06 Sep 2020  |   06:03am IST

Awareness campaign on food loss, waste reduction launched

Team Herald

PANJIM: GOACAN has launched an awareness campaign to draw consumers’ attention to twin issues of food loss and waste reduction in Goa. The month-long awareness campaign will conclude on September 29, International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction.

GOACAN during the awareness campaign is making efforts to reach consumers through the village-based consumer forums and the campus-based Consumer Welfare Clubs to promote an active discussion on ways to reduce food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Due to problems related to the pandemic like lockdowns and restricted timings and movement, consumers in Goa have resorted to panic buying and stockpiling. Organisations and experts the world over have identified food waste to be caused by poor purchase and meal planning, excess buying which many times is influenced by over-large portioning and package sizes, confusion over labels especially those with ‘best before and use by’ and the poor storage facilities in homes. Supermarkets are also confronted with the issue of food wastage due to some of these reasons,” GOACAN Convener Roland Martins said. 

Through the campaign, GOACAN hopes to address the issue of food wastage by increased efforts in awareness and reaching out to the Departments of Food and Drug Administration, Legal Metrology, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs and the Goa Waste Management Corporation for their cooperation.

The Forum will also address the issue of food loss by highlighting the reasons like inadequate storage and problems related to transportation especially of perishable agricultural produce, such as fruits and vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products which have also affected stakeholders in the business. 

GOACAN will approach the Departments of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services, Fisheries and Tourism as well as GCCI, TTAG, restaurateurs and merchants associations to participate in the awareness process by creating opportunities to source information and technical expertise to reduce food losses.

During the month-long awareness campaign, the Forum has invited consumers and other stakeholders to send in suggestions on email on ways to tackle food loss and waste reduction in Goa to [email protected].