Project Helix is encouraging Welsh food companies to take up support from the Welsh Government backed scheme as part of its aim to reduce waste in the food supply chain.

The call to action coincided with Love Food Hate Waste’s Food Waste Action Week 2024, an annual campaign which brings businesses, Government organisations and global partners together to work towards halving food waste by 2030.

Project Helix, which is delivered by Food Innovation Wales, a partnership of three food centres located across Wales, offers a variety of funded waste reduction support, including waste audits, reviewing and validating waste targets and identifying alternative uses for waste products.

ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University, one of the three partner centres which form Food Innovation Wales, said it had already supported companies across South Wales to identify over 89,000kgs of avoidable food waste with a value of over £400,000.

ZERO2FIVE identifies areas for improvement

According to ZERO2FIVE, food manufacturer Just Love Food Company received audit data from ZERO2FIVE to enable them to “understand the impact of waste on their business and highlight areas for future improvement”.

Mike Woods, chief executive of Just Love Food Company, said: “ZERO2FIVE’s professional approach of measuring waste at each step of our production process and putting value to that waste has really helped us to understand the value of the opportunity. 

“Project Helix offers a very open and collaborative approach to sharing knowledge and questioning why waste occurs. By sharing their expertise, it will allow us to improve our capabilities and make waste reduction a natural way of operating at every level of the business.”

Gavin Taylor, senior process waste reduction technologist, ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre, said: “Waste reduction and efficiency improvements are vital to the food and drink sector in Wales from both an environmental and financial sustainability perspective.

“The pressures on food and drink manufacturers in Wales are enormous, but Project Helix is here to provide waste support on the factory floor.”