DEVELOPMENT & IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE MODEL FOR SYSTEMIC FOOD PROTECTION FRAMEWORK IN POLAND (ACRONYM: POMOST)

National Centre for Research and Development – Strategic Programme for Scientific Research and Development Works “Social and economic development of Poland in the conditions of globalising markets”; Competition “GOSPOSTRATEG XII”

The aim of the project is to strengthen public institutions in the field of public policy management concerning the reduction of food waste and to develop a national, sustainable model for a systemic food protection framework in Poland. As part of the project, recommendations will be prepared regarding legislative changes and initiatives addressed to participants of the food supply chain. The consortium’s work also aims to develop a set of good practices, recommendations for the implementation of legal solutions, and to identify development directions that will collectively form a national model for protecting food from waste.

The project will be implemented by a consortium consisting of four institutions: Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Federation of Polish Food Banks, and Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa.

One of the tools that could help reduce food waste is the development of procedures enabling the rational use of food for social purposes within the existing legal framework concerning food safety. This will be addressed through the task entitled “Research and application of selected food products after the best-before date,” carried out by the employees of the Department of Dietetics and Food Research at Jan Dlugosz University.

The aim of this task is to assess the quality of selected food products labelled “best before” after the minimum durability date (MDD) and then verify the technological and culinary possibilities of using these products (three months after the MDD) in the design of dishes incorporating them. The study will include microbiological quality assessment, chemical and physicochemical analyses, and selected sensory attributes for indicated product categories (e.g., dairy, cereal, fruit and vegetable, and meat products) on the last day of the minimum durability date and after its expiry (after 1 and 3 months). Based on these analyses, the nutritional value of the products will be calculated before and after the storage period beyond the MDD. The designed dishes will serve as examples of the effective culinary use of products after the MDD, compared with dishes prepared using products within their minimum durability date. The developed research results will be published on a project website created as part of the project.

As part of the so-called pre-implementation activities, JDU staff will carry out the task entitled “Actions to reduce food waste in gastronomy – a social campaign with educational contents.” The aim of this task is to increase awareness and knowledge among food service employees regarding the reduction of food waste, particularly by: disseminating knowledge about food waste with consideration of the specific characteristics of food service establishments; familiarising staff with the causes of food waste in gastronomic production and methods of preventing it, such as proper storage, purchase planning, compliance with hygiene requirements, modification of dish composition, adjustment of portion sizes, etc.; and proposing implementable actions leading to the reduction of food waste, including those related to storage, management of unused raw materials and products from a given day, surplus prepared dishes, and optimisation of portion sizes.

The task objectives will be achieved through:
- A series of informational/educational materials tailored in form and communication to the target audience, and
- A social awareness campaign.

Eligible cost of JDU tasks: 1,605,584.00 PLN

More information is available on the website of the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBiR).

The image comes from the NCBiR website.