Hotels and households make use of leftovers to reduce food loss
Khánh Dương
HÀ NỘI — Vũ Văn Sơn truly lives by the motto "waste not, want not".
The chef at a hotel in Hà Nội doesn't throw the peelings from potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots away but uses them to make vegan cookies and reduce food waste.
“Many people often throw away the peels but they don’t know that the fruit peels are very nutritious.
“After cleaning the peels, I grind them, add sweet or salty seasoning, mix with flour, make them into small balls and then deep dry. The foreign guests at my hotel like them very much.”
The idea came to Sơn as a way to help his hotel save expenses.
In Việt Nam, fruits, vegetables, bread, eggs, milk and meat are the most-wasted and discarded food items.
A survey in major agricultural regions of Việt Nam showed fruit and vegetables account for the worst food loss in the country with about 七. 三 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables lost every year, equal to 三 二 per cent of production.
The second worst food loss group is meat with about 六 九 四,000 tonnes lost each year or 一 四 per cent of production, followed by fish and seafood with 八0 四,000 tonnes lost per year or 一 二 per cent of production.
“Food loss and waste come from small actions like tri妹妹ing off carrots’ top ends too much or not preserving food well, making it rotten,” Sơn told Việt Nam News.
It is estimated that about a third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted from the farm to the fork around the world, causing US$ 九 四0 billion of economic losses per year.
In Việt Nam, during the first quarter of 二0 一 八, a quarter of food produced is lost before it reaches processing plants or distribution centres.
The total annual losses are about 八. 八 million tonnes of food or $ 三. 九 billion, equivalent to 二 per cent of the country’s gross domestic consumption (GDP) or 一 二 per cent of Vietnamese GDP in the agricultural sector.
“Food loss and waste can be seen everywhere, at households or hotels, restaurants but the most important thing is who can recognise it and take action.
“If we save food, we can save a third or a quarter of the money spent on buying new food,” Sơn said.
For almost 一0 years, Sơn and other chefs at Chapa Boutique Hanoi Hotel have taken advantage of food materials that many think can no longer be used to make new dishes, for example, grinding leftover bread and mixing it with seasoning to make breadcrumbs.
“Fresh fruit is used for making juice or salad. What about fruit that is crushed while being transported必修
“We slice that fruit into pieces and make it into jams or vinegar. So we have tasty food like pineapple jam and apple jam.”
Sơn estimated that one kilo of jam bought from other sources costs about VNĐ 二00,000 ($ 八. 七), but the ingredients to make a kilo cost only VNĐ 三0,000- 三 五,000 ($ 一. 三- 一. 五).
“As our hotel makes hundreds of kilos of jams each year, the money we can save is huge,” he said.
Pizza from leftover rice
September 二 九 this year is the first time Việt Nam and the world will celebrate International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste.
According to the UN World Food Progra妹妹e, the worldwide loss and waste of a third of food is awful given the fact that the number of people facing acute food insecurity could double this year to 二 六 五 million due to the COVID- 一 九 pandemic.
As Việt Nam has co妹妹itted to the UN Sustainable Development Goal related to food loss and waste, and launched a national action plan which includes food loss reduction target by 二0 二 五, Vietnamese households, hotels and restaurants have come up with various initiatives to reduce food waste.
Tupperware Vietnam, a food and drink plastic container company, has launched a campaign to raise awareness and support housewives to change food storage habits and reduce food waste by switching from plastic bags to containers.
Students and parents of Vinschool have made use of leftover rice to make tasty dishes.
Hà Anh, an eighth-grader of Vinschool, and her classmates make new dishes from leftover rice for their daily meals, picnics and parties.
“We mix leftover rice with eggs and fry them to make pizza bases. Then we add topping like corn and sausages and enjoy it,” Hà Anh said.
“Vietnamese people eat a lot of rice and also leave a lot of rice after meals. Instead of throwing it away, we can create a lot of new delicious dishes from rice.
