MYSaveFood on mission to minimise food wastage

KUALA LUMPUR: Recently, the MYSaveFood@Ramadhan 2018 programme managed to save 3,700kg of food and drinks produced by bazaar stalls from being dumped.

The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) partnered the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ), Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp), Gema Youth Association, Malaysia (GEMA) and some 100 volunteers in collecting the items and giving it away to the needy.

The movement was sparked by the seriousness of food wastage in Malaysia, with MYSaveFood secretariat head, Dr Ainu Husna MS Suhaimi, reiterating a SWCorp survey which revealed that Malaysians throw out 15,000 tonnes of food a day with 3,000 tonnes still being edible and able to feed 2.2 million people three meals a day.

To this point, MYSaveFood – a MARDI effort to increase awareness on food wastage – has pulled off more than 90 programmes to reduce wastefulness which includes talks and exhibitions at government and private organisations; schools, universities and hospitals; as well as places like the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism (MAHA) festival and Petrosains, KLCC.

“These initiatives show that there is a growing awareness,” said Ainu.

“MYSaveFood supports the idea of an act to control food wastage. Something that is gravely required is a gauge for food loss and waste in the value chain, as well as gathering data to determine the most critical sector,” she added. MYSaveFood’s accomplishments have inspired the French and Danish governments, AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Asian Productivity Organization (APO) to work with Malaysia in further developing a strategy to reduce food wastage.

At the same time, Ainu would like to see more people participate in the endeavour and for better enforcement action to achieve the global aim of 50 per cent reduction in food waste by 2030.

To help reach this goal, here are Ainu’s tips for hosts and guests of open houses:

1) Plan the amount of food being served according to the number of invited guests. If the spread is varied, consider preparing just a small quantity.

2) Hosts should be meticulous about food safety and handling, ensuring food doesn’t spoil and become harmful. Surplus food should be kept in the fridge or in/on a warmer. Store leftovers properly, with food scraps separated for the compost bin.

3) Guests can play a role by taking small serves and finishing it before going for another round. They, too, can help the host separate scraps for composting. - Bernama