Fresh Del Monte Produce Enters Alliance With Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment; Hans Sauter and Pete Pearson Comment
OLYMPIA, WA - ANUK is quick to applaud members of our industry for leading the charge in sustainability efforts, and Fresh Del Monte Produce is one of the supply-side mavens continually working toward such goals. The Pacific Coast Food Waste Commitment (PCFWC) announced yesterday that the global produce company has become the first grower to sign on to PCFWC’s goal of reducing and preventing food waste by 50 percent along the West Coast of the United States by 2030.
“Sustainability is woven into the fabric of everything we do at Fresh Del Monte, and mitigating food waste has always been an important part of that,” said Hans Sauter, Senior Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Sustainability Officer at Fresh Del Monte. “We’re thrilled to join the PCFWC and to work collaboratively with other signatories across the Pacific Coast—a region that is particularly special to us because of our farming and processing facilities in California and Arizona and our use of Port of Hueneme in California, which is one of our most important logistical hubs in North America.”
As explained in a press release, Fresh Del Monte’s participation will enhance the effort of PCFWC through its work to reduce food waste throughout its own operations and through its influence on suppliers and other partners throughout its value chain.
This alliance is an extension of Fresh Del Monte’s long-standing efforts to reduce food loss and waste and continuing its globally recognized work in sustainability. In 2021, the supplier diverted 95 percent of its food waste from landfill, reducing its total food waste by 13 percent from the year prior.
“As the first grower to join the PCFWC, Fresh Del Monte is helping to expand the PCFWC’s work to additional segments of the food supply chain,” said Pete Pearson, Senior Director of Food Loss and Waste at World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a PCFWC resource partner. “Food waste is a system wide problem, and the participation of an internationally recognized produce company underscores the importance of working collaboratively across all food system sectors to reach food waste reduction goals.”
Signatories to the PCFWC receive a range of benefits, such as data insights, industry collaboration, and return on investment.
Learn more about PCFWC and its partnership with Fresh Del Monte here.
