Dole Is Juicing Out Food Waste With Packaging From Banana & Pineapple Leftovers
Image via mokjc / Shutterstock.com
The Dole Food Company is making food packaging a-peeling again by phasing out fossil fuel-based plastics and replacing them with rarely-used plant parts.
As the largest fruit and vegetable producer in the world, Dole acknowledges its responsibility in exploring how food waste can be reduced. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a third of the world’s crops never make it to consumption as they’re either damaged, spoiled, lost, or too “ugly.”
That’s a lot of resources that could have gone to good use, so Dole is chipping in with a mission to have zero food loss by 2025, in addition to attaining net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Fast Company reports that the company has roped in partners to create new compostable packaging out of inedible parts of fruit, such as the pulp of banana leaves and pineapple skins.
It’s also working on turning edible leftovers like pineapple cores—which boast plenty of vitamin C and manganese—into snacks and powders. Other forms of food waste are additionally being explored as sources of electricity.
Aside from the bid to drive down its carbon footprint, Dole endeavors to eliminate processed sugar from its offerings, provide greater business transparency, and boost the nutrition of a billion people worldwide. All of these promises are part of its ambitious Sunshine for All initiative.
“Our promise puts the heart of the planet and people at the center of everything we do,” said Pier Luigi Sigismondi, president of the company, in a press release.
[via The Dieline, cover image via mokjc / Shutterstock.com]
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