International Standards Organisation (ISO) Annual Meeting
Our director, Miranda Mirosa, recently participated in a panel discussion at the International Standards Organisation #ISOAnnualMeeting in Brisbane. The panel session, ‘Overcoming barriers to food loss and waste’, chaired by Raj Rajasekar, the Vice-Chair of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, covered ISO’s new standard, ISO/WD 20001, Food loss and waste management system. This standard is being designed to help organisations throughout the food chain reduce food loss and waste. Committees are already working globally on developing this standard which will provide a common framework for measurement and reporting and allow organisations to track their progress over time and identify areas where they can make improvements.
Here is a quick ‘101’ guide to ISO Standards:
ISO standards are not mandatory, but they are widely used by organisations worldwide. In addition to providing a common framework for measurement and reporting, ISO standards can help with food safety and sustainability-related issues in a number of ways, including:
Promoting best practices. ISO standards are developed with input from experts in the field, so they reflect the latest knowledge and thinking
Facilitating trade. ISO standards can help to harmonise requirements across different countries, making it easier for organisations to trade food products
Encouraging innovation. ISO standards can help organisations to develop new products, processes, and technologies
The relationship between standards and food loss and waste is complex, though, of course, 'standards' (in the more general sense) may, in some instances, lead to increased quantities of food loss and waste occurring (e.g., strict appearance standards, overproduction standards, strict date labelling standards, stringent quality control requirements and packaging standards etc.). We need to make sure that any standards put in place work towards, and not against, the food waste reduction mission. So we need to keep working on efforts to revise and modernise standards, promote more flexible and realistic criteria, educate stakeholders in the food supply chain, and encourage consumers to understand the difference between food safety and food quality.
You can watch the full recording of the session here.