers, waste treatment service providers and consumers to integrate food waste reduction technologies in their operations. They are investing in AI tools, waste measuring kits and waste reduction devices for source reduction, while waste treatments solutions such as conversion into nutritious, protein rich animal feed, organic fertilizer,? anaerobic digestion? and sustainable biofuel are picking up. Food upcycling and app-based food sharing platforms are also contributing to diverting food waste from landfills.?

Ehfaaz’s circular solution?

Ehfaaz converts food and other organic waste into 100% premium grade organic fertilizer within 24 hours, thus not only contributing to reducing waste and promoting circularity, but also enriching the soil to support new plant growth. Compost provides essential nutrients to plants and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.?

Animal feed: Food scraps provide nourishment for animals, which in turn support human nutrition, effectively keeping waste within the food supply chain. Our approach tackles waste management and food security issues while alleviating the need for conventional feed production, easing both resource and environmental pressures.

Wasted food is a missed opportunity

Despite these developments, food waste remains a weighty problem in the UAE, with 38% of food prepared wasted at a cost of 13 billion AED. According to Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, the UAE ranks among the top nations for per capita waste generation in the world.? An average person in Europe generates around 1.2kg of waste a day, which is almost double in the UAE with per capita waste generation being 2.7kg per day.?

In December 2023, on the sidelines of COP28, Ne’ma released the results of the first-ever household survey called –? ?‘How the UAE eats’ – carried out across the seven emirates? About 67% of citizens and 55% of expatriates said they find it difficult to avoid food waste. The survey found that at home, residents are more likely to waste fresh produce than meat and seafood. The most commonly wasted items are bread and bakery items (36%), vegetables (34%), and fruits (31%). High food waste in the UAE may be partly due to shopping habits with half of the respondents reportedly buying during special offers and in bulk. This data underscores the urgent need for education and awareness creation among the public on food waste reduction and avoidance.?

Food IS NOT Waste

Ehfaaz’s “Food IS NOT Waste” campaign aims to raise awareness about the scale and impact of food waste, shift public perception, and promote behavior change. Collaborating with government agencies, private sectors, and NGOs, "Food IS NOT Waste" aspires to create a ripple effect of awareness and sustainable food management practices.?

By redefining food scraps as valuable resources, the campaign encourages residents, businesses, educational institutions, and community organizations to adopt sustainable practices.?

***

Here are some tips to reduce food waste

• Plan your meals and purchase only what you need
• Be mindful of portion sizes?
• Understand expiration dates: “Best before” dates are the date by which food tastes best; “use by” labels mean you cannot safely consume food after this date.
• Practice home composting?
• Donate excess food?
• Support ugly produce and support local produce.
• Seek experts’ support